Why doesn’t the Lewiston school department (all school departments, for that matter) adopt a “buddy system” for all field trips?

When I went to Girl Scout camp at Camp Natarswi in Millinocket, back in the 1940s, we were required to choose a “buddy” whenever there was a free group swim. The rule was that you needed to know at all times where your buddy was. Every now and then, when counselors blew a whistle, we had to raise our buddy’s hand and then go back to swimming.

It is a tragic event when a youngster’s life is lost on what should have been a joyful day. It’s hard for a lifeguard to be aware of everything on a day when a lot of children are at the beach, but with some care and planning, the death of a Lewiston Middle School student during an outing at Range Pond needn’t have happened.

I feel very sad for his family, for the other children and for the school.

Grace Hinrichs

Rockport