by Marc Kovac
Capital Bureau Chief
Columbus -- Cpl. Jason J. Hernandez, who was killed in 2007 in Iraq, may be permanently memorialized on Route 43.
State lawmakers paid tribute to the Streetsboro High School graduate and other fallen Ohio soldiers this week, signing off on legislation naming several highways in their memory.
House Bill 27, sponsored by Rep. Ronald Gerberry (D-Austintown), passed the Ohio House on a vote of 95-0 and heads to the state Senate for further consideration.
The bill would designate a number of memorial highways in the state, including three in Portage and Summit counties:
* Route 43 in Portage County, between the intersections of Ethan Avenue and Kennedy Road, as the Cpl. Jason J. Hernandez Memorial Highway.
Hernandez was a 2005 Streetsboro High School graduate and cavalry scout in the U.S. Army who was killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq on Sept. 7, 2007 -- his 21st birthday.
The designation was originally introduced in a standalone bill by Rep. Kathleen Chandler (D-Kent).
* Route 44 in Portage County, between County Road 18 in Rootstown and Waterloo Road in Randolph, as the Sgt. Jeremy Murray Memorial Highway.
Murray, a 27-year-old Atwater native, was killed in Iraq on Nov. 16, 2005.
The designation was originally introduced in a standalone bill by Rep. Stephen Dyer (D-Green).
* A portion of Interstate 77 in Summit County as the Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Kuglics Memorial Highway.
Kuglics, a 25-year-old Green High School graduate, was killed in Iraq on June 5, 2007.
Dyer also introduced standalone legislation on the designation.
"My thoughts and prayers continue to be with their families, and I hope that the passage of today's bill brings them some assurance that these men will not be forgotten," Dyer said in a released statement.
Marc Kovac is the Dix Capital Bureau Chief. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at Ohio Capital Blog.