Jo Bonner

Mr. BONNER

Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of Arthur Valentine Yaroch, who passed away March 5, 2003, at the age of 73. Mr. Yaroch, who served with distinction as the director of finance for the City of Mobile under former Mayor Arthur Outlaw, was a pillar of the Mobile community and will be deeply missed. Art Yaroch, a native of Detroit, was a longtime resident of Mobile and Ono Island. After earning a bachelor's degree in business administration, he worked as a member of the controller's staff at Uniroyal Tire Co. and then as a comptroller with Borden, Inc. Art then moved to Mobile and became the executive vice president of Colonial Sugars. In March 1989, Art was appointed as the City of Mobile's finance director and resigned at the end of that year. He also served on the board of directors of The Lighthouse, as membership chairman of the Baldwin County Republican Party and as treasurer of the Pleasure Island Republican club. Art Yaroch was a devoted parishioner of St. Thomas by the Sea Catholic Church in Orange Beach where he was an usher and past member of the parish council. Mr. Speaker, it is my great honor to pay tribute to the life of Art Yaroch. He was my friend and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Art is survived by his lovely wife, Isabel; two sons, Arthur and Steven; two daughters, Lauri Ann Grove and Susan Courtney; two brothers; two sisters and eight grandchildren. I would like to extend my prayers and deepest sympathies to his entire family and many friends.

Mr. BONNER

Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, there are many heroes who work night and day, week after week, month after month to keep our neighborhoods, cities, states and this great nation safe and secure. Mr. John Wiggins is one of those heroes. John, at the very young age of 53, is retiring in April after almost 33 years of dedicated service with the Mobile Fire and Rescue Department. John is the oldest firefighter in the department who actually still fights fires. For more than three decades, he has been able to live out his childhood dream of serving his community as a firefighter. He has seen many changes in firefighting, paramedics and in the department and has raised, and trained, many new recruits and most of the current fire chiefs. John laughs that every time he gets in Ladder Truck 10, which operates out of Gus Rehm Fire Station on Moffett Road in Mobile, ``and those lights and siren come on, it's like I'm 20 years old again.'' John has also assumed leadership roles with his fellow firefighters. He has been a member of the Mobile Fire Fighters Association Local 1349 since he first joined the fire department and has served as its president for the last four years. He has not only worked for his fellow firefighters but has also worked as president of the City Workers' Coalition to approach City Hall with city workers' work- related concerns. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you and my colleagues to join me in honoring John Wiggins for his many years of commitment to bring safety and security to his community and to his nation through his continued service with the Mobile Fire and Rescue Department. The Department and the City of Mobile are losing a valuable and dedicated servant and leader. However, I am sure that John's wife, Joy, and his children, stepchildren and grandchildren will enjoy spending more time with this hometown hero. I wish John all the best in his retirement years and always.

Mr. BONNER

Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Thompson Engineering, an extraordinary engineering design, environmental, construction inspection and materials testing firm located in Mobile, Alabama. Each year, the Alabama Chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies honors outstanding engineering achievements with its Engineering Excellence Awards. This year, Thompson Engineering was recognized with the 2003 Engineering Excellence Honor Award by the Alabama Chapter and received national recognition by the American Council of Engineering Companies for its outstanding work as prime design consultant for the Mobile Landing project. Mobile Landing is a twelve-acre municipal wharf complex on the Mobile River adjacent to the waterfront business and entertainment districts in downtown Mobile, Alabama. The landing provides the citizens of Mobile with a publicly accessible waterfront development including a new ceremonial docking space for large oceangoing vessels; a riverfront pedestrian promenade; an outdoor plaza with amphitheater, bandstand and fountain; parking for vehicles; utilities; security and lighting and landscaped open space. Thompson Engineering, as the lead design firm, developed the master plan for the project site and provided architectural and engineering design and construction management services for the project. Thompson also provided grant budgeting and management, regulatory permitting and environmental assessment, subsurface exploration, land and hydrographic surveying, and a cultural resources reconnaissance report for the project. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you and my colleagues to join me and the American Council of Engineering Companies in honoring Thompson Engineering for its outstanding work with the Mobile Landing project. The landing and its facilities will prove to be another valuable asset to the City of Mobile, its citizens and visitors provided by Thompson and its talented and distinguished team of designers and contractors. I personally thank and recognize Thompson for its continued dedication to the City of Mobile and the State of Alabama.

Mr. BONNER

Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, there are many unsung heroes who work day and night, week after week, month after month, to support the operation of the United States Congress. Most of these dedicated people labor outside of the spotlight--away from the glamour that is often associated with public service--but their work insures that our work can be done. One such dedicated public servant, Ms. Diann Condrey, will conclude her distinguished tenure on Capitol Hill this month and I rise tonight to salute Diann for her untiring loyalty and service. Diann began her government career as a high school student in 1968 when she began working with the Department of Defense during the Vietnam war. At that time Diann's salary was a meager $3,776 a year. Diann spent the next 16 years working for the Army and Navy originally as a Management assistant and later as a computer specialist and project manager. In 1992, she took a position with the United States House of Representatives as a committee consultant providing computer support services to committees and to leadership offices. In 2000, she became the team leader responsible for training newly hired TSRs. During my staff days on the Hill, I worked with Diann on a regular basis and got to know her very well. She has been a great asset to our Hill community. Her understanding of often complicated programs was always met with passion for helping her clients understand how to best implement the rapidly changing advances made in computers and technology. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you and my colleagues to join me in honoring Ms. Diann Condrey for her many years of commitment to her Nation through her continued service and employment with the United States. I wish Diann the best of luck in her retirement and always.

