Businesses step up to bat for Miners

Valley residents are indeed blessed with the strong sense of community spirit here. Organizations that rely on volunteers and others that are fueled by community support thrive, and everyone's quality of life is enhanced because of it.

Summer baseball is part of the palette of activities available to residents. Since 1976, when a group of volunteers forged Hermon Brothers Field out of a thicket of pine trees and alder bushes at the fairgrounds, the Valley has been home to a team of some of the finest college baseball talent in the country.

Over time, as the Valley has grown, paid staff have been added and the organization has become a year-round operation. Saturday night, the Miners held their second annual dinner and auction. The event is a significant fund-raiser for the team's operational budget, but it could not be undertaken without the support of the business community.

This year, more than 100 businesses donated services or goods to the silent and outcry auctions. All those donations enabled the Miners to raise in excess of $10,000 and surpass the amount raised at last year's event.