Councilman Jones Calls on Community, County to Offset League Debts

Everyone in Lemon Grove is proud of our boys and their performance in Maine. They represented us there, as well as all of San Diego and the “West” as their uniforms reflected. The community and city organized a well-deserved hero’s welcome with a parade when they got home.  

The problem for our City Council is we were asked to pay for the transportation of the parents to the games. The league explained to us that they spent the money meant for expenses on airline tickets and hotels for the parents. Had that been for direct support to the kids, that would be different.  

As it stands, the request presented to us is very close to the legal definition of “a gift of public funds.” That is illegal and not what tax dollars are meant for.

Yes, this was a once-in-a-lifetime deal for these boys. There are kids all over our town that have their own once-in-a-lifetime things come up, but we just can’t buy airline tickets for the parents of every Olympic hopeful, music virtuoso, championship drill team and the like. My own kids had their once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe when they were kids. We sent the kids and we stayed at home.

Does the community have a responsibility to help? Absolutely, and that responsibility is not limited to Lemon Grove and should include the entire county.

So stop waiting for the other guy. Get out your checkbook and send a check to Lemon Grove Little League Seniors, P.O. 755, Lemon Grove, CA 91945. Any amount will help, and I know there are enough current and former Little Leaguers out there to take care of this. This is the proper way for this to be funded and not with tax dollars.

Jerry Jones, Lemon Grove City Councilman