VALDOSTA —
While South Georgia should feel little brunt from Hurricane Sandy, we are still expected to experience abnormally low temperatures and wind gusts throughout the next couple of days.
Some forecasts on Monday placed morning lows in the 30s today and Wednesday with a potential wind-chill factor making these temperatures feel like they have dipped to the low 20s.
While these cooler days may provide a literal breath of fresh air after the long hot summer and early fall, it may also cause issues with heaters being fired up earlier than usual.
Dust can collect in vents causing smoke. Such dust can also ignite.
Using fireplaces with dirty chimneys, space heaters, candles, and any other type of unconventional heat sources are the cause of dozens of fires each year. Most fire-related deaths occur from smoke inhalation late at night while the home’s occupants are sleeping, and it only takes a matter of minutes for smoke to overtake a home’s interior, especially if there are no smoke detectors.
Outdoor plants may need to either be brought inside or covered in order to protect them against the cold.
Outdoor animals need a warm shelter on cold nights.
Consider bringing your pets indoors if at all possible for a few nights, and remember that unheated garages can get as cold as the outdoors and are not necessarily the answer for your pets.
South Georgia gets so little cold that many are caught unprepared even during the weeks late in one year and early in the next when such weather does normally arrive here. But such low temperatures falling at such an unexpected time may catch even more people off guard.
A few simple precautions can save aggravation and lives.
What We Think
Stay warm, safe in the cold
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THUMBS UP: To all South Georgia graduates. Congratulations on your success in completing school and best wishes on your continued success in the future.
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New era at the Boys and Girls Club
Next week on June 1, it will be the official end of an era at the Boys and Girls Club of Valdosta when Robert Soper hands over responsibility for the organization to the new Chief Professional Officer Jim Wink.
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Thank you, EMS
We always pull over for them, but we rarely seem to thank them.
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Tornado: An aftermath of help
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Thoughts on graduation
Graduation ceremonies reflect how life marches on. For the students receiving their diplomas and degrees, graduation is a culmination of the majority of their lives’ work.
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THUMBS UP: To Dr. John Gaston, retiring dean of Valdosta State University’s College of the Arts. For the past 10-plus years, Gaston has worked to build a more interconnected program with various artistic and communications departments working together. Given that you are likely to see one College of the Arts department collaborating with another during events is proof of Gaston’s success.
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On the go this weekend
Take a breath.
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Sharing the roads with motorcycles
With the recent pleasant temperatures and sunny skies, the number of motorcycles on area roads has increased.
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Thank your local law enforcement today
Today, May 15, was designated Peace Officers Memorial Day back in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy was in office.
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Visit musical roots this weekend
Beginning Saturday, May 18, Nashville, Ga., will be hosting a special Smithsonian exhibit, “New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music.” The exhibit will continue through the end of June and Nashville has done a tremendous job in promoting and planning for the exhibit.
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