CHALLENGER MAY GET POOL, GYMNASIUM TEACHER HAS TAKEN UP CAUSE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LAKE LOS ANGELES - Challenger Middle School teacher Mary Hanna wants Lake Los Angeles to enter the 21st century in terms of recreation facilities.

Lake Los Angeles has no pool, a sharp contrast to New York state where Hanna grew up and where there seemed to be at least one pool or pond in every community.

``To move out to the desert where it's 103, 108 degrees in the summer, and children have no pool, it's absolutely shocking to me,'' said Hanna, a seventh-grade English literature and social studies teacher.

Students who have good grades and don't need summer school sign up for those classes anyway, simply for the air conditioning, Hanna said.

``It's hot, with the cost of gasoline and not making it to a pool (outside Lake Los Angeles), the only place they would get relief from the heat was to sign up for summer school because they would get air conditioning for part of the day. That's not fair.''

The closest pool for Lake Los Angeles' 15,000 residents is about 12 miles away, at the county-run Everett Martin Park in Littlerock.

Hanna wants to build an Olympic-size indoor pool and gymnasium on the grounds of Challenger Middle School that is envisioned to be part of a community complex that will be open to everyone.

She has been meeting with community leaders and others interested in the idea about once a week since July in her classroom after school gets out.

Lake Los Angeles Town Council and parks association member Ruth Marks has been to the meetings and said the pool and gym complex is desperately needed.

``This town has a problem of children who have nothing to do after school. They need supervised activities while parents commute from down below,'' Marks said. ``We have a hot climate. With a proper gym and pool, we can have a great place for all the activities, instead of having to travel all those miles that it takes to get to the nearest pool.''

The proposal has slowly been gathering steam, with the group gathering resolutions or letters of support from the Wilsona School District school board, the Town Council, and the local senior citizens association.

Preliminary estimates have the project costing $3.5 million, and backers are looking for funding sources.

Representatives from Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich's office said they are aware of the community's desire for a pool and gym and will be meeting in the near future with officials from the county Chief Administrative Office and the community.

The Challenger Community Complex would provide a place for seniors to gather and attend pool exercise classes, which they now do at the Eastside Pool in Lancaster near 5th Street East and Avenue I, Hanna said.

The center could also provide a meeting place for different organizations, like the Boys & Girls Club.

The pool and gym building could also provide better physical education facilities for Challenger students, who have to use the cafeteria/multipurpose room during bad weather.