Until Dakota Boutte was seriously burned three weeks ago, it’s likely few people outside his circle of friends and family in Jefferson knew who he was.
Unfortunately, it took a serious accident to turn him from another 10-year-old into a symbol of all that’s right about this community.
From the moment Jefferson responders dipped into their own pockets at the scene of the accident to make sure his family had enough gas and toll money to get to Boston, this story took on a special meaning.
The fact the Jefferson Village School eighth grade threw together a benefit supper, starting preparations almost the day before vacation, and pulled it together to the tune of raising $2000 is remarkable, too.
This time of year eighth graders in particular might be forgiven for turning their attention ahead to the beckoning days of summer and the heady anticipation of starting high school next fall.
It says a lot about this class, their school, and the community they come from, that they were big enough and thoughtful enough to take this on. We commend them and we would like to add our gratitude to theirs, thanking everyone who helped make the event such a success.
Boutte’s story resonates beyond just Jefferson because it is something we can all identify with. Almost every adult can point to something in their childhood and ask themselves ‘Geez, what was I thinking?’ Ten-year-old boys are known for doing foolish things but most boys survive their childhood enthusiasm to go on to become grown men who do foolish things.
It’s the nature of the beast, so to speak.
Boutte’s road likely involves more surgery, rehabilitation, more surgery, more rehabilitation and so on… We wish him all the best.
With any luck he will come through it better than ever with nothing more than a few scars to show for his pain and a cool story to tell about how he once helped bring the community together.
