Various community fundraisers spearheaded by the Ashe County Middle School Pool Project are now underway to help raise $83,000 to save the school’s swimming pool, which has fallen out of compliance with state regulations.

In an attempt to save the pool, which has been a community icon since the 1970s, the county hopes to apply for a Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) grant that would provide $250,000 in funding.

The county will now have to wait until February to apply for the PARTF funds.

The county, board of education, and the ACMS Pool Project each stated that they will provide $83,000 in matching funds to meet the state granted $250,000 sum. A contractor informed the board of education that it would take $500,000 to bring the pool into compliance. With the PARTF grant and matching funds, the community would meet the recommended sum to restructure the current facility.

The community-based project to save the pool hopes to meet their end of the bargain by collecting the necessary $83,000 matching fund minimum through community fundraisers. Deadline for the filing of a PARTF grant was February, but the county had hoped to apply for any leftover state funding available at the conclusion of this June. As it turns out, the application for the filing of leftover funding in June is no longer an option.

According to Community Outreach and Grants Administrator for Ashe Memorial Hospital Nancy Kautz, in order to become eligible for the redistribution of funding in June, prospective recipients must register for the first round of funding distribution in February, which the county did not do. The county will now have to wait until Feb. 2010 to apply for a PARTF grant.

During a February community meeting at the middle school concerning the future of the pool Superintendent Donnie Johnson said that the county could also look into the possibility of other grants if funds could not be allocated in June.

The first community fundraiser for the pool began with the annual ACMS Bulldog Club Krispy Kreme doughnut and coffee sale. Altogether, sales for the drive neared $9,500 with the ACMS Pool Project receiving $4,500 of the said funds, Melanie Church of the pool project committee stated. Church also stated that the next fundraising event is a spaghetti dinner that is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday at the West Jefferson United Methodist Church. A menu of spaghetti, with a choice of sauce, salad, bread, dessert, and drink will be available for a donation.

In April, the pool project will be holding a Spring Plant Sale in Warrensville in a vacant lot next to the Post Office on Apr. 4. Plants for the sale will be provided by Glen Sullivan. Proceeds from the Apr. 11 Lansing Volunteer Fire Department Chicken BBQ will also go toward the pool project. The fundraising events in April wind down with a Mountain Aire Golf Tournament on Apr. 18 and a gospel singing and pinto bean supper at Blue Ridge Elementary School on Apr. 25.

Church stated that although fundraising is its early stages, she has been pleased with the amount of support the community has demonstrated.

“It takes a lot of hard work to hold the fundraisers but everyone has been just great in helping us reach our goal,” Church said.

During the February community meeting concerning the future of the middle school pool, ACMS Principal Bobby Ashley informed concerned citizens that $8,500 in pledges for the pool had already been received, indicating a strong community backing for the pool. Ashley went on to explain that the county as a whole, not just the Warrensville community, has expressed a vested interest in saving the pool, citing that the majority of the pledges came from areas outside the Warrensville and Lansing area. Since the February meeting, pledges have reached approximately $12,800 and additional donations are anticipated, Church said.

Anyone who would like to make a donation to the pool fund can do so by sending it to the ACMS Pool Project, P.O. Box 146, West Jefferson, N.C. 28694.