CORNWALL, Ontario – Cornwall City Council has decided to not move forward with a proposed motion to rename the Civic Complex to the Bob Turner Memorial Complex.
Councillor Claude McIntosh who originally put forward the motion to rename the Complex withdrew it at the Council Meeting on Monday, Feb. 27.
“Renaming the complex is a complicated procedure and I would like to avoid further discussion on it,” he said.
McIntosh instead proposed renaming the Aquatic Centre after Bob Turner. The discussion then shifted to the possibility of renaming the three ice pads at the Benson Centre after Bob Turner, Newsy Lalonde and Si Miller respectively.
Councillor Andre Rivette backed this idea, saying that the Civic Complex was not a a facility that was entirely devoted to recreational activities anyway and a site that was would be more fitting of Bob Turner’s name.
Councillor McIntosh asked the administration for a report by the April 2 meeting of Council on the possibility of renaming the ice pads at the Benson Centre after Bob Turner, Si Miller and Newsy Lalonde.
Bob Turner was the first Recreation Director for the City of Cornwall. In the 1950s and 60s he faced down severe discrimination in the city before dying at the young age of 35 in 1962.
For years Bob Turner was honoured with the sports complex that bore his name on Fourth St. East across from the armoury, but that honour was taken away when the Bob Turner Memorial Arena was demolished a few years ago.
