What do you do to beat the heat?
For seniors, it is all about finding air conditioning and staying in it. And for dogs, it’s all about the owner finally caving, and doing the same.
“My husband finally put in the air conditioning in last night, for the dog of course,” said Jane Larkin, who brought her puppy, Heidi, to Stenger Farm Dog Park Thursday afternoon. “He wouldn’t do it for me, but once the dog got hot, that was it.”
Robert Morris brought his four dogs to the park as well. Three lay underneath the park bench, to avoid the heat, while the fourth, a German shepherd named Joekeet, lay in the sun.
“They are okay now,” Morris said. “But in an hour or so they will be in my downstairs, laying on the cold tiles to stay cool.”
Seniors at the senior center experienced similar problems, trying to avoid the hot day. Several were found in the community center, where the air conditioning kept the temperature reasonable. However, outside it was bad, they said.
“Oh, God, terrible,” Senior Larry Chiappone said. “I don’t like this heat.”
The fall and spring have the best temperatures, senior Kay Arnold said. The summer and the winter bring out too much extremes, she said.
“The humidity is the worst part,” Arnold said. “I feel bad for all the people who have to work in this weather.”
Some of the worse-off seniors can be susceptible to such hot temperatures, and don’t have the money to cool their homes, senior Ray Church said.
“With the economy this way, (seniors) are scared to turn the air conditioning on,” Church said. “Some of the seniors can get very sick, even die, if they don’t get the cold air.”
The town provides free transportation to all seniors, so if they are hot they can come to the community center and cool off, Church said. For the seniors in really bad shape, you just have to hope some organization or family member helps them out, he said.
‘They need cool air,” Church said. “You hope they can get some help.”
Forecast
The heat should continue the rest of today, with thunderstorms possible this evening, according to the National Weather Service. Friday, the high should drop down to 77, with thunderstorms possible in the evening, and Saturday, the high should drop down again to 71, according to the service.
