COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 35
(By Delegates Evans, A., Rowan, Azinger, Hamilton, Sumner, Hartman, Sponaugle, Howell, Romine and Faircloth)
Requesting that bridge number 12-93-9.84 on W. Va. Corridor H, State Route 93 and future U. S. Route 48, crossing over County Route 1, also known as the Scherr Road, in Grant County, West Virginia, be named the “W. Va. Fallen Firefighter Charles Eugene Kessel Memorial Bridge”.
Whereas, Charles Eugene Kessel was born March 20, 1950 in Petersburg, West Virginia, and as a child lived in several locations in the Potomac Highlands; and
Whereas, In 1982 Charles Eugene Kessel married Betty Louise Sions and raised two children, Tonya Kessel Blum of Tennessee, formerly of Springfield, West Virginia, and Charles Thomas Kessel of Maysville, West Virginia, currently a member of the West Virginia State Police; and
Whereas, Charles Eugene Kessel was especially fond of the area known as Greenland Gap, where he enjoyed hunting; and
Whereas, Charles Eugene Kessel was employed by the Grant County Commission on Aging and the Grant County board of education; and
Whereas, Charles Eugene Kessel joined the Maysville Volunteer Fire Department in 1975 and for twenty-seven years was a faithful and active volunteer firefighter with the group, and served in several elected executive positions with the department; and
Whereas, The volunteer firefighter was proud to be able to serve part of his time as a firefighter along side his son, and he was particularly pleased to be able to serve the children and elderly in his community by delivering “meals on wheels” and transporting persons to various appointments; and
Whereas, Charles Eugene Kessel was a member of the Falls Assembly of God Church; and
Whereas, In August of 2002, while assisting the fire department as a firefighter and trustee, Charles Eugene Kessel was involved in an automobile accident which left him with debilitating injuries from which he never recovered; and
Whereas, Charles Eugene Kessel died October 16, 2006; and
Whereas, In October of 2009, Charles Eugene Kessel was honored as a National Fallen Firefighter at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland; and
Whereas, The name of Charles Eugene Kessel has also been added to the West Virginia Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial erected on the grounds of the State Capitol at Charleston, West Virginia; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name bridge number 12-93.9.84 on W. Va. Corridor H, State Route 93 and future U. S. Route 48, crossing over County Route 1, also known as the Scherr Road, in Grant County, West Virginia, the “W. Va. Fallen Firefighter Charles Eugene Kessel Memorial Bridge”; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Commissioner of the Division of Highways is hereby requested to erect signs at both ends of the bridge containing bold and prominent letters proclaiming the bridge the “W. Va. Fallen Firefighter Charles Eugene Kessel Memorial Bridge”; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward a certified copy of this resolution to Charles Thomas Kessel at 171 Twin Oaks Drive, Maysville, WV 26833, and a certified copy to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways.