Thursday, July 27, 2017
Staff report
STRUTHERS
Mayor Terry Stocker got a brief bit of face-time with President Donald Trump at the tail end of the commander-in-chief’s visit Tuesday night at the Struthers AMVETS Post 44.
The president arrived at the post just before 6:30 p.m. and spoke to 150 veterans for 14 minutes. He then left for a public rally at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown.
Just as Trump was leaving the post, Stocker said he came face-to-face with the president. The mayor complimented the president’s tie – a reference to the fact that both men were wearing blue ties – and thanked Trump for the visit.
Stocker, a Democrat, said he also used the opportunity to mention what he believed were the most important local issues – economic development, the opioid crisis and the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna.
Stocker said the president replied with something like, “Help’s on the way,” though the mayor acknowledged Trump might not have been able to hear over the din.
“I tried to make the best of my 25 to 30 seconds with him,” Stocker said of the interaction. “It was an honor to have the president here. It’s a one-time thing.”