HOWELL — The Township Council has adopted an ordinance naming a street in honor of Cpl. Michael Curtin.
Before the ordinance was adopted at a recent council meeting there was an amendment to the law that brought tears to the eyes of Curtin’s mother, Joan, and sister, Katie, who were present for the formal adoption of the ordinance.
Instead of renaming Howell’s portion of Okerson Road to Curtin Lane as was originally proposed, the street will instead be known as Michael Curtin Lane.
The recently reconstructed Okerson Road starts at Halls Mill Road in Freehold Township and ends at the intersection of Route 33 and Howell Road in Howell.
Joan Curtin said she was "greatly moved" by the council’s action.
"We were very surprised and very pleased the town saw fit to honor my son like this," she said.
Curtin, 23, was with the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division when he and four other American soldiers were killed in Iraq on March 29 by a person who detonated a bomb when the soldiers approached him to offer aid.
— Kathy Baratta