A town manager drowned Friday — but not before rescuing his 4-year-old son after they both plunged through the ice of a Maine pond.
Kevin Howell, 51, and his son Sawyer were on an early morning walk across a portion of Etna Pond when the ice collapsed beneath their weight, according to the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.
Howell heaved Sawyer out of the frigid waters, instructing him to run the 0.3 miles back to their Carmel house and get his mother.
The youngster heroically made the journey to his mother, who called 911 and rushed to help her husband, grabbing an anchor and rope on the way, police said.
Advertisement
After securing the rope to shore and racing across the ice to reach Howell, the wife then tragically broke through the ice herself and was unable to get out.
Kevin Howell was walking across the Etna Pond with his young son when the ice collapsed beneath their weight. Town of Carmel
Fortunately, the Penobscot sheriff arrived shortly after and successfully rescued Howell’s wife by crawling across the ice and using the same rope she had fastened moments earlier.
Howell, however, had vanished beneath the surface.
His body was recovered by divers shortly before 2 p.m., just 20 minutes after they entered the water and nearly 8 hours after Howell broke through the ice.
At the time of his death, Howell was serving as the town manager for Carmel, a town nearly 100 miles northeast of Lewiston.
Advertisement
After securing the rope to shore and racing across the ice to reach Howell, the wife then tragically broke through the ice herself and was unable to get out. YouTube/ NEWS CENTER
He had held the position since 2015 and was awarded several accolades for his work in town government, including the town Leadership award in 2020, according to Carmel’s website.
Several town employees changed their Facebook profile pictures to an image of the town’s emblem, along with a black ribbon to represent mourning, in the hours following the tragedy.
Howell also served as a member of Maine’s second EMS Blue Ribbon Commission.
“Mr. Howell was a visionary for his community’s development of a regional EMS system. We are very appreciative of his support for the Maine Bureau of EMS, the state of Maine and the kindness he showed his community and colleagues. Our deepest sympathies to his friends and his family,” Maine EMS said in a statement.
Etna Pond Etna Pond covers about 361 acres and has a depth of 12 feet and is a popular spot for ice fishing and skating.
Despite retaliation from their employer, nurses affirm their commitment to their patients and their union
Over two years since Northern Maine Medical Center (NMMC) first formed their union and began bargaining in good faith for a first contract, nurses remain committed to the patients they serve, and to making their hospital the best place it can be for everyone. Union nurses at NMMC signed the letter they released today, which says in part:
“Over the past two years, you have no doubt heard about the conflict that has grown between the hospital and us.
We want you to know that we never asked for this fight. The initiative to organize our union was to protect ourselves and our patients, not to punish any individuals or the hospital as a whole.”
The nurses’ letter goes on to say that their immediate goals as a union include: winning safe staffing for nurses and patients, promoting transparency and accountability at NMMC, retaining our local providers and staff, and making their hospital sustainable for the long term.
Advertisement
Terry Caron, RN and member of the nurses’ bargaining team said: “Two years ago, we decided to have a voice for ourselves and our patients by forming our union. The NMMC administration could have met us halfway, but it did not. It has only fought us and tried to punish us for speaking up. But we are as committed to our goals as ever. We will never stop fighting for our patients.”
NMMC nurses were joined today by Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry, gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, and U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner. They echoed the nurses’ call for NMMC CEO Jeff Zewe to stop his retaliation against the nurses and to finalize the union contract for which the nurses have been bargaining for most of the past two years.
Maine State Nurses Association is part of National Nurses Organizing Committee, representing 4,000 nurses and other caregivers from Portland to Fort Kent. NNOC is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing labor union of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide.
Max McClung scored 12 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and the Windy City Bulls went on a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 121-106 win over the Maine Celtics in an NBA G League game Friday night at the Portland Expo.
Kevin Knox II added 30 points, 21 in the second half.
Amari Williams led the Celtics with 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Jalen Bridges made six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points, but the Celtics dropped to 2-8 in their last 10 games. Maine has lost four straight games at the Expo.
Press Herald sports writers nominate high school athletes from the prior week’s games.
Readers vote for their top choice and the winner will be announced in the newspapers the following Sunday all season long!
Advertisement
You are able to gift 5 more articles this month.
Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. Learn more.
Article link sent!
An error has occurred. Please try again.
Advertisement
With a The Portland Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month.
It looks like you do not have any active subscriptions. To get one, go to the subscriptions page.
Advertisement
With a The Portland Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month.
