LISD fitness center nears opening day
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Brenda Sommer Treading Carefully Louise ISD board member David Menefee checks out a treadmill to the amusement of Superintendent Andy Peters when the board went Monday night to check out the just-arrived equipment at the district's new fitness center. The center will soon be open for free use by students and paid use by Louise residents.

Gym-starved Louise residents might want to begin their warm-up stretches because it won't be long before the new Louise ISD fitness center will be accepting memberships.

"The kids will start using the fitness center this week," Superintendent Andy Peters said. "But we are not quite ready to take memberships yet."

The LISD board of trustees took a tour of the new center Monday, seeing for the first time the dozen or so brandnew Nautilus machines on one side of the room and the stationary bicycles and treadmills on the other. Cameras and alarms provide security for the center, as will a card-entry system that has yet to be purchased.

The district created the center, at a cost of about $57,000, to accommodate fitness gear it bought with a $200,000 federal grant for physical education equipment and teacher training. In September, trustees decided to put the center in the old gym, and last month the board set initial fees and hours for use by the public, times and costs which can be adjusted if they don't work out.

Peters told the board Monday he was still getting quotes for the card-en- try system that will regulate who can enter the gym and gather data on that for security purposes.

Once open, the center will be available from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., except when in use by the district. Use of the facility will be free for district employees, and their spouses may use the center for $30 per quarter. Louise ISD students from the junior high and high school may use the center for free, but must be accompanied by an adult.

The community may use the fitness center for $60 per quarter per person, or $100 per quarter for two adults from the same home.

Children below junior high age are not allowed to use the facility, or accompany adults there.

Peters said he hope to have the center ready for use by the public within a couple of weeks, but not until the card-access system is up and running.