News
Athens Residents Attempt To Beat The Heat
By: Atish Baidya
Posted on:
Some Athens residents looking for some relief from the extreme heat tried cooling off at the Athens Community Center pool Thursday.
Amelia Adams and Chloe Leonard, both 5th grade students at Morrison-Gordon Elementary, spent the afternoon cooling off and enjoying time with friends.
“I’ve come almost every day for a week,” Leonard said. “It is nice to cool off and we see lots of our friends here every day.”
“I’m going to start coming more because it is really hot,” Adams said.
But the extreme heat is even having an impact on the cooling effects of a nice dip in the pool. Amelia and Chloe might be enjoying the feeling of being in the water but the water is actually too warm, according to community center staff members.
“We measured the temperature a little bit ago and it’s 88 degrees which is pretty warm for water,” said Andrew Chiki, assistant director of the Athens Community Center.
Staff members actually drained the pool of some of its water and pumped in new water to lower the water temperature in the pool.
With another heat advisory issued for Friday, officials are urging people to take precautions and stay cool. Staff members at the community center say anyone is welcome to come in and cool off in the lobby area of the center.
Athens County Emergency Management Agency Director Fred Davis says area fire departments will decide if they need to open up as a cooling station depending on the needs of the community the department serves.
Davis says he also keeps in close contact with agencies serving populations more prone to problems because of the extreme temperatures.
As for Chloe, she said she’ll be back to the pool the next day to try and stay cool and have fun.