While many people attending the June 14 Board of County Commissioners meeting were divided on one issue, they also showed community spirit in coming together to help the workers at the county pool.
MaryAnn Ingram shared with the commissioners what a good job the pool workers do each day. “The water is one of the most gorgeous pools I’ve seen in a long, long time,” she said. “When I go there in the mornings, the place is perfect.”
As a fair-skinned person who has spent a lifetime swimming, Ingram said she has paid for it with her skin, which has been “sliced and diced” by dermatologists. She is concerned about the people working at the pool.
“These kids are giving their time and their skin to all of us and our children,” she said.
She recommended buying shirts for the workers that would provide protection from the sun’s harmful rays, while at the same time being cooling and quick-drying if they have to jump in the water. She had received an estimate of $15 per shirt. For the 28 workers that would be $420. She offered $120 toward the cost and asked the county to help fund the remaining cost.
Instead, people in the audience started bringing donations forward. She soon had enough for the order.
“Those kids are going to have their arms covered,” she said to a room filled with applause.
The shirts have already been ordered, received, and the workers are wearing them.
“I appreciate people in the community, like MaryAnn, who see a need and go the extra mile to get it taken care of,” said pool supervisor Jami Waldroop. After ordering the shirts there was about $100 in donations left over, and Waldroop used it to buy sunscreen for the lifeguards.