Cheers to 9-year-old John Kearney and his calm assistance to his mother after she tripped during a family hike in the White Mountains, striking her head.

On Wednesday, 44-year-old April Kearney was hiking along New Hampshire’s Basin Rim Trail with her son and her husband, Mike, when she tripped and fell forward, conking the left side of her head on a sharp rock and tearing open a deep gash from her forehead down toward her ear. She began bleeding profusely and, worse, suffered a brief seizure and her eyes became dilated, all signs of a serious head trauma.

This all happened in extremely rugged terrain, with no cell coverage and the closest help miles away.

So, while Mike Kearney ran 2.3 miles to the nearest campground to report the accident, young John stayed with his mother, holding pressure on the wound while talking to her to keep her conscious as his father had instructed.

When Mike returned to his wife and child, running the 2.3-mile distance back from the campground, April’s wound had started to clot, and the small family waited for emergency crews to arrive.

Mike’s effort to run that distance over steep and rocky terrain was a true feat, as was John’s steady composure as he was left alone to care for his mother.

Emergency responders praised the 9-year-old for his tremendous reaction to what had to have been a frightening situation, but the rescuers themselves deserve praise and cheers for the speed, organization and success of their response.

In addition to officers with the New Hampshire Fish and Game and the Granite State’s National Guard, volunteers from nearby Lovell and Fryeburg joined Saco Valley and Androscoggin Valley search and rescue crews and others, including an Army medic and Mountain Rescue Service, to stabilize, airlift and transport April Kearney to a New Hampshire hospital. In all, about 30 people responded to help this family.

April was treated and released from the hospital, and was back home with her family in Cumberland by late Thursday.

Wednesday started with a challenging family hike and turned into a family challenge for the Kearneys. It was a challenge met with the force of love, skill and determination.

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Cheers to the U.S. Army Cadets of Lewiston High School and Lewiston Middle School who spent three long days volunteering at the Great Falls Balloon Festival, greeting visitors as they entered the festival venues and policing the passage of dogs and bicycles to keep the airfield clear for balloon pilots.

We’re talking about local teens standing at their posts starting at 5 a.m., and going home after 9 p.m., only to arrive again the next day and do it all over again.

Every volunteer who helped at the balloon festival deserves praise for a magnificent community effort, including organizers, food vendors and fundraisers.

August 2012 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Great Falls Balloon Festival, an anniversary to be proud of and to look forward to. This annual event, and the volunteers who support it, are something the Twin Cities can be proud of.

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Cheers to the Maine Army National Guard, the Androscoggin Land Trust and volunteers who plan to spend Saturday cleaning up the Barker Mill Trail, a walking trail that starts just off the gatehouse at the Lower Barker Dam and follows the Little Androscoggin River for about a mile before re-connecting to Mill Street.

The trail has been unkempt for years, which has discouraged use. Cleaning up the trail is part of the Twin Cities’ collective effort to encourage waterfront recreation, and the proximity of this trail to multiple apartments all but guarantees its use — once it’s trimmed and clean.

For anyone who wants to lend a hand, work is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at the gatehouse, and will last until about noon. That’s plenty of time for a little community service before Hurricane Irene blows into town.

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