BY EARLENE WARD - FOR THE SIERRA STAR
A dedication
ceremony will be held at the Baker Swim Complex at Yosemite High
School Saturday, Sept. 11, beginning at 2 p.m. at the pool site.
The public is invited.
After a ribbon cutting and brief remarks by school officials, the
pool will be open for free swimming until 6 p.m. Plans are being
finalized for a swim meet to be held during that afternoon.
After the grand opening, there will be a fee for use of the pool.
The fee schedule has not been finalized but will be announced at
the grand opening.
The pool will also be open to the public Sunday, Sept. 12, from
2 to 6 p.m. for swimming.
The Yosemite Joint Union High School District has hired Chad Houck
as the aquatics director for the pool complex. He will also be the
physics teacher at YHS.
Houck will coach the boys and girls water polo teams this fall and
he will be the instructor for a life-guarding class Aug. 21-24 at
the pool.
The opening of a swimming pool at YHS has been a long time coming.
When the school opened in 1976, Valinda Clevenger, now head counselor
at YHS, was hired to be a swim coach. The master plan for the new
high school included a pool and the intent was to build one within
a short time of the school’s opening.
The new pool has been made possible through a construction bond
passed by area voters in 1998, state matching funds, state bond
funds and private donations. The complex is a $3.53 million project.
“We are merely the caretakers,” said YJUHSD Superintendent Bill
McCabe, “these are community facilities built with community money.”
The district is making plans to offer a variety of programs at the
pool. Plans call for it to be open from 1 to 5 p.m. every Saturday
and Sunday for public recreational swimming. The pool will close
on days when the temperature reaches a specific level. That temperature
will be determined after officials see how the pool’s heating system
is working. The pool will be heated by a co-generation plant on
the campus.
Other tentative plans are for the pool to be open as follows:
Weekday afternoons from September to November the pool will be open
for limited public use from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
The water polo teams will be practicing at those times as well.
During April and May, the pool will be open for limited public use
from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. From June to August from 1 to 5 p.m. the
pool will be open for public use.
Programs are also being planned for group swim lessons, adult fitness
and private parties.
The adult fitness lap swimming program will be a time set aside
for use by adults only. These times will be September and November,
Monday through Friday, 6:30-7:30 a.m. and 8-9 p.m., weekends 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m. March through May, Monday through
Friday, 6:30-7:30 a.m. and 8-9 p.m., weekends 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and
5-6:30 p.m.; June through August., Monday through Friday, 7:30 to
9:30 a.m. and 8 to 9 p.m., weekends, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to
6:30 p.m.
There will also be swim clubs using the pool at designated times.
Fees and definite time schedules will be announced in the Sierra
Star and on the district’s web site when they are finalized (www.yosemiteuhsd.com).
Houck is in charge of scheduling pool usage.
“I’m very confident we will be able to schedule it so everyone is
happy,” he said.
A pool committee, chaired by Dr. Karen Lauterbach, will serve as
an advisory body for the pool and will host the grand opening.
Arlene Williams, an American Red Cross aquatics instructor trainer,
is a member of the committee and expresses enthusiasm for the opportunities
the complex will offer.
She notes that it will accommodate babies as young as six months
and she said “I’m so excited about that.”
The pool has a shallow end that will accommodate very young children
and disabled persons, including those in wheelchairs.
“We have made every effort to have the pool accessible to everyone,”
McCabe said.
In addition to the water polo teams this fall, there will be boys
and girls swim teams in the spring.
YHS Principal Steve Raupp said he is pleased to have the pool open
to offer students another activity to help them stay involved and
active at the school outside of class time.
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