Officials looking at new aquatics center for UCC

 WINCHESTER, Ore. -- The Umpqua Community College Board of Trustees is thinking about replacing the campus swimming pool.

The plan includes not just a new pool, but a fully functional aquatics center.

One of the hopes, is to put a retractable cover over the pool, making it available all year long.

"We'd put anywhere from 350 to 1,000 kids in this pool daily," said UCC Health Department Chair, Cheryl Yoder, "and that's during the height of the summer. Now where do they go?"

Yoder has worked at Umpqua Community College for 26 years. She was hired as an aquatics instructor back when the pool was pristine.

She says she has seen her students mature in this very pool as it degraded over time. "I'ts really sad to see the situation that it's in, and we're doing our best to try to get it up and running for our college here as well as the community."

The board of trustees met Wednesday to discuss fundraising efforts for the project.

The existing pool has been drained, damaged and out of service since last summer.

UCC student Kelly McKinney said he never even had a chance to enjoy the pool while he could. "I wanted to bring my grand kids up because they're just getting to the age where they were three last summer, and they just turned four. They love to swim."

Officials say the pool is so damaged they can't even replace it.

The re-build plan includes some fun features as well as some practical ones. Among them are a 6- lane lap pool, a lazy river for kids and a rehabilitation area.