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Medford honors sidewalk crusader By Jessica Smith A Medford lawyer who rallied his neighbors to support construction of a controversial eastside sidewalk was honored by the City Council Thursday, nearly a week after his death. Richard Berman, 36, died of cancer Sept. 29 at his home. Berman also will be honored later this fall by a business group for his contributions to the Rogue Valley high-tech industry. At the council�s noon session Thursday, Mayor Lindsay Berryman officially dedicated the developing sidewalk along Hillcrest Road to Berman. The council approved the idea at a previous meeting after receiving a request from one of Berman�s neighbors. "It�s not something we do on a regular basis," Councilman Curt Bennett said. "But we thought we�d try to promote neighborhoods." Berman�s efforts to encourage his neighbors to speak out on the Hillcrest issue warranted the council honor, Bennett said. Berman organized a group of neighbors to attend an August 1999 public hearing where a city plan to build the Hillcrest sidewalk was hotly contested by some neighbors. At the meeting, Berman�s daughter and her friend spoke about the need for the sidewalk. They told the council that their parents wouldn�t let them visit one another because doing so meant they would have to walk in traffic, Bennett remembered. "You could hear a pin drop in the room," Bennett added. "And it was over like that. The whole point of sidewalks is safety." The council voted unanimously to install the 1,550-foot sidewalk on Hillcrest from Valley View Drive to Black Oak Drive. Two weeks ago, the council approved placing a concrete square with Berman�s hand prints into the sidewalk. The concrete block awaits installation at the corner of Lyman and Hillcrest roads, according to city engineers. Colleagues say Berman also will be remembered as one who helped the Rogue Valley make significant strides in the local high-tech industry. "High-tech in the valley wouldn�t be where it is today if he hadn�t been involved," said Charles McHenry, a former technology consultant. "He was instrumental in building this community." A former IBM programmer, Berman specialized in technology and intellectual property law. The Southern Oregon Telecommunications & Technology Council will hold its fall banquet in Berman�s memory, McHenry said. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.