KINDRED, N.D. - Josh Hejtmanek may have moved to Colorado, but he knows where he grew up.
"I come back every year for this," Hejtmanek, 32, of Kindred said. "Seeing friends and family, I like to see how the community changes."
For the second year in a row, Hejtmanek won the Kindred Community Days 5k run/walk to "Save the Pool" with a time of 16:48.
The race was delayed by the thunderstorms early Saturday morning but continued once the weather cleared.
"It was a lot of fun. My mom pre-registered me for the race when I wasn't here," Hejtmanek said. "I'm in Colorado now and there are a lot of hills. This course was nice and flat."
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For the past three years, proceeds from the 5k race have been put toward a fund to repair the community pool, said Brenda Young, co-chair of the 5k.
"Our pool is about 50 years old right now. The slide is waiting for parts, and after the race, we should have enough to cover the repairs," Young said. "It's an ongoing thing in a community. We just want people to be aware that it's costly to keep up a community pool."
Several vendors set up stands in Kindred Park where the community and visitors could peruse items and give donations.
The youngsters of the community were lining the streets for the community parade.
"Sam's favorite is the John Deere tractor," Tonya Sorenson of West Fargo said. "He's so excited when he sees them."
Three-year-old Sam Sorenson held his candy bag out during the parade, a delighted squeal emerging whenever a tractor rolled down the streets.
Kenedi, 6, Bailee, 4, and their little sister, Whitney Stoddard, 1, waved at the passing parade and collected candy when it was tossed.
Kindred's Community Days ends today with an event at the pool from 1 to 9 p.m.
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Despite the slide issues, the pool has been open for the better part of the summer.
"We couldn't go on the slide the last day of swimming lessons," Hope Rohrbeck, 8, said.
"I have a lot of fun at the pool. The kneeling dive is my favorite," she said. "I try to keep it a small splash."
Visit http://cityofkindrednd.com for a full list of events.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Danielle Cintron at (701) 235-7311
