An Apple for the Teacher

New Lehigh County Executive and former teacher Phillip Armstrong gave a lesson to ARC members and others titled "The State of the County" - By Frank Whelan

 

The blustery winds of March were blowing last Friday when the members of the Allentown Rotary Club and others gathered at the Lehigh County Government Center to here Philip Armstrong, former teacher and new Lehigh County Executive give his first State of the County address.

 

Introduced by Chris Bauder, ARC member and one of his former students, Armstrong, in office just 2 months, in a confident and firm voice, was anything but blustery as he outlined what he hoped to see the county accomplish.

 

He began by noting that Lehigh County that on March 6, the county was 206 years old. He went on to note that currently it is growing in jobs and in manufacturing was 3^rd in the state.  Armstrong noted what one of the things he is proudest of was the adding of the category of sexual identity to the county’s anti-discrimination document. “It was the right thing to do,” he said.

 

Another topic Armstrong touched on was Cedarbrook, the county nursing home. He noted it had a 5 star rating. Armstrong pointed out that that many counties are shutting down their nursing homes or taking them private. “The question we had to ask ourselves was do we want to be the safety net for Lehigh County,” said Armstrong, “The answer was we do have a responsibility to aid our citizens who through no fault of their own need our help as a safety net.”

 

He noted that there are many things the county does that people do not know about. “We have splendid employees that offer services that people do not know about,” he added.

 

Armstrong touched on many other issues and followed up by taking questions and showed a grasp for the details.  An upcoming event that he highlighted is the "celebration" scheduled for the Thursday before Memorial Day when the city will be unveiling its new LED lighting for the 7th St. Civil War memorial.   Armstrong was quick to point out that downtown developers are paying for the lighting and the "party" but that the high-tech lighting options would make the memorial seasonally attractive and a real tourist attraction.  

 

Zephers in the house!  Student Murtaza Jaffer, student teacher Christine Bauder and teacher (now County Executive) Phillips Armstrong were all at Friday's meeting. All at the meeting seemed to agree that our County Executive earned an A for this assignment and that Lehigh County is in good hands!