By Shavonne Potts
Salisbury Post
“Wow,” Geneva Purvis said when her daughter, Cathy, brought their banana splits to the table.
Mother and daughter cooled off with some ice cream Monday as the temperature climbed into the high 90s.
Aside from beating the heat at Curt and Geri’s Dairy Bar, Cathy was also celebrating her last round of chemotherapy.
At age 40, Cathy learned she had ovarian cancer, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2007. Tuesday is her last chemotherapy treatment.
The place to celebrate was easy enough to choose for mother and daughter, and so was the confection.
“I wanted a big, cold banana split. I love them,” Cathy gushed.
Going through treatments and having breast cancer has been an experience, Cathy said.
“I would not want anyone to go through it. It’s a lot of trials and tribulation, but God has been with me all the way,” she said.
“We come in here a lot,” Geneva said.
She sat at a table by the door waiting patiently for her cold treat.
On most days, Geneva is inside her Salisbury home with the air conditioner going. She’s retired from Parkdale Mills and chooses not to venture out much in the heat ó except, the 75-year-old said, at least once a week for ice cream with her daughter.
“It’s good ice cream. The people are nice and I appreciate that,” she said.
Geri Smith, co-owner of the eight-year-old ice cream shop, said rising temperatures are bringing in a steady stream of customers.
“We had a busy weekend,” she said.
Smith said most of her customers come in after school or stop by for afternoon breaks.
Milkshakes are the most popular menu items. The shop also has 40 ice cream flavors, soft-serve ice cream, dipped cones and flurries.
Teresa Koonts needed a quick, cool treat. The Churchland resident was out Monday running errands and made a pit stop at Dairy Queen.
“I had to go to the bank for the person I work for, and so I thought I’d swing by here ’cause it was so hot,” she said.
Koonts decided on a small ice cream since she’s watching her weight.
“It’s fresh and good, so that’s why I stopped,” she said.
The business, nestled between a restaurant and a propane store, was also on her way back to work.
“It’s easy to come in and leave,” Koonts said.
Dairy Queen co-owner Melissa Utley welcomes the heat ó and the customers.
“We’re very happy to have the heat wave here at Dairy Queen. We had a really cool, wet spring and it’s nice to have heat where everybody can come out to Dairy Queen and get their favorite kind of blizzard,” she said.
The shop has more than 40 kinds of blizzards.
Utley said it’s hard to determine if business has picked up as the temperatures have risen. She’s seen an average number of customers, but said increasing gas prices have kept some customers away.
The business has been at its location for nearly 60 years. Her husband bought the Dairy Queen in 1979 and Utley came on board in 1981, after they married.
While the temperature in Salisbury officially reached the high 90s Monday, some outdoor thermometers registered temperatures above 100 degrees.
Rowan County EMS Director Rob Robinson said that based on satellite calculations, which report real-time weather, the temperature at 4 p.m. was 97 degrees.
The 911 center fielded fewer than a dozen possible heat-related emergency calls.
As of Monday afternoon, Robinson said, the center had taken two definite heat-related calls and other incidents that could be contributed to the hot weather.
Those other phone calls included five people reported unconscious, four with breathing problems and one with a headache.
Not all possibly heat-related calls come into the 911 system as such, he said. The emergency dispatcher typically classifies a call the way it is received. If the caller says someone is unconscious, it may be unclear whether that was caused by the heat.
Either way, emergency personnel are sent to the location.
The emergency 911 system expects a high volume of calls when it’s hot.
“They always go up in the summer,” Robinson said.
He anticipated the 911 center to have taken more than 300 calls by the end of the day.
The Elizabeth Hanford Dole Chapter of the American Red Cross is offering a place to cool off during the extreme heat.
Deborah Lineberger, director of emergency services, said the Red Cross set up a heat-relief shelter for people to escape the heat on Monday and will do so again today.
She asked that people who need to get out of the heat call the center before they show up.
She encourages those who don’t have air conditioning or fans to stay cool by stopping by the shelter from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
EMS Division Manager Beth Connell offered these tips to help stay cool:
– Drink before you are thirsty.
– Drink every 20 minutes if you are outdoors.
– Rest often in cool areas with an air conditioner or a fan.
– Escape the heat by grocery shopping or going to the library.
– Schedule outdoor activities in the morning when it’s cooler.
– Wear light-colored clothing that is loose-fitting and that will wick away moisture.
Connell said those who are chronically ill, be they elderly or small children, need to make certain they stay cool since “their bodies are less able to handle the temperature.”
For more information about the Red Cross heat-relief shelter, contact the agency at 704-633-3854.
Contact Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253 or spotts@salisburypost.com.