In this country, accidental drowning is the No. 1 cause of death among children under 4 years old.

A young Carthage boy was spared that fate Wednesday when his stepmother — a nurse — revived him after he fell into the Webb River in Carthage.

The 3-year-old child, who was visiting the home of a friend where there were plenty of other children and adults, wandered down to the river and fell in. When he was pulled from the water, he was unconscious and revived in the next tense moments.

He was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Portland for treatment, and is expected to make a full recovery. Good for him, and what a huge relief for his family.

Everyone who had a hand in saving this child’s life deserves a serious cheer.

Death by drowning takes only moments, and is especially insidious because it’s silent. Children cannot scream for help when they’re struggling underwater, and in large bodies of water they often disappear completely and die before they’re found.

While the number of drownings rises when it’s warm outside and more people are at the beach and enjoying pools, drownings are not solely a summertime threat. They are a real and present danger for any child, indoors and outdoors, at home and not, in pools, spas, lakes, streams and unattended bathtubs, buckets of water and toilets.

The threat of death is as real as the threat of injury.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every child who dies from drowning, four others are treated under emergency conditions for submersion-related injuries — including permanent brain injuries suffered from lack of oxygen.

Although toddler drownings have decreased in recent years, nearly 300 youngsters die every year in the United States. The leading cause of drowning is lack of physical barrier between the child and the water and lack of adult supervision.

Toddlers are innocently drawn to water. Adults have an obligation to protect them from their own curiosity.

How very cool it was for Eddie Emerson and his buddies to organize and enjoy their home-based whiffle ball tournament in Lewiston Thursday afternoon?

Emerson transformed his spacious backyard on Buttonwood Lane into the temporary “Emerson Park,” complete with fencing lines and an umpire perch in an upstairs bedroom overlooking the park.

Thirty friends split into 10 teams of three players each, pulled on their uniforms and happily competed in the inaugural daylong Buttonwood Classic.

No serious ball game would be complete without a serving of hot dogs, so Emerson’s mom — Beth — provided franks to the crowd.

Cheers to summer ball, and to Emerson’s imagination come alive.

Cheers to the SAD 58 Board of Directors for correcting its error in electing the chairman by secret ballot.

Directors learned, on Thursday, that their move to elect the chairman by secret ballot was illegal, according to the district’s legal counsel, and they held a re-vote by written ballot, with each director signing his or her name to the paperwork. On the record.

The public has a keen interest in knowing who their elected directors choose to guide their board, their agenda and their actions, and holding their vote under the public’s gaze is the only way to guarantee accountability.

Interestingly, the open vote produced a different chairman than the secret vote. The previously elected chairman was elected to serve as vice chairman, so he obviously has directors’ support, but holding the vote under the light of scrutiny removes any shadow of doubt that may have plagued future trust in this school board.

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