Tag: Honor

West Virginia Road Named For Native, Musician Bill Withers

West Virginia native Bill Withers has been honored with a road named in his honor.

“Bill Withers Memorial Road” is the new name for Slab Fork Road from the Lester Highway to the Coalfields Expressway in Raleigh County, the state Department of Transportation said.

The musician died at the age of 81 in 2020. He is best known for writing and recording “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lovely Day,” and “Lean on Me.” He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.​

The Division of Highways installed a sign last week renaming the road. The move was passed by the West Virginia Legislature last month.

“The uplifting messages in some of his songs really helped us get through the last year we’ve had,” Deputy Secretary of Transportation Jimmy Wriston said in a news release.

National Guardsman Honored for Saving 14 People in Floods

A member of the West Virginia National Guard has been recognized for saving the lives of more than 14 people during one night of the state’s historic flooding last year.

WOAY-TV reports that Sgt. Zachary Mills received the Division of Natural Resources Meritorious Service Medal on Sept. 22. Natural Resources Lt. Dennis K. Feazell said Mills and his partner, Natural Resources Sgt. Chris Lester, were called out on June 23, 2016 to White Sulphur Springs as hundreds of people were stranded at their homes in one of the most heavily impacted areas in West Virginia.

Mills said he was just doing his job as part of the swift water rescue team. He has been with the West Virginia National Guard for 12 years, including deployments to Iraq and Kuwait.

W.Va. Highway Renamed in Honor of Wayne County Veterans

A West Virginia highway in Huntington has been renamed in honor of Wayne County veterans.

The Herald-Dispatch reports a dedication ceremony was held Monday to rename State Route 152 as the “Wayne County Veterans Memorial Highway.”

Wayne County officials, residents and several others gathered to honor veterans with a ceremony that included guest speakers and a sign unveiling.

Wayne County Veterans Association President Dolphus Perry says his organization began about two years ago on the renaming project, which officials helped to get done.

State Delegate Ken Hicks, a Democrat, says he found that many of the more than 4,300 West Virginians who died in World War I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War were from Wayne County.

Route 152 extends from Crum to Huntington.

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