NEWS RELEASE
Salem County Board of Chosen Freeholders
94 Market Street. Salem, N.J. 08079
CONTACT: Rita Shade Simpson,
Clerk of the Board/Administrator
ext 8203
July 30, 2002
PENNSVILLE – County officials were at Penn Towers Tuesday afternoon to transport seniors to the air conditioned Pennsville Community Center and help get them relief, said Freeholder Director Dave Sparks said.
"The seniors enjoyed lunch in the air conditioned Center, relaxed, and played bingo," said Sparks. "I asked our County Health Director and the head of the Office of Aging to be on site to assist in the situation," said Sparks.
The public areas of the Penn Towers have been without air conditioning for several weeks due to a broken part that needs to be shipped in from Canada. The part is expected to arrive within several days.
"Most of the seniors have air conditioning in their rooms," said Sparks. "But for the handful of seniors who do not, we were on the phone today to ask the state to allow the County use grant funds to purchase air conditioning units."
Sparks said the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services would have to authorize the use of the grant funds to pay for the specialized units, which cost an estimated $900 each.