E232 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks February 28, 2019 successfully purchased and restored Beacon Copper Country and the rights of the miners and supporting a negotiated settlement. I call Pointe Apartments in Wilson. In 1997, WCIA that called it home. on all parties involved to find a peaceful reso- restored and renovated Mercy Hospital, which On Christmas Eve, 1913, hundreds of strik- lution to this decades old conflict. was built in 1913 as one of three African ing miners and their families gathered to cele- I encourage my colleagues to join with me American hospitals in North Carolina. brate the holiday on the second floor of Cal- and the Azerbaijani people as they remember Mrs. Corbett’s service to her community has umet’s Italian Hall. However, a panic broke out this tragedy. received national and international recognition after someone falsely shouted ‘‘fire’’ in the f and awards, including the prestigious Nancy crowded hall. In the ensuing rush to escape Susan Reynolds award, the Citizen Award for the building, seventy-three people, including IN MEMORY OF JUDGE KEVIN P. Outstanding Service to Citizens of Wilson, and fifty-nine children, were killed. One hundred MCMAHON the Pioneering Award for Exemplary Service in and six years later, the village of Calumet Community Economic Development. Mrs. dedicated a new four-ton granite monument HON. JOE COURTNEY Corbett has also been featured in several pub- inscribed with the names of those lost in the OF CONNECTICUT lications and books, including ‘‘To Right These Italian Hall disaster. The site of the Hall now IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Wrongs’’ and ‘‘Greater Freedom.’’ serves as a place for quiet reflection and re- Thursday, February 28, 2019 Mrs. Corbett leaves to cherish her memory, membrance of tragedy as well as the history four children, Barbara Claudette Blackston of of the Upper Peninsula. Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise Wilson, North Carolina; Christopher Evans of Madam Speaker, the Italian Hall disaster re- with great sadness to honor the life of Con- Apex, North Carolina; Donald Ray Evans of mains fixed in the memories of Michiganders necticut Superior Court Judge Kevin P. McMa- Portsmouth, Virginia; and Alvin Quintin Corbett more than one hundred years later. On behalf hon of Niantic, Connecticut who died too of Eastampton, New Jersey; and a host of rel- of my constituents, I would like to thank the young at the age of 68 on February 18, 2019. atives, friends, and loved ones. Italian Hall Memorial Park Committee and the Madam Speaker, when news of Kevin’s Madam Speaker, as a devoted mother, village of Calumet for their work to ensure that passing became known all across the state, friend, and public servant, Mrs. Fannie Mae the tragedy and the lives lost there are never there was an enormous outflowing of tributes Evans Corbett’s passing will surely be felt by forgotten. and praise for the man described as ‘‘The People’s Judge’’ for his amazing service in the all whose lives she touched. She will forever f be missed, but never forgotten in the City of criminal courts for over twenty-five years. He Wilson and across the State of North Carolina. PERSONAL EXPLANATION presided over big cases and small cases with great skill, displaying a warm and caring per- f HON. LOIS FRANKEL sonality that balanced courtesy and adherence PERSONAL EXPLANATION OF FLORIDA to the law with compassion for all who ap- peared before him. He had a sharp, delightful IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES sense of humor and the court staff in every re- HON. DARREN SOTO Thursday, February 28, 2019 OF FLORIDA gion he sat were professionally loyal to him because he treated them all with kindness and IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Ms. FRANKEL. Madam Speaker, on roll call vote 96, 97, 98, and 99, I was not present be- respect. He believed strongly in sharing his Thursday, February 28, 2019 cause I was unavoidably detained. Had I been knowledge with his colleagues on the bench. Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I had a family present, I would have voted ‘‘NAY,’’ ‘‘YEA,’’ He was an instructor at the Connecticut health emergency that required my personal ‘‘NAY,’’ and ‘‘YEA.’’ Judges’ Institute and fellow judges often attention at home and returned to Florida on f sought his advice on cases. Kevin was the February 28, 2019. This family health emer- president, and lone member, of the Black gency resulted in me missing votes on H.R. OBSERVING THE 27TH ANNIVER- Point Judges Association, a position he was 1112—Enhanced Background Checks Act. SARY OF THE KHOJALY MAS- honored to hold. His knowledge of the law, his Had I been present, I would have voted YES SACRE sense of humor, and, most importantly, his on the Schneider, Jackson Lee Amendment, sense of fairness governed his decisions and YES on the Van Drew Cunningham Amend- HON. STEVE CHABOT made him a great judge. ment, NO on the Motion to Recommit H.R. OF OHIO Kevin was the past president of the New 1112, and YES on final passage of H.R. 1112. