The Lehigh County Board of Commissioners had an emotional evening Sept. 13 as they paid homage to two key figures of the community, John Kalynych and Jim Kelly, who recently died.

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,” Brace said.

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 a local daily newspaper reporter Jim Kelly was also remembered.

Commissioner Dan Hartzell spoke of Kelly’s years at the newspaper, saying, “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,” Grammes said. “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 Children and Youth Services.

Reading an email to the employees of Children 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.”

Also at the meeting, it was mentioned Operation Green Light will take place Nov. 6-11.

In addition, Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio addressed the board, highlighting the hard facts of an issue that 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,” Buglio said.

September is Suicide Awareness Month, and Sept. 10 was Suicide Awareness Day.

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.”