Hawaiians honored with park name

Tuesday, Aug. 11, 1998 | 11:01 a.m.

Where would you find Aloha Shores Park and Buckskin Basin Park?

The obvious first guesses probably would be Hawaii and Alaska. Instead they are the names the Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved Monday for the city's newest parks in Northwest Las Vegas.

City Parks and Leisure Activities Director Dave Kuiper told the Council that the names submitted by a citizen's recommending committee are appropriate.

"There is a large, growing Hawaiian community in the city," Kuiper said in support of Aloha Shores Park at Buffalo Drive and Cheyenne Avenue. "And there is a Hawaiian community in that neighborhood."

Lorna Kealiiwaiwaiolenani Ariola, a resident of North Buffalo Drive, submitted the proposed park name, noting that: "The governor of Hawaii has proclaimed the Las Vegas Valley to be the ninth Hawaiian island because many, many people like me have relocated here."

Aloha, a greeting for both hello and goodbye, means "good luck to you," Ariola said.

In selecting Aloha Shores, the committee passed on five other suggested names including VIP Park, Cheyenne Shores and Palm Park.

Buckskin Basin Park was selected partly because of its location at Buckskin Avenue and Tenaya Way.

By selecting that name, the committee and council passed up 13 other proposed names including Pioneer Kite Park, Judy Bayley Park, Fun and Freedom Community Park, Sweet Water Park, First Basin Park and Majestic Park.

The city's park name recommending committee survived early setbacks to produce names that have in recent years been acceptable to city fathers.

The committee was formed in the early 1990s after irate citizens protested the City Council's proposal to name a new Northwest park after former Las Vegas Mayor Ron Lurie. The council gave the park a different name and formed the citizen's panel to make future suggestions for park names.