Closed for about three years due to needed repairs, the Ashe County Middle School pool will reopen with a celebration planned at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 1. The program will begin in the gym and conclude in the pool area.

The pool has remained closed to the public prior to the 2008 summer because of compliance issues including a leak in the structure, backwash issues, tile replacement, infrastructure reworking, and an outdated skimming system. It has been repaired through an agreement among the county commissioners, board of education and a community fundraising group, each contributing approximately $83,000 to the project.

The original pool dates from 1975 when students, faculty and friends in the community of the former Northwest Ashe High School in Warrensville worked together to build the first indoor swimming pool on a public school campus in North Carolina. The idea for building a pool came from students who took their idea to then principal, Morris Walker. Vocational education instructors Swansie Shepherd, Gwyn Campbell and Cecil Shoaf were instrumental in bringing the project to fruition. Arvil Roark, school custodian, handled all the transportation needs. The students in the masonry, carpentry and welding classes worked on this project along with teachers and other members of the student body. Community members assisted with this endeavor by donating their time, encouragement and money to finance the project.