House committee approves four memorial bridge and mile-marker namings

The House Roads and Transportation Committee voted unanimously Monday to pass four senate concurrent resolutions that would direct the Indiana Department of Transportation to rename highway bridges and mile markers in honor of service members and a deputy sheriff.

The measures won committee approval by voice votes and roll calls that recorded each measure as passing 12-0. Committee chair called them the final step in a process that begins with an application from a legislator in the honoree’s district and vetting by interim study committees.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 10 would rename the bridge spanning Wade Creek on State Road 156 near Patriot as the Corporal Larry Lynn Breinegar Memorial Bridge. Representative Todd Bascom, who presented the measure, said Corporal Breinegar enlisted in 1970 and “was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star” after being killed by a landmine in Vietnam on Feb. 8, 1971. The committee recorded the vote as passing 12-0.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 would rename a mile of State Road 114 in Allen County for Captain Matthew Tomkiewicz, a 2012 Homestead High School graduate who joined the Marine Corps in 2015 and died in a 2018 crash during NATO exercises in Norway. Senator Bush presented the resolution and noted family participation in earlier hearings; the committee passed the measure 12-0.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 13 would designate a stretch of I-65 between mile markers 137 and 138 as the Deputy Jacob Pickett Memorial Mile. Senator Buchanan introduced the resolution and invited Boone County Sheriff Tony Harris to testify. Sheriff Harris read an email from a California resident describing Pickett’s impact and noted the wide community support; the committee approved the resolution 12-0.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 11 would name a bridge on the north edge of Greencastle in Putnam County after Captain James Ball, a longtime law-enforcement officer who died in a patrol-car crash in 2004. Senator Brett Clark presented the resolution and Steve Luce, executive director of the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association, testified in support. Representative Jim Baird, whose district includes Putnam County, also spoke in favor. The committee passed the resolution 12-0.

The committee chair explained to viewers that the naming measures follow a multistep process and receive prior testimony during interim sessions before reaching the committee.

Votes at a glance - SCR 10 (Breinegar): Passed 12-0 - SCR 12 (Tomkiewicz): Passed 12-0 - SCR 13 (Deputy Pickett): Passed 12-0 - SCR 11 (James Ball): Passed 12-0

The resolutions now move to the full chamber for further action.