Do more to honour volunteers: councillor

The city needs to do more to honour volunteers and other people who have contributed to, or brought fame to, Niagara Falls, says Coun. Victor Pietrangelo.

After council voted Tuesday to name the box office at the Gale Centre after longtime Niagara Falls sports volunteer Pete Mancuso, Pietrangelo said politicians should not always have to wait for residents to bring people forward for city recognition.

“We should do more of that on our own,” he said, before introducing a motion asking staff to brainstorm ways to “properly recognize” some of the bigger names to come from, or who currently live in, the city.

Pietrangelo named several people associated with the Honeymoon Capital who he feels have not been given the credit they deserve, such as Gord Singleton, Jay Triano, Mike Strange, the Masterson family and Marcel Dionne.

When mentioning Dionne, who is one of the most prolific goal scorers in NHL history, Pietrangelo said: “He might not have been born here, but he has certainly made his home here. He owns a business here and gives a lot to this community.

“There is a whole list of people we never really recognized that we should.”

Pietrangelo encouraged other councillors to think of other people who deserve recognition and forward their ideas to staff.

Earlier this year, council was asked to name the yet-to-be-built interior road to the Gale Centre in Mancuso’s memory.

Politicians deferred the matter to staff to review other ways to recognize Mancuso, who had a 30-plus year history of volunteering in local youth hockey.

On Tuesday, the decision was made to name the box office at the Gale Centre the Pete Mancuso Box Office.

Also involved for decades in local baseball, Mancuso has been recognized five times on the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame. “Pete was truly a role model to youth in this community,” said Coun. Wayne Thomson. “This is a fitting, appropriate way to remember Pete.”