BELLOWS FALLS — It's more than the pool.
That's what Rockingham recreation officials have discovered since the newly refurbished pool and 3,000-square-foot recreation facility opened last August at the Bellows Falls playground.
“Our recreation program has expanded incredibly because of this new building,” said Rockingham Recreation Department Director Brad Weeks. “We have been able to offer activities all fall, winter, and spring that we never had before. About 20 kids come up here every day after school to take advantage of the site.”
Their choices include billiards, air hockey, board games, table tennis, Wii games, arts and crafts, basketball, and other outdoor activities.
Weeks said that the community can be proud of the increase in youth activities that the new facility has made possible. During the February and April school vacations, an average of 30 to 40 youngsters attended daily. Previously, there was no facility to host a town-sponsored indoor recreation program during those vacation times.
In addition, the space has hosted a Halloween party, an Easter egg hunt, birthday parties, and meeting space for local groups and organizations. Each day, in the early afternoon, the recreation center hosts a group of special needs students for ping pong and other table games. Weeks would like to add more senior activities, including a bowling tournament using the Wii system.
Weeks is at the site every day from about 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. to provide a space for residents of any age to gather. From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, staff member Kelly Reeve is on hand to direct activities, while Ryan Stoodley and Rose Thompson fill that role on the weekends.
Weeks said that the Rockingham Selectboard anticipated the expansion of the recreation program when the new facility opened, and added $14,000 to his $125,000 budget to fund the change. This past winter, because of the new water hook-up at the building, the department was able to offer a full-size rink for ice hockey, which also offered a place for hockey players, skaters, and sledders to warm up.
This summer, the department is adding an adventure camp for fifth- through eighth-graders that will include canoeing, hiking, rock climbing, biking, and overnight camping under the leadership of Danny Mustapha and Janos Langkowski.
The site hours will expand when the pool opens for the summer season on Saturday, June 18, and the Recreation Facilities Committee, which spearheaded the upgrade of the pool and the replacement of the former outdated recreation building, is planning a grand opening the same day to acknowledge those who made it possible.
“We're hoping to have Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch here to thank them for their help with securing the funding,” said Weeks. The public will also be invited to share in the celebration.
The committee is hoping for a mass first-of-the-season plunge into the pool to kick off the summer.
“We were closed for most of last summer while the pool work was going on,” said Weeks, “but we had lots of folks up here after we opened in August, so we're anticipating a big crowd here over this summer.”
Weeks said that everybody loves the new pool, especially the slide, along with the great changing rooms that replaced the old, dingy ones. “And we're adding a new teeter-totter, thanks to the generosity of a local resident,” he added.
More information is available by contacting Weeks at 802-463-9732, or by visiting www.rockinghamrecreation.com.