Rain Or Shine––

Dickinson Park Pool Opens This Weekend

By Dottie Evans

Landscaping activity has been under way at Dickinson Park this week signaling the official beginning of summer for many Newtown children and their parents.

School is out and the pool opens Saturday. What more could a kid want?

Maybe a sunny weekend?

“Actually, they’ve been swimming at Treadwell since Memorial Day, and nobody has seemed to mind the rain,” said Parks and Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian on Wednesday.

The Town of Newtown has two pools available for use by residents and the Treadwell Park pool, which is also available to out-of-town residents, opened a month ago. That park is located in Sandy Hook off Philo Curtis Road.

 Pool passes are needed for both facilities, and they may be obtained at the Park and Recreation Department office at Town Hall South off Main Street and Route 302. A family pass for residents good for use at both pools costs $100. Out-of-town residents must pay an additional fee to swim at Treadwell Park. The Parks and Recreation Department phone number is 270-4340.

Dickinson and Treadwell parks are open every day from 8 am to sundown. In addition to swimming, they feature playgrounds, tennis courts, and ball fields. Each park has a pavilion that may be rented by groups.

The entrance to Dickinson Park is off Elm Drive and Brushy Hill Road.

A recent Parks and Recreation Department planting project at Dickinson included removal of undergrowth to improve sight lines for cars exiting the park, and the placement of flowers around the sign and at the base of large landscape rocks.

“We’ve got more extensive plans for the Dickinson entrance,” added Mrs Kasbarian, as she mentioned a wider entry road and gates to be installed.

But that is for the future. For now, when summer officially arrives at 3 pm Saturday, both pools will be open and that is all we need to know.