By: Jasmine Taylor
After undergoing a much-needed renovation over the summer, Missouri Western’s indoor pool was re-opened with a public ribbon ceremony August 30. The Eagleton pool, named after late Senator Thomas Eagleton, garnered the attention of students, faculty and community members alike while paying an unveiling tribute to the legacy Senator Eagleton left on Missouri Western.
According to Shana Meyer, the vice president for student affairs, the pool had major issues before its revamp.
“We were facing lifeguard shortages,” Meyers said. “Pool usage was at an all-time low and the pool was leaking an astronomical 5 gallons of water every 45 seconds.”
Western officials went back and forth, deciding if the pool was worth refurbishing. The pool debate created a large amount of controversy. With the significant amount of money being put into the pool and the facility not being used, turning it into another gym or recreational area was a topic of discussion. After numerous meetings, discussions and help from Mayor Falkner and the support of the community, the restoration of the pool went from a plan on paper to its grand re-opening.
When discussing the pool and its new and improved look, Jerry Gentry, director of physical planning, gave in depth details on how the project came together.
“When we found out that we had partners with the school district, the city and the county and everybody wanted to contribute, then it was a really good working system,” Gentry said. “We found out how much interest there was with keeping, maintaining and getting a new indoor pool and everyone said this is the direction we want to go.”
The ceremony was held outside of the pool entrance and was attended by Western students and faculty, St. Joseph legislators and members of the St. Joseph community. Mayor Falkner, Dr. Marvin Looney, Western’s former president, SGA President Alec Guy and other recognized leaders gave a few short words about the remarkable new look of the pool. They also spoke about dedicating the pool to late Senator Eagleton who is responsible for funding many projects on Western’s campus, including the construction of the original pool.
The new pool layout is similar to the original, but the locker rooms and restrooms were completely renovated and updated. The new pool impressed local visitors, students and faculty members at the ceremony. The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new and improved Eagleton Pool was a great way to start out the 2016 fall semester. With other big projects on the way, we can expect even more impressive restorations to further improve Western’s campus this year.
