Page 8 - RR-5-21-26

8 • • Thursday, May 21, 2026

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Lay Down a Picnic Blanket

and Sip on a Sweet Beverage

(Feature Impact) Salty snacks and savory sandwiches may fill you up
at your next springtime picnic, but no family trip to the park is complete
without a sweet, refreshing drink to wash it all down. Stay cool and keep
the fun going with a light sip that showcases the taste of the season.
This Picnic Cherry Limeade is easy to make from the comfort of home
before being transported (in a non-spill container, of course) to the picnic A LARGE TREE branch came crashing down Tuesday evening on
table or blanket. Just don't forget the cups and ice.
Germain Street. At the time it was not know if any person was
Find more refreshing beverage ideas by visiting Culinary.net.
injured or if any property was damaged.
Picnic Cherry Limeade
Recipe adapted from "Southern Living - "Total time: 5 minutes U.S. grilling fires peak during warmer months
Servings: 10 Often considered the unofficial and 6,031 outside or unclassified
• 1 jar (10 ounces) whole red maraschino cherries, chilled start of summer, Memorial Day fires. These fires caused 15 civilian
• 6 limes, divided kicks off a season of outdoor grill- deaths, 171 reported civilian inju-
• 1 bottle (2 liters) lemon-lime soda, chilled ing and entertaining. But with the ries, and $241 million in direct
• ½ cup tart cherry juice, chilled increase in grilling comes more property damage; almost all the
Drain maraschino cherries, reserving syrup. Set whole cherries aside. home grilling fires. In fact, the latest losses resulted from the structure
Juice four limes to yield 1/2 cup juice; thinly slice remaining limes. data from the National Fire Protec- fires.
In large pitcher, stir cherry syrup, lime juice, soda and tart cherry juice. tion Association® (NFPA®) shows Keeping grills clean is an impor-
Add lime slices. that July is the peak month for home tant element of grilling safety. One-
Transfer to container with tight-fitting lid for transport. Serve over ice grilling fires, followed by June, fifth (20 percent) of grilling fires
and garnish with reserved whole cherries May, and August. were caused by grills that had not
Source: Culinary.net “Outdoor grilling is a popular been cleaned, representing the lead-
way to cook during the warmer ing contributing factor to ignition.
months, but it does present the risk In addition, approximately one-
of fire and burns,” said Lorraine quarter of the home structure fires
Carli, vice president of Outreach involving grills started on an exteri-
and Advocacy at NFPA. “We want or balcony or open porch. In eight
to help ensure that the grilling sea- percent of these fires, the item first
son remains a safe one for every- ignited was an outside wall; in an-
body.” other three percent, a structural
Between 2020 and 2024, U.S. member or framing was the item
fire departments responded to an first ignited. These statistics rein-
annual average of 12,141 home fires force the importance of keeping
involving grills, hibachis, or barbe- grills well away from anything that
cues, including 6,110 structure fires can burn.
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