DeKalb County residents seeking relief from dangerous temperatures can access free cooling centers and swimming pools Tuesday and Wednesday as heat indices soar above 100 degrees.
🏊 What’s Happening: DeKalb County is designating rooms in recreation centers as cooling stations on June 24-25, 2025, with water fountains available for hydration. All recreation center pools will be free to the public from 2 p.m. until closing both days.
What is the Heat Index?: The heat index refers to what the temperature feels like when the air temperature is combined with relative humidity. The thermometer in your car may report 90 degree temperatures, but the humidity means that to your body, it will feel like it is over 100 degrees. The heat index is sometimes called the “apparent temperature.”
🌡️ Why It Matters: Extreme heat can be deadly, especially for vulnerable populations like seniors and those without air conditioning. These emergency measures provide essential protection during what could be this summer’s most dangerous heat event.
🔍 Between the Lines: This approach comes directly in response to National Weather Service warnings, showing how local governments are increasingly treating extreme heat as a serious public health emergency requiring immediate action.
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Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
