People still seeking relief from the heat
Jul. 6—bluefield — Fans are still a sought-after commodity as summertime heat reaching the 80s and humidity making the weather feel even hotter stays over the region.
In mid-June, the Bluefield Union Mission was distributing donated fans to people trying to stay cool in homes lacking air conditioning. Executive Director Craig Hammond said more fans arrived at the mission soon after a story was published in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
"Every fan we've been given, we've given away," Hammond said Friday. "We have zero fans; as of last night we didn't have any fans, but I will say the public really responded. We received I don't know how many, but it was quite a few and we were able to match those with people struggling with the heat."
The union mission has seen an increase in people seeking assistance with any way to stay cool, Hammond said. He was expecting people coming to the mission and asking for help with June electric bills when they arrive in the mail.
"Everyone's bracing for those electric bills that will come in July," he said. "Probably they'll see a big increase because they ran fans around the clock."
There are ways to cut back on summer electric bills, and keeping fans switched off when they're not needed is one of those methods. Fans and air conditioners don't do the same job when it comes to cooling a residence.
"We try to tell people that fans cool people," Hammond said. "They don't cool rooms. If you're not in the room, it's not doing you any good — but it runs up your electric bill. If you're going to leave a room, turn the fan off."
Hammond said the union mission would appreciate any fans the public can donate.
"They're needed in a big way," he said.
Bluefield is called "Nature's Air Conditioned City" due to its usually mid summers. Since 1941, the Bluefield Chamber of Commerce — now the Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias — has served free lemonade in Bluefield and Bluefield, Va. when the National Weather Service records a temperature of 90 degrees or more at the Mercer County Airport. As of Friday, the official temperature has not reached 90 degrees.
"Thank goodness we live in Nature's Air Conditioned City," Hammond said. "Other areas have seen temperatures that are just unbearable. And it's 168 days till the first day of winter."
Contact Greg Jordan at
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
