The 32nd annual Lehigh Valley Workers’ Memorial Day ceremony will be held on Sunday, April 30, beginning at 1 p.m. at the Bethlehem Rose Gardens, Eighth Avenue and Union Boulevard.

The ceremony will remember roughly 4,000 known local workers who died as a result of a jobsite accident or disease. Since the inaugural event in 1991, 163 workers have perished on the job. The details of each workplace fatality and the ceremony’s booklet can be found on the website http://www.lehighvalleyclc.org

During the ceremony, the Workers’ Memorial Day committee will call special attention to the roughly 115 child workers, 17 and younger, who perished in workplace accidents.

The event is open to the public. In case of inclement weather, the 45-minute ceremony will move inside to the DAR House, located on the east side of the park.

Since last year’s ceremony, nine local workers have died on the job.

Isiah Bedocs, a 17-year-old tree trimmer for Adam’s Tree Service, died Aug. 9 while working in North Whitehall Township after he was partially pulled into a commercial wood chipper.

Scott Fichter, a 55-year-old trash truck driver for Whitetail Disposal, died Oct. 21 in East Greenville when his truck ran over him after he had exited his cab.

Marvin Gruber, a 59-year-old New Tripoli firefighter, and Zachary Paris, a 26-year-old New Tripoli firefighter, died Dec. 8 while battling a house fire in Schuylkill County.

Michael Lugo, a 39-year-old forklift operator for NFI Industries, died Dec. 24 at the company’s Weisenberg Township warehouse after he was pinned between a loading dock wall and a trailer.

Nicholas Varec, a 36-year-old construction worker for Dirt Work Solutions, died Jan. 4 in Lehigh Township after he was pinned between equipment and a trench box.

John Cipriano, a 57-year-old truck driver for Bimbo Bakeries, died Jan. 7 at the company’s Northampton County warehouse after suffering a heart attack.

Shelly Packer, a 59-year-old electrical technician, died Jan. 29 after suffering injuries a week earlier at Akrion Technologies, Allentown.

Ryan Schock, a 19-year-old laborer for AJW, Inc., died April 6 near Route 895 when branches from a tree he was cutting fell on him.

For more information contact John Werkheiser, chair, 610-513-9969 (jw1776@aol.com) or Ron Ennis 610-285-2867 (local268@ptd.net).