RICHMOND, Vt. (AP) – A Richmond man plans to buy the Huntington Gorge, a scenic and dangerous swimming hole, to keep it open to the public.

Gary Bressor on Tuesday said he had worked out a deal to buy two sections of land, which include the gorge and a parking area, from the landowners. They live in Ohio and Florida. Bressor said he expected to complete the purchase of the gorge itself in October and the parking area within a few months. The purchase prices were not immediately disclosed.

“I think it’s a beautiful a place with a lot of water powered industrial history,” Bressor said. “I spent hundreds of hours there as a kid and hate to think that I’m the last generation to enjoy it.”

At least 20 people, including a state police diver trying to retrieve a body, have died over the past 44 years in the treacherous, roiling waters that drop through a series of rock formations.

The most recent death happened in June when a 19-year-old woman drowned after she slipped and was swept downstream by the rain-swollen Huntington River.

The area has several signs warning people of the danger and listing the names of many of those who have died at the popular swimming hole.

The Select Board has been looking for ways to protect the public from the dangers of the gorge.

Ideas have ranged from setting dynamite to the gorge to eliminating parking and adding signs to discourage public use.

Bressor, a building contractor and former state legislator, said that although he would keep the gorge open to the public, he would improve the signs in the area that warn about the dangers of the waterway.

Bressor said he would examine suggestions for how to improve the safety at the gorge.

and analyze how and where the deaths occurred in the gorge to determine if there are ways to prevent accidents in the future.

Bressor said he plans to hold a public meeting in January to present ideas for signs and other warnings to gorge visitors.

“My goal is to change the way many people feel about the gorge, to make it as treasured a spot for most people as the Round Church or the Cochran Ski Area” in Richmond, he said.

AP-ES-09-13-05 1647EDT