SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 11
(By Senator Facemyer)
Requesting the Division of Highways officially name the bridge
crossing the Ohio River on U. S. Route 35 near Point Pleasant,
Mason County, "The Silver Memorial Bridge" in honor of the 46
men and women who tragically lost their lives when the former
Silver Bridge suddenly collapsed.
Whereas, On December 15, 1967, at approximately 5:00 p.m., the
Silver Bridge collapsed with 64 people in 31 vehicles on the Bridge
at the time. The tragedy affected not only the communities of Point
Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio, but also the nation;
and
Whereas, President Lyndon B. Johnson immediately established
a task force to begin an intensive study of the Bridge's collapse.
On February 7, 1968, President Johnson ordered a federal-state
program for immediate reconstruction of the Bridge; and
Whereas, The members of the seventy-sixth Legislature of West
Virginia would like to honor the lives of Kathy Byus and Maxine
Turner, whose bodies were never recovered from the Ohio River; and
the lives of Albert Adler, Jr., Julius Bennett, Leo Blackman,
Kristye Boggs, Margaret Boggs, Hilda Byus, Kimberly Byus, Melvin
Cantrell, Thomas Cantrell, Donna Casey, Cecil Counts, Horace
Cremeans, Harold Cundiff, Alonzo Darst, Aimme Duff, James Hawkins, Bobby Head, Forrest Higley, Alva Lane, Thomas Lee, G. H. Mabe,
Darlene Mayes, Gerald McMannus, James Maxwell, James Meadows,
Timothy Meadows, Frederick Miller, Ronnie Moore, Darlus Nibert,
Nora Nibert, James Pullen, Leo Sanders, Ronald Sims, Charles Smith,
Oma Smith, Maxine Sturgeon, Denzil Taylor, Glenna Taylor, Robert
Towe, Victor Turner, Marvin Wamsley, Lillian Wedge, Paul Wedge and
James White, whose bodies were recovered from the River; therefore,
be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Legislature hereby requests the Division of Highways
officially name the bridge crossing the Ohio River on U. S. Route
35 near Point Pleasant, Mason County, "The Silver Memorial Bridge"
in honor of the 46 men and women who tragically lost their lives
when the former Silver Bridge suddenly collapsed; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways cause an
appropriate sign to be placed at both ends of the bridge which
designates the bridge as "The Silver Memorial Bridge"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby
directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Secretary of
the Department of Transportation.