CANONSBURG – Michael Bashioum said the new name of the Canonsburg Post Office would serve as a reminder of his late brother for “many, many years to come.”
“They’ll remember a son, a brother, a husband, and an amazing citizen,” Bashioum said. “He will never be forgotten.”
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Bobbette Bashioum hugs her grandson, Cole Bashioum, during the Canonsburg Post Office dedication ceremony honoring police Officer Scott Bashioum on Monday. Also shown are Scott Bashioum’s father, Les, and his daughter, Faren Bashioum.
Bashioum, who is a maintenance manager for the U.S. Postal Service, was speaking during a ceremony on Monday, when the post office name was officially changed to honor Scott L. Bashioum. The 52-year-old Canonsburg police officer and father of four who was killed during the early-morning ambush on Nov. 10, 2016, while answering a domestic violence call.
The shooter, Michael Cwiklinski, also killed his estranged pregnant wife, Dalia Sabae, before fatally shooting himself. Scott Bashioum’s colleague James Saieva was wounded. He later returned to duty.
Pennsylvania senators Pat Toomey, a Republican, and Democrat Bob Casey introduced legislation proposing the name change last year. It was signed into law in March.
The rededication ceremony brought a sober crowd, including local and federal officials and Bashioum’s family members, who faced a chilly rain on West Pike Street outside the post office as it became the second in Pennsylvania to be named after a slain police officer.
Speakers pointed to Bashioum’s 29 years in the U.S. Air Force, from which he retired as a senior master sergeant; his status as assistant chief of the Slovan Volunteer Fire Department; and his work as a borough police officer, the job he held for the seven years leading up to his death.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Bobbette Bashioum looks at the plaque honoring her late son, Officer Scott Bashioum, during the rededication ceremony Monday of the Canonsburg Post Office.
“It is my hope that the renaming of this building we are celebrating today will not only appropriately commemorate the life of a great American, a heroic figure, but also perhaps cause children that are here with us today and around America to look closely at the life of Officer Scott Bashioum and perhaps be inspired to civic greatness and personal sacrifice, just as he was,” said Dave Webster, the USPS Western Pennsylvania district manager.
Monday was also the second occasion when a Canonsburg landmark was given Bashioum’s name. The first was the renaming of the former South Central Bridge on the anniversary of his death.
Toomey and an aide of Casey’s, plus U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, and borough Mayor David Rhome were also among those who also addressed the crowd.
Following the ceremony, borough police Chief Al Coghill echoed the speakers’ remarks: “The community went through a lot the past couple of years, mostly through a mourning stage, and this is great because this is a memoriam that’s going to live on forever throughout this town.”
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Officer Scott Bashioum’s parents, Les, left, and Bobbette, and Bashioum’s son, Cole, unveil a plaque during the Canonsburg Post Office dedication ceremony Monday.
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