The news is hot

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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WLOSers were all over the heat Wednesday, finding several angles on the news that Ashvegas recorded a new record high Wednesday – 93 degrees at the Ashvegas airport at about 3:30 p.m. The old high was 91, a record set back in 1988.

Terrie Foster had the most fun with her story. She went out and got an infrared thermometer, whatever that is, and stuck it all over the place. And boy, was it hot, she said. The pavement was 108 degrees. The plastic slide in the sun was 128. A swing was 141 degrees. Her point – you have to be careful with kids outside, because their little skin burns easily and they can suffer more from the sun’s rays.

Terrie gave us more temps: 124 on some asphalt; 122 for ropes; 134 for woodchips. Then she sat in her car, turned off the air conditioning, and told us how hot it was getting: 88 degrees at first, then 94 degrees, then 112 half an hour after turning off the car. Wow! A car gets hotter when it sits outside with no AC! Wow!

Susan Mundy told us that day care centers take extra precautions with kids in the heat. They take their play time in the morning. Things like that. Then John Le told us that summer camps also take precautions. Le went out to Camp Rockmont, where the kids were playing in the lake to keep cool and slathering on sunscreen to protect from sunburn. They also drank Gatoraide, according to Le. And there’s an “infirmy staff” on hand to help if anybody has a problem, he said.

WLOSers also followed around the mailman and said those delivery people get hot because the little mail trucks don’t have AC in them, and people who drive their personal vehicles to deliver usually don’t have AC either. One mailwoman said she rolls her windows down, freezes a couple of bottles of water overnight and keeps them in a cooler to drink along the way.

In one other weather side note, WLOSers gave some free publicity to the McNutt Service Group, who installs some new energy efficient air conditioners. The new units are big, but are 30 percent more efficient on energy use than old units.

In the only other story of note, WLOSers said a retired Asheville civil engineer was charged with whipping it out and exposing himself to people floating down the Toe River at Carolina Hemlock Campground. Michelle Boudin, who covers the sex offender beat for WLOS and brings us at least one sordid story a night, said the guy has been charged in Rutherford and Buncombe counties, as well.

In other news…
A UNCA gallery has a cool photo exhibit of Pack Square through the years… And a group of high school hikers reported missing were found near Mount Mitchell.