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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Featured Galleries: July 7, 2007 SOU pool closes By Julie French Ashland Daily Tidings Orville Hector | Daily Tidings ABOVE: The door to the SOU pool displays a sign informing the public the pool is closed. FRONT: Ashland High Water Polo team goalie Cameron Mitzel reacts to a shot during a Nov. 1, 2005 match at the Southern Oregon University pool. The Southern Oregon University pool officially closed last week after failing to raise the $112,000 required by July 1 — the end of the university's fiscal year. The pool has not been drained however, leaving the possibility of reopening if the remaining $48,000 can be raised. User fees and community fundraising have earned $64,000 since the pending closure was announced in February. If fundraising continues at its current pace, the goal could be reached in as little as two months, said Cyndi Mathews, executive director of the Aquatics Foundation of Southern Oregon. AFSO recently received $2,000 from the Oregon Family Foundation and will receive $2,500 from the Harry and David Foundation later this month. The university may also consider a private management option, which SOU alumnus Michael Ashe will present to the provost in a meeting scheduled for July 17. "We're cautiously optimistic that this could bring us one step closer to keeping the pool," Mathews said. "We are willing to accommodate whatever they need." The pool closure is part of the $4 million budget cuts SOU began in 2006. The university does not have athletic teams using the pool, and the operations cost burden was placed mainly on four community groups that do use the facility — Ashland and Phoenix High School aquatics teams, Rogue Valley Masters, Southern Oregon Water Polo. "Over the past 20 years, SOU has given everyone a screaming deal — basically letting everyone steal the pool," said Todd Lantry, president of the Rogue Valley Masters. The group paid $3,000 in 2006 to use the pool, and $2,000 annually in previous years. Groups faced increased usage fees this year — up to $100 per hour — which meant fewer people could afford to swim there. The master swimmers reduced their practice hours to save money, and now that the pool is closed, they have dispersed to nearby facilities such as Daniel Meyer — and lost some members in the process. High school teams are also exploring alternative practice and competition facilities for upcoming water polo and swim seasons. "It's going to be a rough season," said Ashland swim coach Steve Mitzel. "There's going to be adversity for the kids." Mitzel has talked with Jackson WellSprings and is considering several other practice options. For meets, his teams will travel to pools in Klamath or Grants Pass. Mitzel doesn't foresee losing athletes and said splitting the teams up to practice at different times or facilities might improve coaching by allowing a smaller coach-to-swimmer ratio. Andrew Cataldo, a senior at Ashland, said he still plans to complete his final water polo and swim seasons. He expects most of his friends will be there too. "That's a sacrifice that all of us are willing to make because we love to swim and play water polo," he said. Staff Writer Julie French can be reached at 482-3456 ext. 227 or [email protected] . Current Comments: Timely article with, apparently, bad news for the whole valley. Why no comments from SOU? Why no comments from Ashland Parks & Rec? Don Quixote - Ashland - July 7th, 5:13 PM SOU won't say anything because they are the ones that are really screwing everyone over. Parks & Rec has been good. And you're right, this is really terrible news for the valley. Sancho Panza - Ashland - July 8th, 12:33 AM First the library, now a swimming pool. Hey, if times are that hard in southern Oregon maybe you folks ought to think about bake sales, lemonade stands and the like. Come on, pull together. Don't just dry up and blow away. Some of us dream of winning the big prize in a Lotto and movin' to a cabin in the Siskew mountains overlooking the Rogue River. I'm one of those and I counted on being able to come into Ashland once a month for supplies. Thomas Van Orden Austin, Texas Thomas Van Orden ( [email protected] ) - Austin, Texas - July 8th, 8:26 AM another failure of Oregon's Democratic leadership in Salem. Oh if only we could blame the Bush war machine for our own elected (and re-elected) inept leaders. Come on-any Dem is better right, socialism and subsidies, Big Brother takes care of all my problems? How about building business and expanding the job market and tax base? Consider "progressive" may be spelled R-e-p-u-b-l-i-c-a-n. Time to act locally.Look to the City, County, and State, in that order, for economic growth and stability. Mike ( [email protected] ) - Talent - July 8th, 10:36 AM This is a necessary evil. Zinser pushed for expanded programs without thinking of where the money would come from. Now Callihan has to deal with this budget crisis and everyone is blaming her. If it wasn't for Big Z's Reagan-esque approach to university management, there might still be a pool. Hank - Ashland, OR - July 8th, 12:50 PM I don't doubt that Cullinan's intentions are in the interest of SOU, but closing the pool isn't going to help. Relatively, it's a very small amount of money, and an irreplaceable resource. As a school, they have under-utilized the pool, and they have never managed it well. They should give the community a rational amount of time to raise funds, underwrite a percentage of that cost themselves (as it is ultimately preserving a resource that they own), and get it managed by an outside company. swim parent - Ashland - July 8th, 5:23 PM I agree with Sancho.. it's SOU that's really screwing everyone over. All you have to do is look to their AD.. he cut just about every community event.. NYSP for example,now the pool...yet he reaches out to our community business leaders for monetary handouts to do what? Oh yeah.. support Raider athletics. Maybe SOU should support the community for once and leave the pool alone! Mark - Ashland - July 8th, 8:28 PM Since there IS a pool in town, it seems that this one is not an "essential" facility. However, if there are 1000 people who feel so strongly about it, they should contribute $48 each (or 500 people...