Scheller voted to withdraw from regional health bureau

As a Lehigh County commissioner, Lisa Scheller voted to withdraw from the regional health bureau which was approved unanimously in 2007, by a Republican-led board. She and others dismissed it as expansion of government and did not see the benefit of it.

Bureau services would have included immunizations, preparedness for natural disasters, communicable disease investigations and a coordinated response to public health emergencies. In a time when we are facing a pandemic, combined with a serious opioids crisis, the value of an established well-funded regional health bureau is not difficult to imagine.

Her passionate embrace of the fracking industry also brings into question whether she would be a strong advocate for the safety of Lehigh Valley residents, when train cars transporting millions of gallons of liquified natural gas begin to roll through the region.

Will Ms. Scheller [a candidate for U.S. Representative in the PA 7th District] insist on adequate funding, training and equipment for the area’s emergency responders, who will be on the front lines, should an accident occur? Will she ensure that Lehigh Valley residents are not living under the threat of an explosive chain of events?

Joan Strong

Coplay