The Cherry Hill Atlantic Little League’s 16U team was recognized with a proclamation for playing in the Senior League Baseball World Series and returning home as the national champions during council’s Aug. 14 meeting.
Council President David Fleisher gave a shout out to players’ families and congratulated the team itself, comprised of 16 players from both Cherry Hill East and West high schools.
“This team represents players from all over town and traditionally, these are leagues that competed against each other and people who went to different high schools,” Fleisher explained. “There’s a saying, ‘stronger together,’ which is often overused, but think about what this team accomplished.
“We have players from all across Cherry Hill, the best of the best,” he added. “You represented Cherry Hill well and you came home as big winners, and we could not be more proud of you.”
During the meeting, team manager Christian Carkeek presented council with the home plate signed by all of the boys on the team and presented the players with some dirt from the World Series field.
“We talked about doing this for kids who never got the opportunity,” Carkeek noted. “It’s not an opportunity that comes by very often. … These boys really persevered, worked their way through four tournaments, all the way through to the world series.
“Cherry Hill should be very proud of what they accomplished.”
Carkeek also presented player Andrew Bechtel the second-base bag from the regionals game, before which Bechtel was injured.
“Two nights before we won that game, this young man took a baseball off the face,” Carkeek recounted. “ … There was blood all over the shortstop area. This young man had to go to the ER, came back to us that night, (and) we greeted him …
“Two days later he was back on the baseball field and led this team to a win in extra innings, with a walk-off double that sent us to South Carolina.”
During the meeting’s public comment section, residents from Windsor Mews raised concerns over speeding in the neighborhood and urged council to make it safer.
“I used to go to work really early, so it wasn’t as big an issue,” noted 35-year-old Marcia Redden. “But I’m retired and I come and go at all regular hours, and it’s very dangerous. It’s dangerous for adults, children, pets, the whole nine yards.
“I have nearly been hit on a number of occasions myself personally,” she added, “and I’m very aware of it. So I’m very careful, but the speed is remarkable.”
In other news:
- Council announced that a session scheduled for Monday will be canceled; the next town council meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12, rather than the usual Monday, which is 9/11. Resident Yoni Yares requested the date be moved again so it won’t conflict with the board of education’s session on the same night. No decisions were made.
- Council approved the purchase of two new and unused 8-yard dump trucks with snow plows and salt spreaders for the Department of Public Works.
