Settle for a cooldown

Shoes off, feet propped up on a table, Dale Burnett escaped the heat in the arms of an ice maiden. Burnett, whose older house lacks air conditioning, took advantage of the cool air and good reads at Columbia Public Library on Monday afternoon as the temperature outside soared to 96 degrees.

“It’s my day off, and I don’t want to sit around and smolder,” Burnett said, looking up from the pages of “ The Ice Maiden.”

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for most of mid-Missouri, including Boone County, on Monday. The oppressive heat and humidity is expected to last until Thursday evening.

Heat warnings are issued when the heat index, a combination of temperature and humidity, reaches between 105 and 110 degrees for more than three hours a day.

“This is pretty typical for this time of the year,” said Jim Sieveking, meteorologist at the weather service. “This week, climatologically, is the hottest week of the year.”

Sieveking said temperatures would drop only into the mid-70s at night, providing little relief from the daytime heat.

In response to Missouri’s typically hot summers, the city of Columbia designated eight locations as cooling centers to help residents ward off the heat. The centers are all on public bus routes.

The Oakland Plaza Senior Center at 1301 Vandiver Drive is one such location. The air-conditioned center is open to all, not only seniors, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and provides cool beverages, said center administrator Brenda Woods. Monday, center staff made sure all homebound clients were safe from the heat and delivered donated fans to seven of them.

“I’m here to keep cool today,” said Peggy Payne, who was playing cards with three friends. “We don’t have air conditioning in our home. It helps to get a break during the day.”

Rising energy costs mean that even those with air conditioning systems cannot always escape the heat.

“I have air conditioning, but I am on limited income and I run it as high as possible,” said Karen Welch, while playing cards with Payne. “During the day, (the cooling center) gives me a chance to cut back.”

In a news release Monday, AmerenUE made suggestions on how to keep electric bills low: keep your AC unit in the shade if possible, set the thermostat to 78 degrees and make sure the filter is unclogged.

Last year, 25 heat-related deaths were reported in Missouri, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Of those, 12 people were 65 or older. In the dog days of summer, the elderly and very young are especially at risk for heat-related illnesses.

The Boone County Council on Aging helps elderly residents find transportation to cooling centers and offers advice to those who aren’t able to leave their homes, said Executive Director Lois Shelton.

“It is not safe to be in a hot home for a senior,” Shelton said, adding that residents should check on their elderly neighbors.

Chuck Mastalski, a supervisor at the city-county 911 call center, said Monday afternoon that although the center hadn’t received any calls people suffering from the heat, he expects to get some this week.

“Typically it will be the elderly, (and) people doing outside activities,” Mastalski said.