SWIM: Community missing from Kroc

I attended the Swimming Championships in the Kroc Center. I was excited to watch my friend's children compete in such a high level event in a great facility. I was badly mistaken. The Kroc Center found a way to aim high and shoot low.

From the unfriendly "NO FOOD OR DRINK" sign in the front lobby to extremely aggressive and rude employees in the pool area, this is not what I thought I was donating to when the center was being built. Although it appeared that the swim meet was running without a hitch, there was a lot of tension in the air caused by the swim Nazis in orange KROC STAFF shirts. I noticed a friend as I walked in and began speaking to him while we leaned up against the wall in the mezzanine area. Within 30 seconds the orange army made it very clear that no standing is allowed.

Throughout the swim meet, a recurring theme continued to surface. "DON"T MESS WITH US, WE ARE THE KROC CENTER." Obviously the Kroc Center has not read its own Web page. "The 123,000-square-foot Coeur d'Alene Kroc Center redefines what a community center is all about...and to transform the life of each and every member of the community." Or maybe they have. It's about the Kroc Center Cronies and not the Community. It is a sad day for Coeur d'Alene. This is not Joan Kroc's vision.

ROBERT KOBRICK

Coeur d'Alene