Bill Text: WV HCR77 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Deputy Sheriff Jesse R. Browning Memorial Road
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2018-03-10 - House received Senate message [HCR77 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2018-HCR77-Introduced.html
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 77
(By Delegates R. Miller, Rodighiero, Eldridge and Maynard)
[Introduced February 20, 2018; Referred to the Committee on Rules]
Requesting the Division of Highways to name a portion of West Virginia Route 85, Pond Fork Road, near Wharton, Boone County, West Virginia, beginning at the intersection of Secondary Rt. 11/1, James Creek Rd., and West Virginia Route 85, and traveling approximately 2.1 miles, between Bald Knob and Wharton, the “Deputy Sheriff Jesse R. Browning Memorial Road”.
Whereas, Deputy Sheriff Jesse R. Browning was born September 12, 1878, in Bald Knob, Boone County, West Virginia, to Benjamin H. and Venila Browning; and
Whereas, Deputy Browning was the younger sibling to a brother Joseph Andrew Browning, who served as a West Virginia State Senator, and grew up in Bald Knob, Boone County, West Virginia; and
Whereas, On April 7, 1917, at 2:00 p.m., Deputy Browning was guarding an inmate in custody at the Boone County Jail in Madison, WV; and
Whereas, While guarding the inmate, he was attacked. The inmate obtained control of Deputy Browning’s firearm and shot the Deputy twice, once in the abdomen and once in the face; and
Whereas, The inmate escaped the confines of the jail, running from Madison into the Town of Danville, as he exchanged shots with several citizens who pursued the escapee until his capture after emptying the deputy’s firearm, whereupon he was ultimately transferred to the asylum in Weston, West Virginia; and
Whereas, Deputy Browning was taken to the Kanawha Valley Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia, by train the following morning where he clung onto life for several days until he passed from the Earth on April 15, 1917, leaving behind a wife, Orpha Pauley Browning, and seven children: Glenn, Marie, Gladys, Dennis, Clyde, Dassie, and Georgia. At the time of his death, Deputy Browning’s youngest child was only three months old. He was predeceased by a son, Alvin Browning; and
Whereas, At risk of losing his life, he showed never-ending bravery, ingenuity, and resolve to fight for the safety of his fellow citizens of Boone County until he left this earth; and
Whereas, Deputy Sheriff Jesse R. Browning’s body lies in a grave on a remote hillside in Barrett, W.Va., overlooking West Virginia Route 85; and
Whereas, All of his children remained life-long residents of West Virginia; and
Whereas, Deputy Sheriff Jesse R. Browning’s descendants include 36 grandchildren and many great grandchildren. Several of these have been behind the effort to have their grandfather recognized for his service and sacrifice to Boone County, West Virginia; and
Whereas, At 38 years of age, having served Boone County and the State of West Virginia for 15 years, Deputy Sheriff Jesse R. Browning was a young man who devoted his life to his county and gave his life fighting for the safety that we all enjoy because of men and women like him; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name a portion of West Virginia Route 85, Pond Fork Road, near Wharton, Boone County, West Virginia, beginning at the intersection of Secondary Rt. 11/1, James Creek Rd., and West Virginia Route 85, and traveling approximately 2.1 miles, between Bald Knob and Wharton, the “Deputy Sheriff Jesse R. Browning Memorial Road”; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Commissioner of the Division of Highways is hereby requested to have made and be placed signs at both ends of the road identifying the road as the “Deputy Sheriff Jesse R. Browning Memorial Road”; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House forward a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways.
