Helping nature: Dick Sylvester was busy on Wednesday watering his newly-planted grass at 819 N. Main Street. He said the grass was green and growing before he went away for a week, but has turned brown during the hot, dry weather. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, Salisbury Post

Police charge man with leaving child in car; officials urge neighbors to check on elderly

By Jessie Burchette

Salisbury Post

On the hottest day of the year a Spencer man forgot his 8-month-old child, leaving her in a car with the windows closed tightly.

Salisbury Police Officer A.L. Bouk charged Robert Lewis Altemare, 37, of 18 Pickett Ave., with misdemeanor child abuse.

According to information provided to the magistrate, Altemare went to a medical appointment at 427 W. Innes St. around 3 p.m.

Fifteen minutes or so after he went inside, a patient coming out noticed the small child in the vehicle with no ventilation. The patient notified office personnel who went outside and got the child out of the vehicle.

Bouk said the temperature outside the vehicle was 100 degrees.

Altemare later told police he forgot the child was in the car.

He posted a $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Rowan County District Court on Sept. 19.

As the blistering heat wave continues, county and emergency officials are asking people to check on the elderly and others with serious health issues.

The official temperature hit 102.7 degrees at the Salisbury Fire Station on West Innes Thursday afternoon.

A bank thermometer in China Grove hit 106 degrees shortly after 4 p.m.

Firefighters and virtually no one else can remember a sustained period of intense heat.

Rowan County and the American Red Cross opened cooling stations at the YMCAs in Salisbury and Landis.

The county's Senior Services Department is offering free transportation to the stations or to other places where people can escape the heat — either a library, mall or home of a family member or friend.

Clyde Fahnstock, Senior Services director, said he can't recall such a prolonged period of intense heat in his 26 years of working to help the county's seniors.

"It's very miserable. I have a great deal of concern for our senior population ... they may be more at risk then they realize," said Fahnstock. "Family, friends and church members need to check on the elderly."

The Senior Services Department also ran out of fans and has bought more to give out to seniors. The fans are being given away at the department which is co-located with the Rufty-Homes Senior Center at 1120 S. Boundary Street.

New fans are available to those 60 years or older. Senior services asks that a family member or social worker pickup the fan, but Fahnstock said the department will deliver them if necessary.

To receive a fan or get transportation to a cooling shelter or another location to avoid the heat, call 704-216-7700 or 704-216-8500.

The Rowan Democratic Party has joined the effort to provide free fans. Nan Lund said they began distributing fans today through the Rufty -Holmes program. For information on getting a fan, call 704-633-7862

The county opted to open the cooling stations after an elderly resident called E-911 and asked if there was some place to go to escape the heat.

Beth Connell, emergency medical services director, said major cities have operated cooling stations for years during heat waves.

As word spreads, officials expect the stations will be used today and possibly this weekend if the heat wave continues.

The shelters are operating from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Salisbury YMCA at 828 Jake Alexander Blvd. and the South Rowan YMCA at 950 Kimball Road.

The effects of the heat are also being felt at Rowan Regional Medical Center.

A hospital spokesman said they saw an increased number of heat-related complaints on Thursday.

The Rowan-Salisbury School System has prohibited all outside activities today and the rest of the week between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., due to the extreme heat.

Among the activities are football practice and band camp, which will likely move inside. Staff will monitor the weather forecast before deciding about events next week.

Law enforcement officers are hoping that the heat doesn't touch off a wave of domestic incidents and other problems.

"With this type of heat, everybody's temper gets a little shorter," said Salisbury Police Chief Mark Wilhelm. Thus far, officer's haven't seen an increase in calls.

While some are choosing to stay home and enjoy the air conditioning, others are filling stores and malls.

Clerks at the Food Lion store at Oak Avenue Mall in Kannapolis may have thought the TV weather forecasters had called for snow.

The store was jammed by mid-morning with lines at the registers and shoppers waiting for buggies to be retrieved from outside.