No one asked Wilbert Shannon Sr. for his opinion on whether Broadway should be renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The owner of Wilbert L. Shannon Funeral Home Ltd. made it clear to Wheatland council Wednesday that he strongly opposed its unanimous decision last month not to rename the road.

And since he has had to deal with a few name changes that affected his Broadway Street funeral home, he feels he has a right to have his opinion considered.

"[That decision] didn't represent my thoughts," the Wheatland resident said.

In September, Farrell council discussed renaming Idaho Street after the slain civil rights leader, and then, at the urging of Shenango Valley organizations, considered renaming Broadway.

Broadway is the section of state Route 60 that runs through the borough, Farrell and Hermitage. In Sharon, Route 60 is known as Dock Street.

Shannon's biggest complaint was that council made the decision without getting many residents' input.

"[Renaming Broadway] would honor the memory of a man that changed the consciousness of America," he said. "Many communities have streets named after him."

Council President David Cusick said he only had one say in the matter, and since council had already voted, he felt renaming Broadway was an "issue that was solved and went away."

He said he hasn't forgotten what happened when the road was changed from Broadway to Victor Posner Boulevard and then back to Broadway over the course of a couple of decades.

"You have to admit that was a bad experience," he said. "We got burned."

Mayor Thomas Stanton said he thought there was a better way to celebrate King's legacy.

"I'd much rather make a statue to really honor him than to rename a road that's been named a half dozen times," he said.

Councilman Dick Campman said he really didn't see why it had to be renamed.

Cusick said Wheatland was "the first one to take the lead to get Posner's name off Broadway."

After several minutes of debate and discussion, Shannon suggested council poll residents and business owners to find out where they stand on the issue.

"It's definitely going to be good to know that the residents will have a say-so," he said.

Shannon said he doesn't think the measure will work unless there is a congress among all the municipalities involved.

"I think if they have a meeting of the four municipalities and understand the situation, they might end up doing it," he said after the council meeting.

It may be an uphill battle for those in favor of renaming the road, since Hermitage commissioners decided last month not to rename their portion, partly because of Wheatland council's decision.

Council voted to revisit the issue and allow borough residents to call the borough office and voice their concerns or give suggestions on the matter until Dec. 23.

Call the borough office at 724-347-7060 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.

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