Shelton Pool Closure Protest and Meeting

Last week the Shelton School Board  voted to shut down the high school pool. Pool supporters are protesting. I love to photograph protests, so I that is what I went out and did.

I really liked this picture, I felt like it was a winner even before I shot it.  Cute kids following the rule of thirds, what more could a photojournalist ask for?

Maddie McGee, left, Laura McGee, holding Jace McGee, and Kason McGee hold signs supporting the
The Shelton Hight School pool remaining open Feb 19. 2015 in front of the Shelton Timberland Library

The paper preferred this version, I think because it is more candid that the one above.

Members of the Shelton School Board face about 250 attendees Tuesday at CHOICE Alternative School

I submitted several photos of this scene including a two photo panorama.  The paper used my panorama.

From Left:  Pool supporters Anne Flynn, Kadie-Tsark, and Paxson Walsworth hold up signs
in support of keeping the pool open.  This was on Railroad ave in Shelton, Washington on
 Thursday Feb. 19th 2015 at 4:45pm

At 5pm  Pool supporter Michelle Schreiber holds up a sign in front of the library.
Other pool supporters can be seen in the background 

Pool supporters hold up re-purposed signs in front of the library, other protesters are across the street.

Pool supporters reused signs from other campaigns including this "Save our Air" sign on the left

At 5:50 PM Pool Supporters chant and hold up signs on the street below the Shelton  School

 District Board room at Choice High School.  Pool Supporters left at six when the board meeting started.  This

is the view of the pool supporters from the Board Room

I was outside photographing protesters when I realized that the shot I really wanted was the view from the school board, so I ran upstairs and took this shot through the window.

At 7pm the community meets at the Civic Center to discuss options for saving the pool.
Jacquie MacAlevy is at the podium

Later pool supporters had a meeting of their own in the Civic Center.  The Civic Center has nice lighting, but the ceiling is probably too high for bouncing my flash.  I did bounce my flash of a wall for some shots.

Mary Jean Hrbacek speaks out against saving the High School Pool.   She is holding up a copy of
 a newspaper with her full page advertisement that she said that she paid $950 to run