Ohio House approves bill to rename portion of Route 88 for fallen Ravenna officer

The Ohio House recently approved a measure to rename a portion of state Route 88 for fallen Ravenna police officer James Wert.

House Bill 251 designates a portion of Route 88 in Portage County as the "Patrolman James R. Wert Memorial Highway."

Ravenna Police Chief Chief Jeff Wallis accompanied Wert's widow, Rebecca, and his siblings, Lynn and Dave, to hear State Rep. Gail Pavliga speak about the bill, which was approved unanimously.

"It has been almost 43 years since Patrolman James Wert was killed in the line of duty while serving his community," said Pavliga. "He was an Army veteran who moved home to start his life as a 25-year-old committed to public service."

 
Around midnight Jan. 31, 1981, Wert stopped a suspected drunk driver. After proceeding with the arrest, James drove to Route 88 and pulled off to adjust the arrested person's handcuffs. A struggle ensued, and additional Ravenna police officers arrived to assist Wert. At the time, a second drunk driver went left of center and struck Wert.

The officer was only 25 when he was killed in the line of duty.

 
Wert was appointed to the Ravenna Police Department on February 1, 1980, after serving in the U.S. Army, where he earned the Army Good Conduct Medal and was an expert marksman at Ft Hood.

After James was honorably discharged from the Army, he moved back to Ravena and became a police officer to be close to his family and serve the area where he grew up.

 House Bill 251 now heads to the Senate for further consideration.