A new sign situated in front of Palmerton Area High School continues to draw rave reviews.

Speaker of the House Keith McCall was the latest to acclaim his pleasure with the LED sign during a visit to the school on Tuesday.McCall, who was welcomed by Superintendent Carol Boyce, high school Principal Kathy Egan, school directors Carl Bieling and Cindy Gasper, social studies teacher Audrey Larvey and several students, said the sign serves dual purposes."The sign is a great, great addition, and people are certainly not going to miss the Palmerton Area School District or the high school," McCall said. "It's a great asset."McCall specifically praised Gasper, whom he said was relentless in her pursuit of a $1 million grant the district procured from the state Department of Community & Economic Development with his help.Egan concurred, and said the sign, installed by Bartush Signs prior to the start of the school year, is a welcome addition to the school.Larvey said the sign was purchased through a combination of grant funds, along with money raised through fundraisers over the course of several years.A Student Life Committee composed of various students helped raise money through fundraisers for the sign, Larvey said."I was a member of the committee, and suggested the idea for a sign," Larvey said. "We were the only school in the district that didn't have one."Larvey said the fundraising efforts dated back to over five years ago, and included pledges from various clubs and organizations within the school."And we were graciously given a huge amount of money out of the McCall grant, around $15,000, that gave us enough money to purchase the sign," she said. "The intended purpose is so that people in the community know what's going on in the district."