The temperature topped 100 degrees, the humidity was high and hardly a cloud dotted the August sky. And yet, Falls City enjoyed a real soaker on Wednesday. This was a deluge that had nothing to do with precipitation but everything to do with water. And instead of a gauge, the measure of the day was the line of redhot customers who stopped by for a dip.

Falls City’s brand new Aquatic Center was dedicated on Wednesday morning and then opened to the public in the afternoon. The initial reviews are in. The Aquatic Center is a splash hit!

Kids and adults were lined up at 1 o’clock Wednesday afternoon and within a half hour, 285 swimmers were in the water. For the day, an astonishing 651 people had come through the turnstiles.

To say the new facility was worth the wait would be a soggy understatement. Most had only caught a glimpse of the site from Highway 73 and that view justdidn’t do it justice. The Aquatic Center is huge, capable of accommodating 500 swimmers at any one time, and offers something for everyone, regardless of age.

It is state-of-the-art and includes so many fun attractions that the swimsuit crowd had trouble deciding what to do first swim a lap or two, dive off one of the two boards, take a slide into the water, shoot a water canon or get really wet in the splash ground area.

Safe to say, the attractions got a full workout and passed the test.

“It just proves that Falls City has its own field of dreams. If you build it, they will come,” pool manager and Aquatic Park Advisory Committee Chairman Roger Lampe told the Journal’s Jason Schock.

City Administrator Dick Gist noted the long-term benefits the new pool will bring.

“This will be an asset to the community for years and years to come,” he told this Journal reporter.

Source:  Falls City Journal, August 20, 2006