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Letter to the editor: Save Dease Pool

My name is Jeanetty Gall Jumah, and McKellar Ward is where I grew up and live today.
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Letters to the editor

To the editor:

McKellar Ward is where I grew up and live today. Many people in this area are good people and citizens of Thunder Bay, but have much poorer incomes to live on, not very different from my own family when I was growing up.

Mayor and City Council, please start putting people first in Planning and that meanskeeping services that will help people in our community have better lives, and yes Dease Pool which has not been repaired for years despite Administration recommendations needs to be rebuilt.

How are we supposed to improve our city centre, areas around Syndicate Avenue, and in McKellar Ward, which have become very unsafe, if we close, safe, free, healthy activities out of this area, like a swimming pool that is accessible many hours all summer long for our youth and children and spend money on more studies?

So little again for McKellar Ward. We need to take back these areas.

Our city has spent millions on other parts of our city, but will not consider revitalizing Dease Pool for these families where so little has been done in the past. It breaks my heart. These families and children deserve to be treated fairly because with opportunities they too can grow up to be valuable members and leaders of our community. Widnall Pool is no longer an option for them because frankly it is no longer safe to let youth walk from Bethune to Widnall.

In the past I walked to Dease Pool, but would never have children do that today. I know what it is like to have lived with hard times, but also know how much it meant to my family and friends to have opportunities like this because of our inability to pay for organized sports.

My suggestion would be to remove the resolution to permanently close the pool. Get realistic quotes for a decent small pool with heated water which would attract more visitors, based on the model presented by Kateri Banning, and have the city plan to rebuild Dease Pool at its current location. Use the $300,000 removal costs towards the building.

The job of councillors requires they make decisions, and revisit decisions made if they see they have negative impacts on our citizens. Costs need to be considered but the people and their circumstances should always be at the forefront of decisions.

McKellar Ward, city centre and surrounding areas have so many problems, and if city council helps to improve conditions in these areas, I believe we will build a safer and more accepting community, saving us money in the long run. The pool was not repaired when the City was advised over the years to do so. With grants/funding, if available, realistic estimates, and city investment, we can rebuild Dease Pool for our community.

Put people first. Meet the needs of the people in McKellar Ward and surrounding areas which have become very unsafe and neglected areas, where many families with lower incomes live, people who cannot easily afford the cost of many activities available in our city.

Please rebuild Dease Pool.

Jeanetty Gall Jumah,
Thunder Bay

 

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