Independence Day is a Federal holiday; all local post office branches will be closed, and there will be no mail delivery.

Other Princeton area locations that will be closed on July 4 include Township offices; Borough Hall; the Princeton Public Library; and all branches of the Princeton University Library system.

Also closed: both Princeton Historical Society sites, Bainbridge House (158 Nassau Street) and Updike Farmstead (354 Quaker Road); Corner House counseling center (369 Witherspoon Street); and The Arts Council of Princeton (102 Witherspoon Street). The Princeton Senior Resource Center (Suzanne Patterson building, behind Borough Hall) will be closed on both July 3 and 4.

Places that will remain open include McCaffrey’s Princeton location (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.), and Shop Rite of Montgomery (6 a.m. to midnight). Palmer Square Management reports that although the Square is not required to be open on July 4, individual stores may choose to remain open. The same will be true at the Princeton Shopping Center.

The Community Park Pool will observe weekend hours on July 4, opening at 11 a.m. and closing at 8 p.m.

The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management warns that heat is often  referred to as the “silent killer,” in contrast to tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural hazards with more dramatic visual effects. For more information regarding heat-related emergencies and a list of the County Emergency Management Offices, log on to www.ready.nj.gov, or visit the National Weather Service Heat Safety Page www.weather.gov/om/heat/index.shtml. The U.S. Center for Disease Control Heat Safety Page (http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat contains information about the signs and symptoms of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Call 2-1-1, New Jersey’s toll-free, confidential help line, for information about heat safety resources.

In Princeton, Township and Borough administrators encourage residents to be familiar with area cooling centers. They include the Township Police Department Lobby at One Valley Drive, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week; Princeton Public Library, open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m.; the Princeton Senior Resource Center, open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except July 2 through 4); and the Borough Hall Lobby at 1 Monument Drive, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Note that several of these will be closed on July 4.

For more information or to contact other local cooling sites, call the Mercer County Office on Aging at (877) 222-3737. In addition to making cool sites and home cooling appliances available, the County also offers a “Warmline” via the Office on Aging. During daytime hours, residents can call (609) 989-6661 or toll-free (877) 222-3737 for assistance in coping with the heat. During non-business hours, residents should call 9-1-1 if they experience heat-related problems.

———