Five Things To Know Aug. 3

Good morning Lilburn. It's Wednesday, Aug. 3. Here's your daily digital checklist.

1. Heat Warning: With the tragic news of the deaths of two Georgia high school football players (Forrest Jones of Locust Grove and DJ Searcy of Fitzgerald)  — both possibly attributed to the heat — we all need to be cognizant of the dangers this hot weather brings. Closer to home, an Archer football player was sent to the hospital Tuesday for observation. During the traditional “two-a-days” practices usually scheduled this week, high school coaches, including at Lilburn’s Berkmar and Parkview, try to avoid exposing their players to the dangerous conditions. Today, Parkview has practices at 6:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., while Berkmar has its first practice at 5:30 a.m. and last practice at 6 p.m. A system also is in place for Gwinnett teams to monitor conditions while the players are on the field. At home you need to stay safe, too, . Today’s forecast is for a high temp of 99. Please be safe.

2. What a Night! It was a hot and sweaty night in Lilburn, but good gosh was there a terrific turnout for Tuesday’s National Night Out program at City Park. An estimated 400 (or more) people showed up for the safety-awareness event, which included family activities, information booths and a killer K-9 unit demonstration. It was great to see the community come out for a singular purpose. Way to go, Lilburn.

3. Quenching a Teacher’s Thirst: The in Lilburn has a cool way to show some appreciation for Gwinnett County teachers this week. School teachers and other staff members can get a free large drink with each purchase through Friday.

4. Trivia Answer: R.L. Ferris (aka local photographer Richard Ferris) was the first to answer Tuesday’s trivia question: “What is the significance of 1818?” Here’s his correct answer: “In 1818, the Georgia legislature created Gwinnett County from Creek and Cherokee Indian lands. The state's 42nd county was named for Button Gwinnett, one of Georgia's three signers of the Declaration of Independence.” Well played, Mr. Ferris.

5. Senior Relief: The Friends of Gwinnett Senior Services made a generous donation Tuesday to help the county’s meals-on-wheels efforts. The non-profit group’s donation of more than $65,000 will go toward providing home-delivered meals to seniors currently on waiting lists. The donation, which will be used to help offset costs and pay for the liquid nutritional drinks program, is expected to lower the monthly waiting list by 30 percent, down to fewer than 100 people. “Many seniors want to stay in their own homes as long as possible,” said Friends President Brad Culp in a press release. “But an inability to shop for and prepare their own meals could force a senior to move. We’re committed to supporting Gwinnett seniors by giving a significant portion of our annual budget to provide these much-needed meals and to reduce the waiting list for these services.”