Sept. 13 proved to be an emotional evening as Lehigh County Commissioners paid homage to two key figures of the community who recently passed away: John Kalynych and Jim Kelly.

Holding back tears, Chair Geoff Brace spoke of Kalynych’s legacy and “the many hats he wore.

“John consistently demonstrated his ability, knowledge, talent and teamwork while promoting safety,” said Brace.

Prior to asking for a moment of silence, Brace added, “John has the respect of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, Lehigh County Emergency Agency, 911 Center Communication staff, as well as the entire Lehigh County First Responder community. And John will lovingly be remembered by his peers, family and friends.”

Former Lehigh County Commissioner and Morning Call reporter Jim Kelly was also remembered.

Commissioner Dan Hartzell spoke to Kelly’s years at the Morning Call, making the point, “he may be the only one (editor) you never heard an ill word spoken of.”

Hartzell said Kelly made those hard decisions, rewriting, giving out tough assignments but his writers respected him for his integrity.

Former Commissioner Marc Grammes spoke of his former board colleague.

“He always cared about others,” said an emotional Grammes.

He continued, “I lost not only a friend, I lost a mentor. And Lehigh County lost one of its most effective commissioners. If not the most effective commissioner.”

A moment of silence for Kelly followed.

At the previous meeting, commissioners had heard testimonies of individuals affected by alleged medical misdiagnoses. Many spoke of their experiences with employees of Youth and Youth Services.

Reading an email to the employees of the Child and Youth Services, on behalf of the board, Brace told them, “through your work, the county fulfills its legal and moral obligations to protect children, strengthen families.”

Operation Green Light will take place from Nov. 6-11.

September was Suicide Awareness Month, and Sept. 10 is Suicide Awareness Day. County Coroner Daniel Buglio addressed the board, highlighting the hard facts of an issue which still has much stigma in society.

According to Buglio, as of Sept. 13, his office has investigated 34 suicides in the county this year.

“Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. It’s the second cause of death in the world for those aged between 15 and 24 years old. On average, one person commits suicide every 11 minutes. Two-thirds of those who commit suicide suffer from depression,” said Buglio.

Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi, who has been personally affected by suicide, said, “It costs zero dollars to be nice to somebody. You never know what somebody is dealing with or what somebody is going through. So, if you have a chance to treat somebody with kindness and compassion, even though you can see they are going through a rough time, you never know what that will do to them to do this.”