Goldsboro Pools Closed, Authorities Continue Drowning Investigation

The City of Goldsboro says until it finishes its own review, and the police finish their own investigation, no one gets in the water.

The pool at Goldsboro's Peacock Park is closed, and no one is sure when it will reopen. Police are investigating Wednesday's drowning of a 6-year-old boy.

But even the city's other pool at Mina Weil Park on the other side of town is closed until further notice. The city manager says neither will reopen until the pool safety policy is reviewed and the police finish their investigation.

"For those reasons, I decided to close the pools for about a week or a week and a half, and I think it will take about that much time to get that background examination over with. Then, we plan to reopen the pools," said City Manager Richard Slozak.

The city is also giving a break to its lifeguards who were shaken up after the death. While many neighbors understand the police review, others say they do not understand why both pools have to be shut down the whole time.

"With the pool open, we can send the children to the pool for three or four hours a day," said resident Ruth Rohde.

"I would like it to be open, because it is so close, and we don't have to walk all the way across town," said resident Darren Smith.

"When you have a such an incident of this nature, we have to sit back and re-examine everything what we are doing to make sure they are running in the safest possible manner. That's what we are doing," said Slozak

So far, the city says it has not heard the first complaint from residents. Even thought the boy died, city officials believe that the lifeguards and everyone on the staff did everything correctly.