Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 36

Introduced by Senator Berryhill

April 16, 2013

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 36—Relative to the Bill Whitehurst Memorial Highway.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 36, as introduced, Berryhill. Bill Whitehurst Memorial Highway.

This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 152 in the County of Madera as the Bill Whitehurst Memorial Highway. The measure would request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost for appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

Fiscal committee: yes.

WHEREAS, William “Bill” S. Whitehurst was a prominent
Fresno businessman, civic leader, philanthropist, and devoted and
generous member of the community, actively involved in local
organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, the Knights of
Columbus, the Fresno Arts Center, and Veterans of Foreign Wars;
and

WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst was born on July 15, 1922, to Anna
Feusi and Joel Whitehurst in Sacramento, and that same year the
family moved to Los Banos to open a funeral home; and

WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst, his brother, Joel, and his sister,
Betty, graduated from Los Banos High School, where he lettered
in football, basketball, and baseball while maintaining straight As;
and

WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst received a football scholarship
from St. Mary’s College of California in Moraga, which is
administered by the De LaSalle Christian Brothers; and

WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst cherished his time at St. Mary’s
College and throughout his lifetime provided scholarships to the
students of St. Mary’s and San Joaquin Memorial High School,
which is also administered by Christian Brothers; and

WHEREAS, In 1973, Bill Whitehurst received the Christian
Brothers’ prestigious award of Signum Fidei for his outstanding
participation in the goals of higher education; and

WHEREAS, After assuming ownership of his family’s
Whitehurst Chapel at 18 years of age, Bill Whitehurst served two
years overseas during World War II in the United States Army
and was honorably discharged; and

WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst has demonstrated a lifetime of
public service and a commitment to his community, beginning
with his election to the Los Banos City Council at 21 years of age;
and

WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst was selected county campaign
chairman for Governor Edmund G. Brown’s bid for Governor in
1962, and as county campaign chairman for John F. Kennedy in
1960 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 in their bids for the
presidency; and

WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst was appointed to the State Highway
Commission in 1963 and served until 1970, where he spearheaded
a drive to transform State Highway Route 152, then a dangerous
two-lane highway known as “Blood Alley” due to numerous traffic
accidents, into a safer four-lane highway; and

WHEREAS, In 1970, Bill Whitehurst was given the Department
of Veterans Affairs Citation of Merit for his ongoing generosity
shown by his performing burials of disabled veterans who died at
a Veterans Affairs hospital at a cost not exceeding the Veterans
Administration’s allowance; and

WHEREAS, In 1970, and through the year 2012, Bill Whitehurst
extended that courtesy to any veteran who died under difficult
financial circumstances; and

WHEREAS, From 1971 to 1972, Bill Whitehurst served two
terms as President of the American Cancer Society; and

WHEREAS, From 1973 to 1982, Bill Whitehurst served as a
member of the Saint Agnes Medical Center Board of Trustees and
helped drive the movement to relocate the medical center to its
current location in north Fresno. To do this, Bill Whitehurst helped
secure the donation of the 30-acre property and generously donated
his own money to the building fund; and

WHEREAS, In 1973, Bill Whitehurst developed the Safe-D
Program to help young teenagers improve their driving skills and
become more aware of the obligations and responsibilities of
driving a motor vehicle; and

WHEREAS, Throughout his lifetime, Bill Whitehurst remained
devoted to his church, and in 1989 received the prestigious
Benemerenti medal from Pope John Paul II, for outstanding service
to his church, his community, and to families in need; and

WHEREAS, On July 20, 2000, Bill Whitehurst and his wife,
Ann, conveyed to the Fresno County Office of Education the
property known as Scout Island, a parcel that was key in developing
the San Joaquin River Parkway and is now used as an outdoor
education center; and

WHEREAS, Bill Whitehurst continued his commitment to the
community by serving on the St. John’s Cathedral Restoration
project, helping to raise the needed moneys necessary to keep the
historic cathedral, which is located in Fresno, a jewel for the entire
San Joaquin Valley; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the portion of State Highway Route 152
between its intersection with State Highway 233 and its intersection
with State Highway 99 (Postmile 10.799 to Postmile 15.622) in
the County of Madera is hereby designated as the Bill Whitehurst
Memorial Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested
to determine the costs of erecting the appropriate signs, consistent
with the signing requirements for the state highway system,
showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations
from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs; and
be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.