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES London/Washington County Providence Col- f lege Alumni Club. He mentored students from Thursday, February 28, 2019 Providence College, many of whom shadowed RECOGNIZING THE MEMORIAL TO Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I rise in ob- him during his time on the bench. The college THE 1913 ITALIAN HALL DISASTER servance of the victims of the Khojaly Mas- honored him by presenting him with the Faith- sacre, a barbarous atrocity committed against ful Friar Award, and he was a season ticket HON. JACK BERGMAN innocent Azerbaijani civilians. Tuesday, Feb- holder for Providence College Basketball for OF MICHIGAN ruary 26, marked the 27th anniversary of this many years. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES bloody episode. Kevin spent summers at Black Point Beach The story is all too tragic. Khojaly, in the re- at his family’s summer home. Eventually, Patti Thursday, February 28, 2019 gion of Nagorno-Karabakh, was surrounded by and he became year-round residents. He was Mr. BERGMAN. Madam Speaker, it’s my Armenian and Soviet troops in the fall of 1991. a member of the Black Point Association for honor to recognize the dedication of the me- After bombarding the city these troops at- many years. Kevin loved being a part of the morial to the Italian Hall disaster of 1913. tacked on the night of February 25 and 26, beach community and over the years skillfully Through their work to make this monument a killing 600 innocent Azerbaijanis, including el- captained an array of powerboats. He was an reality, the village of Calumet and the Italian derly people, women, and children. Hundreds avid reader and a serious student of history. Hall Memorial Park Committee have ensured more were left severely disabled from the at- Kevin was a sports enthusiast, as a loyal fan that the disaster and its victims are forever re- tacks. Over fifty people were killed with wan- of the New York Giants, the Boston Red Sox, membered by the people of Michigan. ton brutality, many children lost parents, and Boston Celtics and had great admiration for For over 100 years, the area now known as eight whole families were wiped out. Tom Brady. Calumet was the heart of Copper Country, at- Human Rights Watch described these at- Kevin was also a devoted husband to the tracting thousands of Americans and immi- tacks as a ‘‘massacre’’ and in a 1992 report love of his life Patti McMahon and they had grants from around the world, and producing stated that the attacks by Armenian and So- many happy years together at Black Point more mineral wealth than the California Gold viet forces, ‘‘deliberately disregarded [the] cus- Beach which they made their permanent Rush. In response to long work days, low tomary law restraint on attacks.’’ This mas- home. Patti is a highly skilled paralegal who wages, and harsh work conditions, the sacre remains the darkest chapter in the Azer- worked for one of the premier law firms in Keweenaw chapters of the Western Federa- baijan-Armenian conflict. Hartford—Riscassi and Davis—and their tion of Miners voted to strike on July 23, 1913. Unfortunately, the dispute over Nagorno shared experience in the legal profession The strike would last nine months—and Karabakh is still ongoing, despite the United made them the perfect couple. though unsuccessful in achieving its goals in States and the international community not Mr. Speaker, I had known Kevin for many the short term, it marked a turning point for recognizing the independent rule of the region years when we were interns at the Hartford VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:17 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\A28FE8.019 E28FEPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with REMARKS February 28, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E233 Superior Criminal Court back in the 1970s. I vey was able to perform in places in Mil- the State of Wisconsin and the world. As fam- knew from the first day we met that he was a waukee and Wisconsin where African Ameri- ily and friends gather to remember and cele- special person whose sharp mind, quick wit, cans were not allowed and sought to break brate the life of this loving and remarkable and infectious sense of humor stood out im- barriers through his music by playing at man; I applaud him and his legacy. mediately. He was born to be a judge and it venues that drew an integrated crowd. was wonderful to watch someone find the per- He was signed at various record labels over f fect spot on the bench to express his talents the years including the legendary soul labels to the fullest.