Baseball and apple pie

"They were of eternal importance -- like baseball or the Republican Party," wrote Sinclair Lewis. Many people in our valley are quite earnest about such things, as they are elsewhere.

I myself have never been big on sports. My most vivid recollection of "playing" on a third grade Little League team consists of surveying the sky from right field with a mitt balanced on my head.

My brother Dave, on the other hand, had quite a different experience. As far back as I can remember, he has played in one recreational baseball league or another. In the early '70s, one of his teams was the Damascus Cardinals.

The game of baseball is an experience which, with the right coach, can ingrain in a young person invaluable lessons in sportsmanship, fair play, justice, hope and courage. Some gain these lessons elsewhere, but for many the game seems to be a rite of passage.

Facing dwindling private contributions, exorbitant liability premiums, and growing public apathy -- athletic and other voluntary organizations up and down the region are being forced to turn more to the public sector for help.

Recently in Damascus for example, the Little League -- which township official Bob Diehl said included two teams in Damascus and one in Galilee -- asked the township for a $200 donation.

But Supervisor Tom Griffith stated the board would put the idea "on hold". Diehl seemed to support the measure, while Buddy Newport, the third board member, did not indicate a position. With Newport's vote, the township presumably would have kicked in the small contribution.

In this age of reduced federal spending, local government must shoulder its burden in support of community organizations.

Voluntary societies which turn all revenues back into serving a particular "public purpose" deserve our support. They are the mainstay of this country's system of human services. Without diversion of some public funds to the "Fifth Estate" of philanthropic trusts -- then social, educational, recreational and public safety organizations would wither.

It does not seem unreasonable to think that a township should contribute to the local Little League, athletic fields, and other public assets which benefit its youth. In an age of alcohol and drug abuse, moral decline, and the breakdown of family structure -- this is a small investment in the kids who are our future.

Expecting the advantages of a civilized society, we are content to pay taxes.

-- Tom Rue, contributing editor

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