NYC Councilman Pledges Help for Jamaica

New York City Councilmember, Leroy Comrie has pledged support for the recovery and relief effort now underway in the wake of Hurricane Dean, which lashed Jamaica on August 19.
Addressing a reception for a visiting team of Little League Baseball players from Portland, Jamaica at City Hall, Lower Manhattan, on August 21, Mr. Comrie, who was born in the USA of Jamaican parents, told Consul General, Dr. Basil K. Bryan that his Council District office in South Jamaica, Queens, NY, would serve as a collection point and that he would assist in whatever way possible at this time.
Both Mr. Comrie and Dr. Bryan welcomed the team of 10 players and 3 coaches from the West Portland/Buff Bay Little League programme, who are visiting the USA at the invitation of Pastor Ed Moore and the parishioners from the Northshore Baptist Church in Bayside in Queens.
The team was given an educational tour of the landmark City Hall building and presented with certificates of appreciation as sporting ambassadors. The team will play a series of exhibition games against their host, the Bayside Little League division, until August 27. They will return to Jamaica on August 29.
Dr. Bryan used the opportunity to encourage the youngsters to seize the moment to grow and to go to greater heights by building character and worth by combining courage, determination with discipline.
The Consul General said it was his hope that before long the country could capture the imagination of the world in baseball, in the same way it did with the Reggae Boyz at the l998 World Cup and the Bob Sled team at the Winter Olympics.