Formal dedication of bridge in honor of a local state trooper to take place Friday in Windber
Rep. Frank Burns September 22, 2014
HARRISBURG, Sept. 22 – State Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria/Somerset, will host a ceremony to dedicate the bridge carrying 17th Street over state Route 56 in Windber in honor of Joseph J. Sepp Jr., a local state trooper who was killed in the line of duty in 2002.
Burns was prime sponsor of a section of legislation (Act 103 of 2014) passed by the General Assembly this summer that officially renames the bridge the "Trooper Joseph Sepp Memorial Bridge."
The official renaming and dedication ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Friday at the Arcadia Theatre, 1418 Graham Ave., Windber, followed by the unveiling of the memorial signs at the bridge.
Born in Wilkinsburg, Sepp was raised in Windber and graduated from the high school in 1986. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, he enlisted with the state police on Feb. 24, 1992. He was stationed in Montoursville and Somerset before transferring to Ebensburg for duty in October 1996. He died Nov. 10, 2002, a day after being shot by a fleeing suspect in a high-speed chase in Ebensburg.
He is survived by his wife, Jenny, daughter, Amanda Jo, and sons, Joey and Andy, as well as his parents, Joseph and Lana Gay Sepp, and sister, Tina.
"Throughout his career, Trooper Sepp did not hesitate to put the safety of others before his own," Burns said. "The region was blessed to have Trooper Sepp patrolling out highways and protecting our quality of life.
"Dedicating this bridge as the Joseph Sepp Memorial Bridge is an appropriate way to remind all of us of the example he set and the love and devotion he showed to his community."
Burns said the public is welcome to attend the ceremony.
The bridge renaming had unanimously passed the House in February (H.B. 1921), but the Senate amended Burns' proposal into another bill and returned it to the House, where it passed unanimously. The governor signed the bill into law in July.