Mon, Dec 01 2008
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Published August 26, 2008 03:43 pm - Scouts ride the storm out in raft race By Bess Warren Times Correspondent Even an intense thunderstorm didn’t stop the Neosho District of Boy Scouts of America from competing in the Huck Finn Days Raft Race on the Grand River Saturday morning. Eight troops from eastern Oklahoma met Friday night for a campout and raced their homemade rafts Saturday from the Fort Gibson Dam to Clinkenbeard Park. The boys, ages 11-18, competed for points in a fishing, cooking, campsite preparation and other scouting activities during the weekend event. Hunter Corrothers, 13, of Fort Gibson was more than ready for the race as he and other members of Troop 638 put last-minute touches on their raft. “I wouldn’t mind if I got rained on,” Corrothers said. Corrothers was joined by Matthew Springfield, 12. Springfield didn’t mind the rain either and was eager to get started. “Heck yeah, I’m ready,” Springfield said. “It took way too long to make. We all helped make it, including the paddles. That was an experience.” Bridger Montgomery, also of Troop 638, carried a first aid kit on board. The kit was one of the requirements the boys had to fulfill in order to be eligible to race. The rafts also endured an inspection by Camporee Director Gary Buday. Sponsored by First United Methodist Church of Fort Gibson, Troop 638 took second place in the raft race. Members of the crew were: Cody Springfield, Matthew Springfield, Hunter Currothers, Trevor Truitt, Cody Poteet, Bridger Montgomery, Scott Smythe, Talon Ford, Zack Brown. Buday said the Neosho District has an annual Fall Camporee, which is normally held in October. The event was moved up to August in hopes of warmer temperatures for the race. “We always come up with something different each year,” Buday said. “We want to give them a challenge.” Montgomery’s father, Jim, a park ranger for Fort Gibson Corps of Engineers, helped coordinate the event by getting the scouts a special events permit to use the campsite, which is closed to the public. He also coordinated to have the water let out at the dam to give the boys a current. “This used to be a Class A park, but due to budget cuts the Corps couldn’t keep all of the parks open so they had to shut it down,” Montgomery, 50, said. “The scouts came in a few weeks ago and cleaned it up.” Troop 638 is two years old and consists of nine boys. There was a Troop several years ago but it was discontinued and has been brought back. Troop leaders are looking to recruit additional members. “It teaches them a lot of responsibility and helps them all throughout life,” Montgomery said. “We need boys. “Any kind of boys that want to have fun.” 
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