PRINTER'S NO. 2393
No. 1795 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY HORNAMAN, BISHOP, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, CAUSER,
COHEN, CONKLIN, CREIGHTON, EVERETT, FLECK, GALLOWAY, GEIST,
GEORGE, GIBBONS, GINGRICH, HARKINS, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, HESS,
W. KELLER, KENNEY, KULA, MAJOR, MANTZ, MARKOSEK, METCALFE,
MOYER, NAILOR, M. O'BRIEN, PALLONE, PAYNE, PERRY, PETRONE,
PRESTON, PYLE, RAMALEY, RAPP, RAYMOND, READSHAW, ROAE,
SAINATO, SAYLOR, SHAPIRO, SIPTROTH, SOLOBAY, SURRA,
R. TAYLOR, VEREB, WATSON, J. WHITE, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD,
SCAVELLO, MILLARD, MANN, GRUCELA AND MAHONEY, AUGUST 10, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, AUGUST 10, 2007
AN ACT
1 Designating the Powell Avenue Bridge on State Route 299 in
2 Millcreek, Pennsylvania, as the Staff Sergeant Jeremy R.
3 Horton Memorial Bridge.
4 WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Jeremy R. Horton was born June 16,
5 1979, in Erie, Pennsylvania, to Timothy J. Horton of Fairview,
6 Pennsylvania, and Gretchen S. (Wittenburg) Horton of Millcreek,
7 Pennsylvania; and
8 WHEREAS, S. Sgt. Horton graduated from Strong Vincent High
9 School in 1997 where he had met the love of his life, Cristie
10 Schock; and
11 WHEREAS, S. Sgt. Horton enlisted in the United States Army in
12 November 1997 as an infantryman, after Basic Training, AIT and
13 Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia; and
14 WHEREAS, S. Sgt. Horton and Ms. Schock were wed July 6, 1998,
15 and posted to Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and
1 WHEREAS, S. Sgt. Horton rose rapidly through the ranks,
2 serving as a SAW gunner, grenadier and Fire Team Leader in 2nd
3 Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the "Devils in
4 Baggy Pants"; and
5 WHEREAS, S. Sgt. Horton was also an avid free-fall sport
6 parachutist, played the drums and was proud of his band, the
7 "Welfare Babies"; and
8 WHEREAS, In January 2002, S. Sgt. Horton and his wife arrived
9 in Germany, where he was first assigned as a team leader and
10 later squad leader in Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th
11 Infantry, Baumholder; and
12 WHEREAS, S. Sgt. Horton was promoted to Staff Sergeant in
13 March 2003, and deployed with 2nd Brigade, 1AD to Iraq for
14 Operation Iraqi Freedom; and
15 WHEREAS, S. Sgt. Horton joined Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion,
16 6th Infantry in June while deployed, serving initially in the
17 commander's personal security detachment before being selected
18 as 1st Platoon's weapons squad leader; and
19 WHEREAS, S. Sgt. Horton's element operated in the Jisr Diyala
20 sector and secured the Tuwaytha Nuclear Research Facility; and
21 WHEREAS, In October, S. Sgt. Horton volunteered to be Alpha
22 Section Leader, commanding his first Bradley Fighting Vehicle;
23 and
24 WHEREAS, S. Sgt. Horton made the ultimate sacrifice of giving
25 his life for his country in the line of duty while serving near
26 Al Iskandariyah, Iraq, when an improvised vehicle-borne
27 explosive device exploded on May 21, 2004, while his convoy was
28 stopped for another roadside bomb; and
29 WHEREAS, S. Sgt. Horton was posthumously awarded the Bronze
30 Star and Purple Heart.
20070H1795B2393 - 2 -
1 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
2 hereby enacts as follows:
3 Section 1. Staff Sergeant Jeremy R. Horton Memorial Bridge.
4 (a) Designation.--The Powell Avenue Bridge on State Route
5 299 in Middlecreek, Pennsylvania, known as the Powell Avenue
6 Bridge, is redesignated the Staff Sergeant Jeremy R. Horton
7 Memorial Bridge.
8 (b) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and
9 maintain appropriate signs displaying the name Staff Sergeant
10 Jeremy R. Horton Memorial Bridge on both ends of the bridge.
11 Section 2. Effective date.
12 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
G10L87JS/20070H1795B2393 - 3 -