Vandals damage Vandergrift’s pool liner weeks before opening day

VANDERGRIFT, Pa. — Weeks before opening day, Vandergrift Swimming Pool shared that someone vandalized the pool by throwing a cinder block and pole into the deep end, damaging the liner.

The damage has left parents concerned about whether the pool will open on time for the summer season.

“My reaction was I was sad because my daughter likes to go to the swimming pool,” parent Krista Swartz said.

Another parent, Allison Frye, said the pool is a major attraction for children in the community.

“That’s like the number one thing that the kids really like to do around here,” Frye said.

Parents said they are hoping the repair work currently underway will be enough to permanently fix the problem.

“My first thought was like how expensive that must be to repair, and I was also wondering if there’s gonna be a delay when it comes to opening,” Frye said.

The pool manager said the facility does not have the money to replace the liner entirely and is hoping patchwork repairs will be enough to have the pool ready in time for opening day.

“My kid said, ‘Is it gonna open late?’ and I was like, ‘I don’t know. Hopefully they can get it repaired and it’s not gonna be too much of an issue,’” Frye said.

The manager said they are not sure who is responsible, but she believes teenagers may have been responsible for the vandalism.

“If the kids didn’t know the consequences, they don’t care or they didn’t know the consequences, now they know and maybe hopefully they won’t do it again or do any more vandalism to the rest of the area,” Swartz said.

Pool officials said they were already in the process of installing security cameras around the property before the incident occurred.

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