John H. Oesterling’s obituary in the Feb. 21 Butler Eagle said “his Summit Township supervisor term was instrumental in the installation of the traffic lights at the intersection of Routes 422, 38 and 68.”

That statement understates Oesterling’s legacy in highway safety. The traveling public owes this former municipal leader a debt of gratitude for his service on behalf of his community and for Butler County’s greater good.

His willingness to challenge an incumbent supervisor, thus thrusting himself in the middle of a controversy in pursuit of positive change, demonstrated courage that other township residents chose not to put forth.

His willingness to run for office on behalf of an important cause has benefited — and will continue to benefit — all motorists using the Summit Intersection.

In 1999, Oesterling decided to run for a seat on the Summit Board of Supervisors in reaction to the refusal by two of the three supervisors at that time to commit the township to paying reasonable lighting costs — for traffic signals and overhead lights — tied to the proposed project, as other municipalities routinely do for their intersections.

Rather than agreeing to the lighting costs, the two supervisors opposed to paying the lighting costs wanted the state to spend an additional $40 million to $50 million to pursue a cloverleaf design to achieve the safety effect that the current rebuilt intersection closely provides.

While opposing the township paying the lighting costs, the two opponents chose not to level with township residents about the municipality’s ability to make those annual payments.

After winning election by a narrow margin in the November 1999 general election, Oesterling teamed with Supervisor Regis Karch to OK the lighting obligation, allowing the project to become reality.

With that vote came the beginning of the end for an outdated, dangerous intersection that took a heavy toll of death, injury and damage over the years.

That dangerous intersection and the kind of tragedy that had been associated with it might still exist today if Oesterling had not chosen to get involved.

The state had intended to withdraw the $9 million it had allocated for the project, if agreement on the lighting could not be achieved. And, there was no guarantee that that money would have been redirected to other Butler County projects.

Oesterling, who was a barber for 25 years in Butler as well as a hotel maintenance supervisor, merits praise beyond what he accomplished as a public official. In World War II, between 1943 and 1945, he served as a U.S. Army medic.

But in terms of legacy, it will be his crucial vote regarding highway safety that should be appreciated by motorists in this county.

After the board of supervisors’ initial rejection of paying the lighting costs, the Butler Eagle, in a Sept. 18, 1998, editorial, said, “The Summit Township supervisors . . . have squandered the opportunity for a genuine improvement to a safety nightmare by a stubborn stance lacking foresight, good judgment and engineering expertise.”

But Oesterling was successful in helping to correct that wrong. He was a good man who made a positive difference on behalf of many others — something that his obituary, by way of modesty, didn’t adequately acknowledge.