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DNC 2016: Clinton makes history by winning Democratic nomination

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Letter to the Editor: Join Boy Scouts for self-improvement and adventure, says Laurel Run youth

<p>By welcoming Reggie Jackson as a team co-owner, Northeastern Pennsylvania&#8217;s minor league baseball franchise gains enormous star power and the possibility of nurturing more young fans.</p><p>The community gets something too: an ally in the effort to improve area children&#8217;s lives.</p><p>We&#8217;d call that a grand slam.</p><p>Jackson, 70, known as &#8220;Mr. October&#8221; because of his electrifying postseason performances with teams including the New York Yankees, intends to acquire a small stake in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, he said last week during a visit to PNC Field in Moosic. The team&#8217;s ownership group includes more than 20 members, and Jackson&#8217;s participation will require official approval from both Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball.</p><p>Jackson also will serve as the team&#8217;s special adviser.</p><p>Reading between the lines of the RailRiders&#8217; announcement, it seems the 1993 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee will serve as an ambassador of sorts. Autograph hounds won&#8217;t find him regularly hanging around the stadium or at Montage Mountain&#8217;s other attractions. Rather, working behind the scenes, Jackson intends to foster connections between national child-focused nonprofits and foundations, and this area&#8217;s youngsters.</p><p>&#8220;I just don&#8217;t see how we can go wrong communicating with youth,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/top-stories/568237/reggie-jackson-takes-executive-role-with-scrantonwilkes-barre-with-eye-on-ownership" target="_blank">told Times Leader reporter Paul Sokoloski</a>.</p><p>Over time, Jackson&#8217;s efforts could help to serve the team&#8217;s self-interest of filling stadium seats.</p><p>But his outreach also promises to benefit children in a region where poverty persists in too many homes, limiting access to certain recreational and educational opportunities, and in some cases, even sufficient clothing and food. (Let&#8217;s hope someone puts Jackson, a Pennsylvania native, in touch with the area agencies already working to address these social ills.)</p><p>The RailRiders outfit &#8211; an affiliate of the New York Yankees &#8211; has reached into our communities before, through its Adopt-A-Field Program. Team staffers each year select about three area ball diamonds in need of repair, then help to do the renovations and offer training on how to properly maintain the fields. Pittston City Little League&#8217;s complex received a makeover in 2015. Likewise, the RailRiders have renovated fields for Jenkins Township&#8217;s softball players and the Avoca/Dupont Little League.</p><p>Jackson&#8217;s contributions as a RailRiders owner likely will expand the team&#8217;s community service far beyond home plates and dugouts, hitting other issues that impact children&#8217;s lives. In early September, for instance, he and the RailRiders plan to hold a &#8220;Stay in School&#8221; event.</p><p>Jackson possesses both celebrity status and an apparent concern about children&#8217;s welfare. For those and other reasons, we&#8217;re glad to have No. 44 in the hometown lineup.</p><style>
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Our Opinion: Reggie Jackson adds power to RailRiders’ community outreach