Staff writer
In the midst of a 100-degree day, 200 Hillsboro residents came out Friday to celebrate the grand opening of one of the community’s two cool places to go in the summer.
Children happily played in the water at the Larry Paine Memorial Splash Pad while families and city dignitaries visited, watched kids having fun, and prepared lunch of roasted hot dogs and chips.
Mayor Lou Thurston talked to people there for the ribbon cutting, reflecting on Paine’s work to move the splash pad from an idea to a reality.
As he led the crowd in prayer before the meal, Thurston said the community thanked Paine for his service to Hillsboro.
Paine was city administrator 12 years before he retired in June 2020. He had battled cancer for 2½ years when he retired. He died June 2.
Paine’s widow, Susan, cut the ribbon for the grand opening, flanked by family members.
The splash pad plaza has a pavilion, outdoor eating areas, a screen for shade, and parking on Washington and A Sts.
Hillsboro’s other cool place to go in the summer, the swimming pool, has been renamed in honor of longtime mayor Delores Dalke, who died May 12.
She was a driving force in getting the swimming pool built and funded.
It is now named Delores Dalke Family Aquatic Center.