By Mike Argento
The York Daily Record
LOGANSVILLE, Pa. — He was Chief 63.
Rodney Paul Miller was a volunteer firefighter for some three decades in Loganville, holding just about every office the station offered. He was chief from 2005 until he died — struck by a drunk driver while on an accident call on Interstate 83 — in the early morning hours of April 27, 2013.
It’s been nearly a year and a half since he passed away, and his loss is still felt in the community, among his brothers and sisters in the fire service.
Several dozen of them gathered Saturday morning along North Street, near the interstate, to pay their respects and to make sure that his name lives on.
From now on, the bridge that carries North Street over the interstate will be known as the Rodney P. Miller Memorial Bridge, so designated by an act of the state Legislature.
“Today,” said state Rep. Ron Miller, R-Jacobus, who introduced the legislation, “you’re doing something you wish you never had to do.”
The speakers remembered Rodney Miller as a dedicated, courageous firefighter, a man who led by example, and who was beloved by the community that he himself loved.
“He served our community well,” said the Rev. Thomas Beck, pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Seven Valleys. “Rodney let his life speak for him, not in words, but in actions.”
York County Deputy Coroner Claude Stabley paraphrased Miller’s brother Gary, saying, “If we had more people like Rodney Miller in the world, we would be better off.”
After the speakers and the presentation of the flag by Boy Scout Troop 69 from Jacobus, Miller’s family — his widow, Shelly; parents Paul and Elaine and brother Gary — unveiled the memorial marker, a green highway sign naming the bridge. Don Eberly, president of the Loganville Fire Company, rang a brass bell — three sets of three rings, signifying “the end of duty and a return to quarters,” said Eric Nagle of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
The fire company also unveiled its new utility vehicle, a pickup with a lighted sign mounted in its bed, intended to be used at accident sites to redirect traffic. The sign, paid for by donations made to the fire company after Miller’s death, bears the fallen chief’s name.
It seemed a proper memorial, Beck said, that the donations made in Miller’s name would go toward something “to make accident scenes more safe.”
Beck said, “Our hope is that every time we pass over this bridge, we remember Rodney and smile.”
After the dedication, Miller’s father said the chief would have been embarrassed by the attention.
“He didn’t want recognition,” he said. “He was a very humble man.”
Matthiew Diehl of Shrewsbury has a scheduled trial date of Nov. 17, according to court records.
He faces charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, third-degree murder and other related charges.
Diehl is accused of operating a vehicle that struck Rodney Miller as he was setting up to direct traffic away from a crash on Interstate 83.
___
(c)2014 York Daily Record (York, Pa.)
Distributed by MCT Information Services