HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2001-4653, by Representatives Hankins, Fisher, Armstrong, Lisk and Hunt

        WHEREAS, Sidney Wallace Morrison, known to most as "Sid," was born in the Yakima Valley in the state of Washington on May 13, 1933, and has ever since brought joy and honor to his parents Charlie and Ann, the entire Morrison family, and the many neighbors and friends within the Yakima Valley who are his roots, including his Toppenish High School classmates; and

        WHEREAS, Sid served in the United States Army and graduated from Washington State College and throughout his career has been an advocate for the men and women serving in the nation's military and the students and alumnus of what is now Washington State University; and

        WHEREAS, Sid and Marcella Morrison raised three girls and a boy and sustained the family ranch and business growing apples, cherries, pears, and other fruits that are the pride of Washington state's agricultural bounty; and

        WHEREAS, Sid became a leader within Washington state's tree fruit industry and throughout his career has been a friend and advocate for all of the state's agricultural interests nationally and abroad; and

        WHEREAS, Sid served the citizens of the state's 15th legislative district in the state House of Representatives and Senate, rising to positions of leadership in both bodies; and

        WHEREAS, Sid served with distinction in the United States House of Representatives for 12 years, representing the state's 4th Congressional District; and

        WHEREAS, During his days in the Congress, Sid worked hard to:  establish the Goat Rocks and William O. Douglas wilderness areas, the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument; preserve working forests and sustain timber-dependent communities that rely on them; establish adequate water supplies to serve the needs of the environment and all that depends on the cool clean waters of the Yakima River and its creeks and tributaries; promote the nation's agricultural products throughout the world; and support research to sustain world-class family farms; and

        WHEREAS, Sid was also a leader in Congress in providing reliable energy supplies and providing the nation with a strong defense, supporting the energy needs of the nation, new advanced high technology, science and space research, and the transformation of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation from a vital instrument of our nation's security into a national clean-up laboratory dedicated to the protection of the environment that surround it, and the Columbia River that passes through it; and

        WHEREAS, Sid's congressional service also saw him advocate for civil rights, small businesses, people in need of organ donation, and the wide variety of needs of every citizen seeking help with the federal bureaucracy, assuring that his office served as a model of constituent service; and

        WHEREAS, Sid made good on his promise to serve just 12 years in the Congress and then sought to bring the state together by campaigning hard to become the state's Governor; and

        WHEREAS, Sid was named by the Washington State Department of Transportation as Secretary of Transportation in 1993 with the charge to prepare the state's transportation systems for the 21st century; and

        WHEREAS, Sid proudly led the men and women of the Washington State Department of Transportation, always inspiring them to do their best and make the state's transportation agency a leader in the nation with the call to "Move it Better"; and

        WHEREAS, During Sid's tenure at the department, major accomplishments included the completion of Interstate 90, the Mount St. Helens Memorial Highway, Highway 395 connecting Pasco and Ritzville, the Sequim By-Pass, voter approval of new mass transit to serve central Puget Sound, restoration of rail passenger service between Vancouver, B.C. and Eugene, Oregon, a new First Avenue South Bridge, Tacoma's Cable Stay Bridge on Highway 509, construction of three new Jumbo Mark II ferries and two new fast passenger ferries, safety improvements that have helped make Washington's highways safer each year and always among the safest in the nation, the steady improvement of the pavement conditions on all the state's roads, completion of major portions of the state's High-Occupant Vehicle System, development of the state's first long-range multimodal transportation plan, 30 percent growth in transit ridership, 15 percent growth in ferry ridership, support for freight rails that carry over 74 million tons of cargo each year, and freight mobility systems that support international trade tied to one in every three jobs in the state; and

        WHEREAS, Sid led the state's transportation employees who sustain 18,000 miles of highway lanes, 3,300 bridges and tunnels, 70,000 acres of road side, six mountain passes, and 29 ferries and 20 ferry terminals that carry 26 million passengers each year and successfully complete over 99 percent of every ride; and

        WHEREAS, Sid has always promoted the entire state's transportation needs, embracing the diversity of the state's communities and the diversity of all the people who keep the state moving and became a leader within the nation's transportation community; and

        WHEREAS, Sid's career has always represented the best in civility, bipartisanship, results-oriented government, and service to all the people of the state with honor and integrity and is known to most everyone as the model of a "nice guy";

        NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the outstanding contributions of Sid Morrison, who has dedicated his life to making the state of Washington a better place, and wish him continued good fortune and active engagement in the affairs of the great state of Washington as he retires as Secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation; and

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Co-Chief Clerks of the House of Representatives to the family of Sid Morrison.

                    I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of

                    Resolution 4653 adopted by the House of Representatives

                                        April 20, 2001.

________________________________                                  _____________________________

Timothy A. Martin, Co-Chief Clerk                               Cynthia Zehnder, Co-Chief Clerk