Boy Scouts worldwide have long adhered to the organization’s 107-year-old motto: “Be Prepared.”

Thirteen members of La Grande Boy Scout Troop 514 recently demonstrated that they embrace the motto. Earlier this month, the scouts drifted into an emergency situation on the Grande Ronde River and proved more than prepared to respond heroically.

The first day of the troop’s three-day trip from Minam to Troy was going smoothly when the scouts, in a total of four rafts with four adults, encountered a party of rafters from the Portland area who had a raft that had tipped over. Five people had been in the raft. Two had made it to shore but three, a young boy and a girl and an adult, were still in river.

The three were wearing life jackets so drowning was not an immediate concern, but the chilly river water had the Boy Scouts and their adult leaders worried.

“The most immediate danger was hypothermia,” said Troop 514 adult volunteer Eric Valentine.

Scouts Nick Jerofke, Kadyn Coots and Elias Halstead, plus adult volunteer Lucy Parker, instantly went into rescue mode. Jerofke began rowing furiously to catch up to the two children and one adult.

“He rowed very powerfully,” Parker said.

For the complete story, see the June 26 edition of The Observer.