GUEST EDITORIAL

MOSES LAKE — My Bits & Pieces column covers history of the Greater Columbia Basin, but also current events and activities. One recent happening was the naming of two elementary schools.

One, Sage Point, has been built and is in use. Construction has yet to begin on the other, Park Orchard Elementary.

Sage Point? Park Orchard? Who is doing the naming and how are they coming up with these names?

There are many residents who deserve the honor of having a school named after them. Let’s just take three people as examples.

My first choice would be Ed Hull. This man was in the first graduating class of Neppel High School, but that’s not the end of the story. Not only was he in the first graduating class, he was the only graduate. Man, can you imagine what the class reunions were like?

Anyway, Ed became a teacher. Somewhere I have a photo of him with a class in Trinidad. He then returned to teach in Moses Lake.

My second choice would be Joe Hooper. I’m sure many in the community are reading this name for the first time.

This man’s combat decorations surpass those of Audie Murphy and Alvin York. He received the Medal of Honor, two silver stars for gallantry, six bronze stars for heroism and eight purple hearts. Folks, these are just the combat awards. A list of other awards is quite lengthy.

He was discharged in June of 1968, but reenlisted and worked to return to Vietnam for a second tour in 1970. While there, he received a commission to second lieutenant.

Hooper wanted to serve 20 years in the Army, but was forced to retire in February of 1974, mainly because of his lack of schooling, as he had just a handful of college courses. He then joined an Army reserve unit and was promoted to captain in March 1977.

Yes, Hooper suffered from PTSD, as most combat veterans do, but this should not knock such a hero out of the running.

My third choice would be Monte Holm. This man is remembered as a Moses Lake icon. He was kind and gentle, a man of great courage, a person who was able to pull himself up from the depths of The Depression to lead a respectable life. His life story should be part of the curriculum of the Moses Lake School District.

So let’s say the school name committee can’t decide which of these three to choose, drop all three names in a hat and draw one. There are many more people, male and female, deserving to have a school named after them. For heaven sake, school board, get some guts.

Sage Point and Park Orchard: The names are simply dull, boring, lifeless, lackluster and unexciting. What names do we have in store for the future? Here are some suggestions: Basalt Rock Elementary, Sand Dune Elementary, Canal Elementary, Tractor Elementary and Irrigation Pipe Elementary. Oh, I could go on, but I’ve worn myself out.

Now this is all in fun, of course, but we should consider naming our schools after people. If fact, my feeling is we should rename all of our elementary schools after people who contributed to Moses Lake being what it is today.