Pennsylvania Act 2014-76 — SFC SCOTT R. SMITH MEMORIAL BRIDGE - DESIGNATION

Act text

An Act

Designating the bridge carrying State Route 119 over Big Run Creek in Big Run Borough, Jefferson County, as the SFC Scott R. Smith Memorial Bridge.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. SFC Scott R. Smith Memorial Bridge.

(a) Declaration of policy.--The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:

(1) Scott R. Smith, formerly of Punxsutawney, born April 21, 1972, was 34 years of age at the time of his death. He is survived by his parents, Bob and Shirl Smith; his wife, Gari-Lynn Smith; his brother, Shawn; his paternal grandparents, Richard and Betty Smith; and his maternal grandmother, Louise Vasbinder, all of Punxsutawney.

(2) Sgt. Smith was a 1990 graduate of Jefferson County-Dubois Area Vocational-Technical School and Punxsutawney Area High School. He joined the United States Army in January 1991 and served in Alabama, Arkansas, Italy, Maryland, Florida, Washington, New Jersey, Alaska, Virginia, Afghanistan, Kuwait and five tours of duty in Iraq. Sgt. Smith specialized in law enforcement and explosive ordnance disposal and was instrumental in the development and testing of new weapons systems and ordnance, including the SWORDS program.

(3) Sgt. Smith received numerous awards for his service, including the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Superior Unit Award, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the NCO Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service and Expeditionary Medals, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal Badge and the Combat Action Badge.

(4) Sgt. Smith died July 17, 2006, in Al Iskandariyah, Iraq, where he was trying to defuse an improvised explosive device (IED), when a secondary IED exploded, mortally wounding him.

(b) Designation.--The bridge carrying State Route 119 over Big Run Creek in Big Run Borough, Jefferson County, is hereby designated as the SFC Scott R. Smith Memorial Bridge.

(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and maintain appropriate signs at each end of the bridge to indicate the designation under subsection (b) and shall include at a minimum the following information: SFC Scott R. Smith Memorial Bridge; 737th Ordnance Company (Army); KIA-Iraq-17 July 2006.

Section 2. Effective date.

This act shall take effect in 60 days.