Name that school! Good ideas abound

Kalispell Public Schools is seeking public input on what to name the new elementary school on Airport Road, which is under construction now and is expected to open in August 2018.

When the Inter Lake posted our story about the new school on Facebook, we received a number of worthy suggestions that we hope will be passed on to the committee officially.

By far, the most popular suggestion was to name the school after Gene Boyle, the longtime coach, dean of students and activities director at Flathead High School. He was with the Kalispell school district from 1976 to 1998, when he retired and became principal at St. Matthew’s Catholic School until 2009. He is one of the most beloved people to ever grace Kalispell with his presence, and his name would certainly bring honor to the new school.

There were other excellent suggestions as well, including naming the school for several other district luminaries such as Huz Jensen, Zip Rhoades, Neil Eliason and even long-time substitute teacher Glenn Young, who is a tireless advocate for his students. Another suggestion was Doug Wise, the long-time owner of Sykes, who was born on the school site 100 years ago. You could not go wrong with these either.

Some readers pointed out that it might make sense to name the school after the community rather than a community member, and that makes sense, too. Among the suggestions were South Kalispell Elementary and Lower Valley Elementary. We certainly could support those, and might also suggest Demersville Elementary School to keep alive the name of the town that preceded Kalispell and which was located not too far from the new school.

If you want to make an official suggestion, pick up a nomination form from the district office at 233 First Avenue E. or complete the form online at http://www.sd5.k12.mt.us.

Happy retirement, Jim!

One name suggested to grace the new elementary school was Jim Oliverson, who recently retired from years of service as vice president at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

We know Jim well from his years working as a communications specialist for the hospital, so we know he would be humbled by the thought of being singled out, but some honor certainly needs to be bestowed upon him. His decades of work for the hospital have helped to make that organization a better place to work and to be a patient, but Oliverson has also been unstinting in his dedication to Kalispell, the Flathead Valley and all of Northwest Montana.

He has been a community partner in dozens of important projects that have made this a better place to live, and we happily salute him as he begins a belated retirement at age 79.