PA House Passes Bill Renaming Road For Former Horsham Council Member

HORSHAM, PA — The state House of Representatives has passed a bill that would rename a portion of County Line Road between Horsham Township, Montgomery County and Warminster Township, Bucks County in honor of a former U.S. Air Force major.

The legislation, which was sponsored by State Rep. Todd Stephens, a Montgomery County Republican, would name a section of County Line Road from Meetinghouse Road to Blair Mill Road the U.S. Air Force Major James Doherty Memorial Highway.

Doherty, who passed away last year, formerly served on the Horsham Township Council and with the Horsham Little League, the Horsham Water and Sewer Authority, Horsham Township Parks and Recreation Board, Horsham Township Environmental Advisory Board and the Horsham Township Vacancy Board, according to Stephens' office.

Doherty was also a member of the Hatboro-Horsham School Board for two decades, was a member of the Horsham Lions for 10 years and was a member of the Horsham VFW for 20 years.

"I am proud to support legislation that honors someone who was a true asset to our community," State Rep. Meghan Schroeder, a Bucks County Republican who cosponsored the legislation with Stephens, said in a statement back when the bill was unveiled last summer. "Maj. Doherty lived an extraordinary life, not only did he sacrifice to serve our country but returned home and continued devoting his life to serving others around him."

Schroeder, whose district includes Warminster Township, just over County Line Road from Horsham, had said that Doherty's "dedication to country and community deserves to be memorialized and remembered."

The legislation was House Bill 1560.

According to a bio, Doherty had joined the United States Air Force back in 1943 and went on to become a bomber pilot at the age of 18, serving in both the European and Pacific Theaters in World War II as a second lieutenant.

He then served in the reserves as a first lieutenant, where he got called back into service during the Korean War. After that, he served an additional five years in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.

"The Greatest Generation will be remembered not only for answering the call to duty during World War II, but for returning home to serve and build their communities and create the thriving towns that flourished throughout our Commonwealth. So it was with Jim Doherty," Stephens said in a statement after the bill's passage this week.

"In the future, as families drive alone this roadway, children will ask who Jim Doherty was and they'll learn the true meaning of service to one's country and community," Stephens added. "That is the legacy of U.S. Air Force Maj. James Doherty."