On the Saturday following the last day of school, Longfellow Elementary was to celebrate the year with the annual pool party at the Longfellow swimming pool. With more than 200 members of the school community signed up to participate, the Columbia Association threw a monkey wrench into our celebration. There was a passing thunder shower in the morning, which gave way to sunshine before the party was supposed to start.

The Columbia Association chose to close all of the pools for the day, except Swansfield and Stevens Forest. We were outraged that this could happen with no rain in sight. In fact, there was not a shower for the remainder of the weekend. With many people showing up at the Longfellow pool ready to swim, we spoke with the CA aquatics staff and they told us we could move the event to the Swansfield pool.

I met with the pool manager at Swansfield and she assured me that her staff could take on our party. I made the call to move the gathering to Swansfield. What an incredible team of individuals! They came together to set up a covered area and tables for our food, in addition to reserving many areas around the pool.

The smooth transition enabled the Longfellow families to enjoy the year-end get together. They went above and beyond their duties as lifeguards. On this day it was all about saving our party and we truly appreciated it. As for the CA aquatics office, they need to reassess how early they close the pools and find another weather channel to watch.

Eric Solomon

Harper's Choice

John Herdson, director of aquatics for the Columbia Association, said that, in addition to the Swansfield and Stevens Forest pools, the association also had the Dorsey Hall, Hopewell, Kendall Ridge and River Hill outdoor pools operating Saturday. These six pools, which are among the more heavily used and centrally located, remain open when the association goes to "limited operations" status, as it does when rain or storms are predicted, Herdson said.

During a steady rain that would keep most patrons away, the association declares "inclement weather" status, which means that only Swansfield and Stevens Forest will remain open, Herdson said, adding that all pools -- outdoor and indoor -- close for 30 minutes at the sound of thunder.

When in doubt, patrons can call the CA inclement weather hotline at 410-715-3154.

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