Baugh testifies about renaming 231 bridge

Testifying at the Statehouse before the House Committee on Roads and Transportation on Wednesday, Lauralee Baugh expresses her support for naming the U.S. 231 bridge over Big Walnut Creek north of Greencastle as the James Baugh Memorial Bridge. Capt. Baugh died on Jan. 2, 2004 after losing control of his vehicle at the location and skidding into the creek while responding to an emergency situation.

Courtesy photo

INDIANAPOLIS — A proposal to rename the U.S. 231 bridge over Big Walnut Creek after the late Capt. Jim Baugh received support from a prominent advocate — his widow.

On Wednesday, Lauralee Baugh testified before the House Committee on Roads and Transportation in support of House Concurrent Resolution 23, “urging the Indiana Department of Transportation to rename the bridge of Big Walnut Creek at North U.S. 231 as the ‘James Baugh Memorial Bridge’.”

The text notes that on Friday Jan. 2, 2004, Baugh lost his life while on duty for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department.

Capt. Jim Baugh

A former sheriff, Jim Baugh was a captain at the time of his death, having served the department for 32 years, and the community for 36 years.

While responding to a call, Baugh lost control of his sheriff’s vehicle on wet pavement and skidded into Big Walnut Creek.

He was pulled from the water but died five hours later.

The resolution was authored by Rep. Tonya Pfaff (D-Terre Haute) and received its first reading by the committee on Monday.

The committee unanimously passed out of the committee during the same hearing at which Lauralee Baugh spoke.

Rep. Beau Baird (R-Greencastle) was added as a co-sponsor on Wednesday.

While it is currently not clear when the matter will receive a hearing before the full House or Senate, resolutions of this nature are usually heard shortly before adjournment of the annual session, receiving little to no opposition.