Mr. BONNER

Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of the Honorable Delano Palughi, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last Saturday, February 22, 2003. Judge Palughi, who served with distinction on the Mobile County District Court, was a pillar of the Mobile community and a man whose character and generosity towards others will be remembered by all who were fortunate enough to know him. Judge Palughi was deeply religious and attended mass daily, often at St. Mary's Catholic Church. His reverence for his country was strong as he opened his courtroom every morning with the Pledge of Allegiance. His dedication to his community and fellow man throughout his law practice, which he maintained for 40 years, and as Mobile County District Court Judge since his election in 1998, prompted the attendance of more than 600 family, friends, fellow judges and colleagues at the service honoring his life. Judge Palughi will be honored and remembered not only for his service to his community but for his unwillingness and inability to turn down an indigent prospective client during his many years practicing law. He represented the poor and downtrodden when others would not. The Reverend Paul Zoghby recognized Judge Palughi's kindness and humility and stated, at the service, that ``If he's not there (in Heaven), I don't think the rest of us have a chance.'' His charitable nature will be missed amongst the legal community and the City of Mobile. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to pay tribute to the life of Delano Palughi. Judge Palughi's love for his wife of 33 years, Frances; his two sons, Vincent and Anthony; his brother, Peter; two grandchildren, family, friends and his church was the foundation of his compassionate and charitable manner towards clients and those who appeared before him as District Court Judge. I would like to extend my prayers and deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

Mr. BONNER

Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. James E. Stewart of Foley, Alabama, on the occasion of his being honored by his friends, family and colleagues on ``James E. Stewart Day'' in Baldwin County, Alabama. For the past fifty years, Jim Stewart has been the anchor of the Baldwin County radio broadcast community. Beginning with the formation of Baldwin County's first radio station, WHEP, in Foley, Alabama, in 1953, Mr. Stewart has been the head of a growing broadcast family that has provided immeasurable joy and valuable information for thousands of listeners along Alabama's Gulf Coast. During his professional career, Mr. Stewart has been actively involved in the life of his community and has taken a leading role in many civic and professional organizations. Many groups including the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, the Alabama Council of Hospital Governing Boards, the Foley Rotary Club, and the South Baldwin Health Care Foundation have benefited from his experience, leadership and interest in promoting further growth in Baldwin County, and from his desire to ensure that his fellow residents received the best that life in South Alabama has to offer. Moreover, Mr. Stewart has received on many occasions the most important recognition of all: the respect and admiration of his professional peers. From his service in the Alabama Radio-Television Broadcasters Association to membership on Legislative Liaison Committees of the National Association of Broadcasters, Jim Stewart has been honored for his outstanding professional and journalistic integrity and for his genuine concern for and love of his community and state. Mr. Speaker, I don't feet there are a sufficient number of honors or awards to recognize the significant contributions Jim Stewart has made during the past five decades, nor are there enough words to express the thanks of the many people he has touched during that time. I can only express my deepest appreciation for his service to Baldwin County and to the entire State of Alabama. His many accomplishments during his life can be counted; the tremendous number of lives he has impacted cannot.

Mr. BONNER

Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the nomination of Miguel A. Estrada of Virginia to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. This nomination has been pending before the Senate since May 9, 2001. Miguel Estrada has experience, intelligence, character and bipartisan support. Mr. Estrada has argued 15 cases before the United States Supreme Court and has served in the Justice Department under presidents of both political parties as a federal prosecutor and as the Assistant to the Solicitor General. Mr. Estrada was born in Honduras and attended Harvard Law School where he served as Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He maintains the highest rating of ``unanimously well qualified'' from the American Bar Association. This rating is based on professional as well as personal evaluations of a nominee, and some Democratic leaders have referred to this rating as ``the gold standard.'' As a result of Mr. Estrada's professional and personal accomplishments, he has received broad support among lawyers and judges associated with both political parties. President Bush has voiced his concern for the current judicial emergency in America with a large number of seats at the appellate and district levels remaining unfilled. President Bush, as the Chief Executive to the Judiciary, has a constitutional right to name a qualified person to the Judiciary. Mr. Estrada's confirmation will not only place a well-qualified and respected lawyer on the United States Court of Civil Appeals, it will uphold one of the finest traditions of our country. Mr. Estrada has endured over a twenty month nomination process without the courtesy of a floor vote. I strongly support Miguel Estrada becoming the first hispanic judge to sit on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.