Valley Independent Sentinel

Shelton’s Indian Well Road Named In Honor Of Sgt. Orville Smith

by Jodie Mozdzer | Oct 24, 2011 12:10 pm

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Posted to: Shelton

Shelton Fire Commissioner Tim Manion was driving to Milford after Shelton police Sgt. Orville Smith died and noticed that a connecting road between Interstate 95 and Route 15 was named after a fallen Milford police officer.

That got the wheels turning for a similar memorial in Shelton for the beloved “Smitty,” who was hit by a drunk driver while directing traffic on Route 110.

“As soon as I saw that (sign), I said, ‘That’s a great idea,’” Manion recalled.

A few phone calls later and the idea was in the hands of state Rep. Jason Perillo, (R-Shelton).

And a little over a year after Smith was killed, the city now has a Police Sergeant Orville Smith Memorial Highway on Indian Well Road.

City and state officials gathered at one of two signs placed on Indian Well Road Monday Oct. 24 to dedicate the road.

Indian Well Road starts at Route 110, and runs parallel to the train tracks and the Housatonic River down to Birchbank Road. It provides access to the Maples neighborhood and the Birchbank neighborhood along the Housatonic River.

Manion said Smith was always at the fireworks displays the Birchbank residents host each July. He was either working traffic duty, or attending the show, said Manion, who lives in the neighborhood. So the residents thought it would be fitting to name their road after him.

Perillo agreed and worked to get the state legislature to approve a bill that would name the road after Smith.

“This was an idea by the folks who live here. Especially Tim Manion, who went out of his way to make this happen, to make this possible,” Perillo said Monday. “Without that support and that idea, this sign would not be here.”

Manion gave credit to Perillo.

“I just made a phone call. He did all the legwork,” Manion said.

Smith’s wife, Nancy, and her daughter, Nicole Simpson, attended the ceremony Monday. Perillo presented them with a smaller version of the sign. Two large signs were also placed at either end of the road — one where people turn onto Indian Well Road from Route 110, and one where the road crosses the train tracks and becomes Birchbank Road.

Nancy Smith said Smith would have been honored by the memorial road.

“I was totally overwhelmed,” she said.

Press play on the video at top to hear Nancy Smith’s comments.

Mayor Mark Lauretti also spoke at the ceremony.

“I can’t say that I’m happy to be here today, for obvious reasons,” Lauretti said. “I would have much rather had the opportunity to enjoy Sgt. Smith a few more years.”

Chief Joel Hurliman said the signs will help prompt the public to always have Smith on their minds.

“I think it’s very important that we have a permanent public reminder of Sgt. Smith’s service, not only to his country, but to his city,” Hurliman said. “When we go to the police department daily, we’re reminded of his service. But the general public is not.”

Smith was a Vietnam veteran, having served in the Marine Corp.

He was also a volunteer firefighter for the White Hills Fire Co.

He was a well known fixture in Shelton. The police department has purchased memorial rifles in Smith’s memory and has a memorial in a display case inside the police department.

Smith has also been named an American Police Hall of Fame Medal of Honor and Law Enforcement Purple Heart recipient as a result of his on-duty death.

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