Carbon County Commissioners Chairman Wayne Nothstein, noted for wearing themed ties, on Thursday chose to wear one bearing the stars and stripes of the American flag in honor of D-Day, June 6, 1944, when 160,000 allied troops stormed Normandy to launch a pivotal battle against Nazi Germany's invasion of France.

He opened the commissioners' regular public meeting by reciting a prayer read by then-President Theodore Roosevelt in a radio address on June 6, 1944:"Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity."Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith."They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph."They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violence of war."After county officials joined the audience in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, commissioners got down to the business of the day:• They agreed to hire L&S Electrical Construction, Summit Hill, to replace the air conditioning in courtroom #2 for a low bid of $23,660;• Hired COBRA Solutions, Tempe, Arizona, for software maintenance from July 1 through June 30, 2014, at the same cost, $395, as last year;• Signed an agreement with Amy Rontz of Jim Thorpe to provide services to assemble all information, data, and documents necessary for the winding up to the Child Care Services contract between the county and the state Department of Public Welfare. Rontz' contract will be in effect for 62 days, from July 1 through Aug. 31, unless either party terminates it earlier. Rontz, as an independent contractor, will be paid $50 an hour, for a maximum of 40 hours, to be paid in one lump sum not to exceed $2,000.Rontz is the former director of the county Child Care Information Services office. The move is the last step in the commissioners' decision in May to not finalize a proposed five-year, $7 million contract with the state to administer subsidized child care services in both Carbon and Monroe counties.As of July 1, the state will either administer the program, or find someone else to do it. The program's three employees may lose their jobs, or they may be hired by a new administrator.In other matters, commissioners signed child care provider agreements with Tamaqua Childcare Center Inc., at $14.80 to $25 a day; Wee Little Angels (Auckland, Inc.), Bloomsburg, at $16 to $24.71 a day; and West Penn Child Care Center, Andreas, at $14.80 to $24 a day.They also signed a maintenance renewal agreement with Tyler Technologies, Moraine, Ohio, for a Univers & Landisc support system for the county tax assessment office for $12,300, a $300 increase.The agreement is effective from July 1 through June 30, 2014, and automatically renews for successive one-year terms, unless revised or terminated by either party with 30 days written notice.