Vets buy slide

The Cordell Pool will get another slide this spring thanks to the generosity of local veterans.

 

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1108 of Richmond wrote a check recently for $9,800 to buy a drop slide for the Richmond Parks and Recreation Department. A drop slide, as I understand it, is one that is short and squat, compared to its hulking, twisty-turny cousin, but is able to shoot users out into the water for a short but more hair-raising thrill ride.

It has been on park officials’ wish list for some time.

 

“It’s just a small slide but will bring a little more excitement for teens and tweens at the pool,” said parks superintendent Denise Retz. “We could not be more thrilled by the VFW’s investment not only in the municipal pool but in the children and families of our community.

 

“This donation is a clear indication that Post 1108 wants to help make our city great. This is a great group of leaders in our community,” she said.

 

VFW commander Ron Weadick said community support “is one of our core objectives.”

 

“Community service and community support, those are both important concepts to us,” Weadick said. “That’s what we remain committed to.”

 

VFW service officer Steve Brassfield helped guide the donation through the VFW membership.

 

“It’s about youth and it always will be,” Brassfield said. “We like what Denise is doing in the parks and we support that. We need these improvements at the pool. With this donation, we’re putting money into the community. That’s our goal. That’s what we do.”

 

Park staff will install the new slide before opening day, scheduled for May 27, in the pool’s deep end.

 

“This slide has been a dream for our department for several years and without the VFW it would not be a reality,” Retz said.

 

But the pool is in need of additional support. The big slide needs re-coating and the pool needs new life guard chairs and umbrellas. Additional painting projects abound.

 

“If anyone is looking to help us with our additional improvements, please contact me at the park office,” Retz said. Call her at (765) 983-7276.

 

Retz said the pool averaged about 350 daily users in 2016.