Published: August 05, 2008 05:06 pm         

Chill Out

Find a Cool Zone to escape the summer heat

With a heat wave threatening record highs, area residents would do well to keep certain information in mind.

For those who need it, there are five “Cool Zones” in Stillwater, two in Cushing and one each in Agra, Carney, Glencoe, Oilton, Pawnee, Perkins and Tryon.

They are places where those vulnerable to the extreme temperatures can cool off, at least during normal business hours.

One such location is Stillwater’s chapter of the Red Cross at 114 W. Eighth. It is open from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

“We teach a lot of classes here,” said Executive Director Vicky Henington. “We’ve been really trying to push a little bit of training on heat-related sudden illness. The main thing we’ve been telling people is if you quit sweating, that’s a bad sign.

“As long as you’re still sweating while it’s so hot, that means your body is still functioning. If you’re out there and it’s 100 and something and you quit sweating, that’s a sign you have to get out of the heat, get those hot clothes off and cool down.”

She said another tip is to sip rather than guzzle water and to get out of the sun as quickly as possible.

Shyla Eggers, director of public relations for Stillwater Medical Center, said the hospital only had one heat-related illness admitted to the emergency room this weekend.

She said tips for beating the heat are to drink a lot of water, limit time outdoors to the morning or late evening, take regular breaks from the heat if you must be in it and avoid alcohol and caffeine.

Virtually the same list of tips came from Kirk Mittelstet, director of Stillwater’s emergency management services, through Sherry Fletcher, Stillwater’s director of marketing and public relations.

Neither the city governments of Stillwater nor Perkins are doing anything special, at least not yet, according to Fletcher and Perkins City Manager Pete Seikel.

“We’re checking with the elderly and with our ministerial staff to see if we need to do something,” Seikel said. “Everyone keeps a pretty close eye on each other here but there are times like this when particularly the elderly can get overlooked.”

Tracy Turner is a family support specialist with Central Oklahoma Community Action Agency, which provides financial assistance for low-income households.

“People have higher electric bills because of utility costs,” Turner said.

She said the organization is always in need of donations, but especially now because of the increased costs for their clients.

Repeated messages seeking comment from a representative of the City of Cushing were not returned Monday.

14 sites in nine towns are serving as official Cool Zones:

• Stillwater

American Red Cross, 114 W. Eighth, (405) 372-1833

Project H.E.A.R.T., 312 W. Ninth, (405) 372-1201

The Salvation Army, 1101 S. Lowry, (405) 372-1554

Senior Activity Center, 1015 E. 12th, (405) 747-8080

Stillwater Public Library, 1107 S. Duck, (405) 372-3633

• Cushing: Project H.E.A.R.T., 203 E. Cherry, (918) 225-0222; Senior Citizens Center, 203 E. Cherry, (918) 225-5333

• Perkins: Thomas-Wilhite Memorial Library, 101 E. Thomas, (405) 547-5185

• Agra: Senior Citizens’ Center, 3 S. Main, (918) 375-2464

• Carney: Project H.E.A.R.T., 106 Maple, (405) 865-2678

• Glencoe: Town Hall, 220 W. Shephard St., (580) 669-2271

• Oilton: Senior Nutrition Site, 301 S. A St., (918) 862-3616

• Pawnee: Project H.E.A.R.T., 304 Kansas Place, (918) 762-2405

• Tryon: City Hall, 25 S. Main, (918) 374-2227

— Stillwater NewsPress

     

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