BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – It has been announced that Beckley pools will close over the next several days due to unforeseen circumstances.
According to a release from the City of Beckley Events Committee, both the Black Knight and Sharon Dempsey Memorial (New River) Pools will experience unanticipated closures to varying degrees throughout the remainder of the month.
The information provided indicates that these closures will occur due to a lack of lifeguards.
The Black Knight pool, notably, has managed to avoid closures almost entirely, with Saturday, 7/23/22 being announced as the only day Black Knight will be affected by this shortage.
The larger Sharon Dempsey Memorial (New River) Pool, which can accommodate a significantly greater number of swimmers, has been announced to be short on lifeguards for four of the month’s remaining days. This stands to reason, as the Black Knight Pool, which can accomodate roughly 100 swimmers, requires fewer on-duty lifeguards to legally operate.
Lifeguard shortages have been an ongoing issue not only in Raleigh County, but throughout the State of West Virginia over the past few years – recent LOOTPRESS coverage on the national shortage can be found here.
The shortage was a topic of several meetings of the Raleigh County Commission earlier this year – coverage of which can be found here – and a deal was reportedly made in recent months with USA Pools which would help to alleviate the lifeguard issue.
The closure dates as announced are as follows:
Black Knight – Closed Saturday, 7/23/22
Sharon Dempsey (New River) – Closed Saturday 7/23/22
Sharon Dempsey (New River) – Closed Sunday 7/24/22
Sharon Dempsey (New River) – Closed Friday 7/29/22
Sharon Dempsey (New River) – Closed Sunday 7/31/22