A lunatic (colloquially, "loony") is a person who is mentally ill, traditionally someone whose sanity comes and goes with the phases of the Moon.
This probably refers to the symptoms of what is now known as Bipolar disorder.
Extremely foolish persons are also called lunatics.
... of the census of 2000, there are 16,146 people, 5,480 households, and 4,197 families residing in the town. The population density is 1,058.4/km² (2,740.4/mi²). ...