County has ways to beat the heat

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by CARRIE LOVEJOY Skylar Maddox, 5, of Lusby and Katy-Bell Mills, 3, of Lusby play on the whale in the kiddie pool at Cove Point Park onMonday. Both girls were at the pool with their mothers, trying to cool off from extremely high temperatures. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Alexis Jo Mulloy, 3, of Tall Timbers in St. Mary’s County splashes through the Cove Point pool on Monday. Temperatures were in the upper 90s with heat indices in lower 100s. Click here to enlarge this photo Derrick Slaughter, 10, of Lusby does a belly-flop into the pool at Cove Point Park on Monday. He and his mother and sisters went to the pool looking for a reprieve from the heat.

According to the National Weather Service, a heat advisory has been in effect since June 9, with the temperatures from 95 to 105 degrees.

For those without the benefit of a cool place to go, Calvert County has cooling stations available for those in need.

The Emergency Management Operations Department put a Heat Emergency Plan in effect several years ago. The plan includes the availability of open cooling stations at Mt. Hope Community Center in Sunderland, Southern Community Center in Lusby and the Northeast Community Center in Chesapeake Beach.

‘‘The general criteria is to open a cooling station when the weather is at a heat index of 105 degrees for three consecutive days and it is open until at least 7 p.m.,” said Bobby Fenwick of Huntingtown, the director of Emergency Management Operations.

The community centers were recognized as cooling stations because they are staffed, run by county personnel and have water available. The centers are advised in the morning that they are to be turned into cooling stations.

Mt. Hope has water fountains available, along with snacks and soda machines. It also has the capacity to fit 150 people in its biggest room. The center has not received any visitors in the last several years since being designated a cooling center.

‘‘We haven’t had anyone show up in three years, but we do have activities and board games that they can play,” said Roshey Jones of Lusby. ‘‘We also have first aid and ice packs, but people usually just sit in the front of the building, instead of coming in.” Jones is the facility coordinator for the Southern Community Center in Lubsy.

The Northeast Community Center usually has the most people using its center. There are kids coming in all the time to use the gym and when temperatures soar there is plenty of water and Gatorade to hand out to the kids. That gym can fit 225 people.

People at the pool in Cove Point Park were finding a way to cool off on Monday by jumping into the water.

A group of friends from the College of Southern Maryland were cooling off in the pool, and it wasn’t hard to figure out why.

‘‘Because it’s 97 degrees outside,” said Kevin Farrell of Huntingtown. ‘‘The pool feels like it’s 80, but at least it’s not 97.”

Nikki Agambar said her friend, Missy Chapman, talked her into going to the pool. Agambar said she had already gotten plenty of sun the previous few days of hot weather, but Chapman said she was trying to get a tan.

Joann Trohan was at the pool with her grandchildren. Trohan is a Virginia resident but has been visiting her family and Monday was her fourth trip to Cove Point for swimming.

‘‘The water is perfect,” she said. ‘‘But in another day, it’ll be too warm.”

The National Weather Service Web site reminds people to wear light colored clothing, drink plenty of water, stay out of the sun, check on people that aren’t in possession of an air conditioner and never leave children or pets in locked cars. The Web site also recommends that people listen to NOAA weather radio for frequent updates.

For information on cooling stations, call 410-535-1500, Ext. 2638.