$96 each, or 250 people...$192 each) to keep it open. This way, the burden doesn't fall to those who neither need nor use it. This is NOT a library and NOT critical to the community at large, especially since there are alternatives...inconvenient, maybe, but existant nonetheless. Simple! - Ashland, OR - July 9th, 9:42 AM I just can't believe it! I remember swimming in that pool 35 years ago when my dad was the grounds keeper at SOSC. It needs to stay open! What a shame.... Laura - Denver, CO - July 9th, 10:19 AM Simple!, there is no pool in town that can be used for water polo or competitive swimming. Daniel Meyer pool is too shallow to be legal for those purposes, not to mention that it's closed most of the year. The Y pool was also not built to regulation for aquatic sports. You are incorrect: There is NO other facility in town (or even in the Valley) for aquatic sports. That's the problem. swim parent - Ashland - July 9th, 1:28 PM Why don't we build one? Community swim centers are great. Check out the Northwest Aquatic Center in Clackamas. If not in Ashland, then somewhere in the Rogue. Hank - Ashland - July 9th, 7:50 PM Well, ok, swim parent... Then it's time those of you who "need" a pool for water polo or competitive swimming to pony up for it (see my figures above). Those of us who don't participate in those activities need not support those of you who do. Those activities are NOT an essential or necessary enhancement of the way of life here. Nice to have, maybe, but NOT essential. Simple! - Ashland, OR - July 10th, 8:51 AM Simple!, no one is talking about taxes or levies here. It's all private money. So don't worry. swim parent - Ashland - July 10th, 9:43 AM wow, simple, you are pretty zonked. who said anything about you supporting anybody? did you even read the article? people here are so freaked out about clutching their nickles that they panic even when nobody's even talking about taking them. not a commie under every bed, now it a tax under every bed, even when it's not. relax. let the people work to keep the pool open. i don't use it either, but i hope they are successful. living in paranoid land - Ashland - July 10th, 10:48 AM paranoid: YES, I read the article. My comments are essentially responding to those above who seem to somehow imply that SOU and or Parks & Rec (both supported by TAX dollars) are complicit in this problem and are somehow at least partly to blame. Before making your snide remarks about me (who you do not know) take a breath and use some critical thinking tools understand the article AND the comments in their context. Try using the shift key to give yourself a bit more credibility. It's easy. Simple! - Ashland, OR - July 10th, 11:59 AM Simple, you have an defintion of "essential" which seems to mean "something I need". I don't need Ashland Schools because I am not a parent, but I'll be first in line to support them, or any number of other services I don't use, because they are important to my community. A responsible citizen puts the needs of the community before their own. Pools, libraries (don't even get me started on that), parks, opportunities for children to play and stay fit- I would argue that these are quite essential. bp - Ashland - July 10th, 12:11 PM I thought extortion is a crime. But this is the tactic being used by the SOU athletic director against the community. The $112,000 figure that is being tossed about is pure bunk. The pool could be left open and run for much less than that. It doesn't need a full-time equivalent position to run it, since after all, it is in the same building housing the basketball and volleyball courts, and the salary of such a person should be covered by the other budget line items. Let's see the numbers. Questions the Numbers - Ashland, OR - July 10th, 12:32 PM Simple, how SOU allocates their budget (whether on the pool or landscaping or salaries or PizzaWithThePresident parties)will not effect the amount of public funds they get, nor will it effect your taxes. Parks&Rec has been helpful with research & info, not money, so no tax worry there either. The issue is one of unreasonable sums being demanded on an unreasonable time line after years of poor management. The pool is an economic asset to our community. Events there bring in people who spend $$$. also an aqua parent - ashland, or - July 10th, 4:54 PM Until SOU stops pouring money down the rat-hole they call football, any further cuts are not justified. Many schools (including OIT) have reached the same conclusion. It's long past time for SOU to do the same. SeppiSlice - Ashland - July 10th, 7:24 PM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising: Debt Help Inkjet Printers Payday Loans Free Ringtones Debt Consolidation Security Systems Debt Relief New Hampshire Primary Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Del.icio.us