OFFICERS TAKE PART IN 'FAN CLUB'

When Cape Girardeau police officer David Freeman was following up on a property damage report last week, the family stayed on the front porch while he went inside the house. He found out why when he walked in the door.

"It was probably 30 degrees warmer inside the house than out," Freeman said. "They had no air conditioner, no fans."

The incident prompted Freeman to contact the Salvation Army, which donates hundreds of electric fans locally every year through its "fan club" program.

"I started thinking about it more after my baby-sitter had said that it would be hard to imagine taking this heat without air conditioning or a fan," he said.

On Thursday, Freeman and other members of the Cape Girardeau Police Officers Association brought 30 box fans to the Salvation Army.

"We decided that we ought to help the people who need help," said police officer Curtis Sessions, association president.

Officers Paul Tipler and Jeff Bonham helped stack the fans in the Salvation Army's office.

As the temperatures rise into the 90s, donated fans are going out as fast as they come in, said Tina Rodgers, a Salvation Army case worker.

"We expect to give out about 12 or 15 fans in the next two days," Rodgers said.

Besides the fan giveaway, the Salvation Army will have its facilities at 701 Good Hope St. open from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday to give those who need it an air-conditioned refuge from the heat. Ice tea and water will be available.

The Salvation Army's "fan club" has been providing heat relief for about 10 years, Maj. Joyce Gauthier said. Fans are provided to those who make requests from the middle of June to about the end of September, she said.

Last year, 347 fans were given. This year, the demand seems larger as almost 200 fans have already been handed out, Gauthier said.

One fan is provided to each household that asks, Rodgers said. Names and Social Security numbers of all members of a household must be given, and an estimate of household income is requested. The names and Social Security numbers are verified, since often people will use names of relatives in order to get more than one fan, Rodgers said.

"Putting down a salary amount isn't so much of an issue," she said. "We really only see low income people."

No one is required to live in Cape Girardeau to receive a fan. Residents of Cairo, Ill., Charleston and Sikeston have taken home fans this year, Rodgers said.

So far, no money from the Salvation Army's general funds have been needed to provide fans. All have come through donations, the largest being from the police association and Beussink Brothers Woodworks in Jackson, Gauthier said.

"The woodworker said he had bought out every box fan in stock at Walmart," she said.