Judge Koury ... and Judge Koorie, the Rappin' Judge

Is it Judge Koury or Koorie?

Doesn't matter, as long as you throw out a "Yes, Your Highness" here and there. Northampton County already has Judge Michael Koury. If you don't know him, you might know his mom, who runs Josie's New York Deli in the Easton circle.

She makes the best soup and sandwiches in the Lehigh Valley.

But there's another Koorie who'd like to be a judge, too. His name, spelled a little differently, is Sharbel Koorie. He'll be announcing his candidacy this morning for the District Judge seat that became vacant as a result of Gay Elwell's unexpected death. Like the other Koury, he is related in some way to Betty of Betty's Luncheonette, located on Northampton Street.

She makes the best soup and sandwiches in the Lehigh Valley.

Now Sharbell is already a DJ. He calls himself DJ FlyGuy. But he'd like to be Distict Judge FlyGuy, too. The rappin' Judge. Litigants who can rhyme will have a great time.

"Tell it to me straight, and best to make it rhyme,
"Tell me who's the place and then what's the crime."

In real life, Koorie is a Code Officer/Inspector for Easton and owns several homes near his own South Ninth Street property. I recently met him at Betty's Luncheonette.

In a news release, Korrie states, “I’ve lived it here. Our neighborhoods have had murders, shootings, accidents involving loss of life, thefts, fires, vandalism, graffiti, domestic violence, carjacking, and the list goes on. Growing up in this type of neighborhood, you really learn to understand how things work and why.”

I'll try to make his announcement and find out more about him. It might be a crowded field. Others interested include:

* Easton Attorney Antonio Grifo, daughter of Judge Richard Grifo.

* Easton Attorney Theresa Hogan, daughter of Judge James Hogan.

* Easton Attorney Tim Prendergast, son of former State Representative Jim Prendergast.

* Constable Lance Wheeler, Northampton County's former lead court officer.

* Easton City Controller Tony Bassil.

* Easton Attorney Kevin Santos, the brother of the controversial Chaplain at Northampton County jail.

Koury and Koorie, incidentally, are distantly related.