Pools, ice cream help residents stay cool
With temperatures reaching 90 degrees or higher over the weekend, hundreds Butler County residents flocked to several of the public pools in the county trying to beat the heat.
About an hour after opening Saturday, the Alameda Waterpark in Butler Township saw nearly 400 people trying to keep the heat at bay.
Pam Witham, of Butler, said she moved here in November, and this was the second time she had brought her daughter, Olivia, 1, to the pool.
“It is a very nice pool,” she said. “It is super clean, the employees are all very nice, and it by far surpasses everything I've seen before.”
She said all the attractions such as the slides, diving boards and splash zone — while Olivia may not be ready for them just yet — are a great way entertain the children.
Scott Andrejchak, county director of administrative services, said he brought his daughter Anastasia, 4, for swimming lessons.
“We love it here, we use the playground, we use the pool, these facilities are just great for residents,” he said.
Andrejchak praised the “friendly environment” of the Alameda facilities.
Armco Park Pool, on Centreville Pike in Slippery Rock Township, was also packed with residents trying to stay cool.
Nearly 100 people kept the temperatures at bay by enjoying the pool and splash zone facilities that are offered.
The park and pool, run by the Butler County Family YMCA, is a great way to beat the heat, said Pat Turberville, of Slippery Rock.
Turberville, who works at AK Steel said he appreciates the way the YMCA “fixed up the park.”
He said he brought his kids to the pool because of the heat.
“It is really nice for the kids with the splash zone and everything they have here,” he said.
Cindy Martinez, of Butler, said she and her husband, John, were baby-sitting her grandchildren, Keira Finke, 3, and Liam Finke, 4, who live in Slippery Rock and decided it was the perfect day to take them to the pool.
“This is the best way to beat the heat,” she said. “And a great way to do something fun with the kids all day.”
Martinez said she used to bring her children to the pool when they were little, and likes that she can now bring her grandchildren.
Katie Guzak, of Orlando, Fla., said she comes back to the area every year around July 4 to celebrate with family members, who were having a picnic Saturday.
“We love it here,” she said.
Her children, Kennedy, 4, and Graham, 2, especially enjoyed the splash zone.Cara Kreibel, of Butler, said because her sister, Katie, was in town, the family decided to take the kids to the pool for the day.“This is just a fun thing to do with family,” she said. “And a great way to deal with the heat.”Her daughter, Andrea, 3, enjoyed the splash zone with her cousins, while her big sister Raegan, 8, was playing mermaid, swimming around with a mermaid-tail swimsuit.Harry Pieri spent the weekend with her grandchildren Cash, 8, and Daniel, also 8, filling their weekend with watery recreational activities, area events and finally ending up at the ice cream shops.“We've been on vacation with these kids,” Pieri said. “They've gone to a lot of waterparks. We had the Ellwood City festival today, and on the way back we stopped to have ice cream.”She said her grandchildren love to swim.By 5:30 p.m. Sunday cars packed into ice cream shop parking lots as scores of residents filtered in and out, briskly making it back to their air conditioned cars with their ice cream intact.Some, like Bob and Irene Watson, have made patronizing the local ice cream shop a frequent occurrence, combining personal preference for the frozen treat with practical ways to stave off the heat.“I had to come up to Lowe's, and we always come here,” said Bob Watson. “Whenever we come up to Butler we come up here.”And when the product is good, the heat can be just the excuse one needs to have a cool snack..“It's good ice cream,” said Irene.Caleb Harshberger contributed to this report.
