Great Waves saves park

Its great news for kids, and wonderful news for Columbia County: With new owners entering the picture, Krystal River Water park opens this week.

Just over a month ago, the picture was pretty gloomy. Owner Kenneth Edwards, citing rising liability insurance costs, said he couldnt afford to open the popular Evans park. With no public pools in Columbia County, that meant pool-less kids would have to pay to become members of a neighborhood pool, travel to Clarks Hill Lake or stand in the front yard playing in sprinklers.

More urgently, the closure meant 100 teens whod counted on summer jobs at the park were sent elsewhere at a time when demand for teen labor is low.

To the rescue is Great Waves, Inc., of Atlanta, which put in a wave pool several years ago at Krystal River. The company is buying the park from Edwards, wholl help run the facility for another year.

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Great Waves- with deeper pockets - will be able to work around higher insurance costs by getting a higher deductible. And better attention to safety - the job of many of those dozens of teen workers - will keep trial lawyers and insurance companies at bay.

Along with amusements at Putt-Putt and Funsville, Krystal Rivers re-opening puts an end to childrens summertime lament of theres nothing to do.