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The 100-plus degree heat this week proved once again two truths of summer:

* People -- and kids in particular -- are attracted to water to cool off.

* That attraction has the potential to end in tragedy.

But it doesn't have to.

So once again we urge parents to ensure their children learn to swim and know basic safety precautions to protect themselves.

Last weekend, the tragedy was the drowning of a 15-year-old boy in Myron Lake, next to U.S. Highway 12 near 40th Avenue.

The boy was fishing by himself before deciding to take a swim in the lake, an old rock quarry with a shallow ridge that suddenly drops off into deep water. He reportedly was not a good swimmer and he got out too far on the lake's northeast end.

"It's takes no time -- real fast," said Yakima Police Lt. Nolan Wentz in relating what happened to the boy.

And if it "takes no time" on a still body of water like Myron Lake, consider how fast a seemingly safe swim can turn into a tragedy on the swift and cold Yakima and Naches rivers.

Strong swimmers are certainly not immune to the dangers of treacherous waters -- but they do at least have a better chance of surviving.

Yet, a Seattle Times news report published the same day as news of the boy's drowning in Yakima may hint at why parents don't insist their children learn to swim.

Families, in general, hand down recreation through the generations. So if the parents don't know how to swim, they may not think it's an important skill for their children.

That's especially true among people of color, who have historically been excluded from public pools either by the cost or discrimination.

According to a recent study by the University of Memphis, nearly 60 percent of African-American children between the ages of 6 and 16 nationwide can't swim, and they drown at three times the overall rate among children in that age group.

In Washington state, Asian-American children and adolescents have the highest rate of drowning -- 18 percent of the deaths even though they
are 7 percent of the state population.

But it doesn't have to be that way; swimming lessons are available throughout the Yakima Valley. And public pools, though struggling in tight economic times, are still open this summer for the area's kids.

We've had one local death to prove the two truths of summer. We urge parents and others who care about children to ensure that
tragedy is not repeated this year.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins, Bill Lee and Karen Troianello.

Learn to swim

* Franklin Pool, 2101 Tieton Drive, Yakima. 575-6035. Open daily June 13-Aug. 31. Swim classes offered weekdays, ages 6 months to adult.

* Gymnastics Plus, 2121 W. Lincoln Ave., Yakima. 453-8126. Pool open June 2-Aug. 22. Swim classes for children, 18 months to 10 years.

* Lions Pool, corner of Fifth Avenue and Pine Street, Yakima. 575-6046. Swim classes offered year-round, ages 6 months to adult.

*Naches Swimming Pool at Applewood Park, 105 W. Fourth St., Naches. 653-2353. Open daily, June 10-Aug. 29. Swim classes, ages 6 months to adult.

* Selah's J. Francis Pool, 214 S. Third St. 698-7306. Open June 13-Aug. 17 (except July 4). Swim classes, infant to adult.

*Yakima Athletic Club, 2501 Racquet Lane, Yakima. 453-6521. Indoor/outdoor pool. Swim classes offered year-round, ages 6 months to adult.

* Yakima Family YMCA, 5 N. Naches Ave., Yakima. 248-1202. Swim lessons offered year-round, ages 6 months to adult.

* Yakima Tennis Club, 315 N. 35th Ave. 248-2938. yakimatennis.com. Open through Sept. 1; limited number of family swim memberships ($369) available for the summer. Swim lessons offered.