Blackwell pool closed after vandals litter it with glass

OF SAFETY. K-O-C-O’S DAKOTA WABOKIESHIEK WENT SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS ON 100 DEGREE DAYS LIKE WE’RE SEEING IN OKLAHOMA, PEOPLE WOULD FLOCK HERE TO THE BLACKWELL MEMORIAL POOL. NOW, THE CITY IS WITHOUT A POOL, UPSETTING MANY BLACKWELL’S CITY MANAGER SAYS A DAY AT THE POOL IS LIKE ANY OTHER. AT A BARGAIN OF $2 FOR AN ADULT, YOU CAN COOL OFF FROM THE SCORCHING HEAT, BUT THE LIFEGUARDS HERE FOUND SOME TROUBLING DANGER. THEY CAME OVER HERE AND THEY THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS JUST SOMEBODY HAD THROWN A BOTTLE OVER OR SOMETHING. BUT THE MORE THEY INVESTIGATED, THEY SAW THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF GLASS AND MANY AROUND TOWN UPSET ABOUT THE NEWS. THIS SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THAT, REALLY. WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH WAY TOO MUCH FOR SAFETY REASONS. THEY COULDN’T ALLOW PEOPLE TO VISIT WHILE THEY HAVE NOT FULLY DRAINED AND FOUND ALL THE GLASS. THIS PROCESS BRINGING A COST BURDEN ON THE SMALL TOWN. BUT MOST OF THE CONCERN IS ABOUT THE POSSIBLE MALICIOUSNESS OF THE ACT OF PUTTING GLASS IN THE POOL AREA WHERE KIDS WOULD BE. THIS WASN’T JUST A BOTTLE THROWN OVER THE FENCE. SOMEBODY COLLECTED THIS GLASS FROM ANOTHER LOCATION, BROUGHT IT HERE, INTENTIONALLY PUT IT WHERE YOUNG KIDS OBVIOUSLY WOULD BE IN THE POOL AT, AND THAT TAKES A LOT OF TIME. AND THOUGHT. WITH WEEKS LEFT UNTIL SCHOOL STARTS BACK UP AND THE HEAT STRIKING, SOME HOPE TO SEE THE POOL BACK IN ORDER SOON. WELL, IT WOULD BE NICE TO GET IT OPEN AGAIN THIS YEAR, BUT I DOUBT IF THAT HAPPENS THAT QUICKLY. IT USUALLY SHUTS WHEN THEY START SCHOOL AGAIN ANYWAY, SO WE’LL JUST HOPE FOR NEXT SUMMER. BUT THE CITY MANAGER SAYS THEY WILL BE HOLDING OFF ON GETTING THE POOL BACK UNTIL NEXT YEAR, WITH THE COST OF THE FIX UNKNOWN AS OF NOW.

Blackwell pool closed due to safety issues after vandals litter it with glass

A rural town is without its summer centerpiece after city officials said vandals threw glass into the Blackwell swimming pool.

A rural town is without its summer centerpiece after city officials said vandals threw glass into the Blackwell swimming pool.Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.Blackwell’s City Manager, Jerry Wieland, said a day at the pool is like any other, at a bargain price of $2 for an adult, it’s a good way to beat the scorching heat, but what lifeguards recently found is troubling.”They came over here and thought maybe somebody threw a bottle over or something. The more they investigated, they saw that there was a lot of glass,” Wieland said.>> Download the KOCO 5 AppMany around the community are upset about the news.”There should be accountability for that. We’re going to have to – people get away with way too much,” said Gene Collins, a Blackwell resident.For safety reasons, officials could not allow people to visit the pool while they had not fully drained it and found all of the glass. The process of ensuring visitors’ safety is a burden on the small town. But most of the concern is about the possible maliciousness of the act of putting glass in an area of the pool where children would be.”This wasn’t just a bottle thrown over the fence. Somebody collected this glass from another location. (They) brought it here, intentionally put it where young kids would obviously be in the pool at. That takes a lot of time and thought,” Wieland said.With weeks left until school starts back up, and the unrelenting heat of summer, some are hopeful to see the pool back in order soon.“It would be nice to get it open again this year, but I doubt that happens that quickly. It usually shuts when they start school anyway, so we’ll just hope for next summer,” Collins said.Unfortunately, Wieland said they will be holding off on getting the pool back open until next year as the cost to fix the problem is unknown as of now.Top HeadlinesChaos erupts at OKC City council meeting over Gaza resolutionFather seeks justice for son killed in OKC double homicideResurgence of synthetic marijuana has Oklahoma on edgeDriver in deadly Norman crash charged with manslaughterArmed suspects target Logan County grow complex

BLACKWELL, Okla. —

A rural town is without its summer centerpiece after city officials said vandals threw glass into the Blackwell swimming pool.

Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.

Blackwell’s City Manager, Jerry Wieland, said a day at the pool is like any other, at a bargain price of $2 for an adult, it’s a good way to beat the scorching heat, but what lifeguards recently found is troubling.

“They came over here and thought maybe somebody threw a bottle over or something. The more they investigated, they saw that there was a lot of glass,” Wieland said.

>> Download the KOCO 5 App

Many around the community are upset about the news.

“There should be accountability for that. We’re going to have to – people get away with way too much,” said Gene Collins, a Blackwell resident.

For safety reasons, officials could not allow people to visit the pool while they had not fully drained it and found all of the glass. The process of ensuring visitors’ safety is a burden on the small town.

But most of the concern is about the possible maliciousness of the act of putting glass in an area of the pool where children would be.

“This wasn’t just a bottle thrown over the fence. Somebody collected this glass from another location. (They) brought it here, intentionally put it where young kids would obviously be in the pool at. That takes a lot of time and thought,” Wieland said.

With weeks left until school starts back up, and the unrelenting heat of summer, some are hopeful to see the pool back in order soon.

“It would be nice to get it open again this year, but I doubt that happens that quickly. It usually shuts when they start school anyway, so we’ll just hope for next summer,” Collins said.

Unfortunately, Wieland said they will be holding off on getting the pool back open until next year as the cost to fix the problem is unknown as of now.

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