Bill Text: CA SCR36 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Bill Whitehurst Memorial Highway.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-08-15 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 71, Statutes of 2013. [SCR36 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SCR36-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 36 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 71
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 15, 2013
ADOPTED IN SENATE MAY 24, 2013
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 8, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Berryhill
APRIL 16, 2013
Relative to the Bill Whitehurst Memorial Highway.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 36, Berryhill. Bill Whitehurst Memorial Highway.
This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway
Route 152 in the County of Madera as the Bill Whitehurst Memorial
Highway. The measure would request the Department of Transportation
to determine the cost for appropriate signs showing this special
designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources
covering that cost, to erect those signs.
WHEREAS, William "Bill" S. Whitehurst was a prominent Fresno
businessman, civic leader, philanthropist, and devoted and generous
member of the community, actively involved in local organizations
such as the Boy Scouts of America, the Knights of Columbus, the
Fresno Arts Center, and Veterans of Foreign Wars; and
WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst was born on July 15, 1922, to Anna Feusi
and Joel Whitehurst in Sacramento, and that same year the family
moved to Los Banos to open a funeral home; and
WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst, his brother, Joel, and his sister,
Betty, graduated from Los Banos High School, where he lettered in
football, basketball, and baseball while maintaining straight As; and
WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst received a football scholarship from St.
Mary's College of California in Moraga, which is administered by the
De LaSalle Christian Brothers; and
WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst cherished his time at St. Mary's College
and throughout his lifetime provided scholarships to the students of
St. Mary's and San Joaquin Memorial High School, which is also
administered by Christian Brothers; and
WHEREAS, In 1973, Bill Whitehurst received the Christian Brothers'
prestigious award of Signum Fidei for his outstanding participation
in the goals of higher education; and
WHEREAS, After assuming ownership of his family's Whitehurst
Chapel at 18 years of age, Bill Whitehurst served two years overseas
during World War II in the United States Army and was honorably
discharged; and
WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst has demonstrated a lifetime of public
service and a commitment to his community, beginning with his
election to the Los Banos City Council at 21 years of age; and
WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst was selected county campaign chairman for
Governor Edmund G. Brown's bid for Governor in 1962, and as county
campaign chairman for John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Lyndon B. Johnson
in 1964 in their bids for the presidency; and
WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst was appointed to the State Highway
Commission in 1963 and served until 1970, where he spearheaded a
drive to transform State Highway Route 152, then a dangerous two-lane
highway known as "Blood Alley" due to numerous traffic accidents,
into a safer four-lane highway; and
WHEREAS, In 1970, Bill Whitehurst was given the Department of
Veterans Affairs Citation of Merit for his ongoing generosity shown
by his performing burials of disabled veterans who died at a Veterans
Affairs hospital at a cost not exceeding the Veterans Administration'
s allowance; and
WHEREAS, In 1970, and through the year 2012, Bill Whitehurst
extended that courtesy to any veteran who died under difficult
financial circumstances; and
WHEREAS, From 1971 to 1972, Bill Whitehurst served two terms as
President of the American Cancer Society; and
WHEREAS, From 1973 to 1982, Bill Whitehurst served as a member of
the Saint Agnes Medical Center Board of Trustees and helped drive the
movement to relocate the medical center to its current location in
north Fresno. To do this, Bill Whitehurst helped secure the donation
of the 30-acre property and generously donated his own money to the
building fund; and
WHEREAS, In 1973, Bill Whitehurst developed the Safe-D Program to
help young teenagers improve their driving skills and become more
aware of the obligations and responsibilities of driving a motor
vehicle; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his lifetime, Bill Whitehurst remained devoted
to his church, and in 1989 received the prestigious Benemerenti
medal from Pope John Paul II, for outstanding service to his church,
his community, and to families in need; and
WHEREAS, On July 20, 2000, Bill Whitehurst and his wife, Ann,
conveyed to the Fresno County Office of Education the property known
as Scout Island, a parcel that was key in developing the San Joaquin
River Parkway and is now used as an outdoor education center; and
WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst continued his commitment to the community
by serving on the St. John's Cathedral Restoration project, helping
to raise the needed moneys necessary to keep the historic cathedral,
which is located in Fresno, a jewel for the entire San Joaquin
Valley; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the portion of State Highway Route 152
between its intersection with State Highway 233 and its intersection
with State Highway 99 (Postmile 10.799 to Postmile 15.622) in the
County of Madera is hereby designated as the Bill Whitehurst Memorial
Highway; and be it further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to
determine the costs of erecting the appropriate signs, consistent
with the signing requirements for the state highway system, showing
this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate
sources covering that cost, to erect those signs; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for
appropriate distribution.
