Names chosen for eight schools

Terry Webster

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2001 | 9:49 a.m.

An application process is required for all persons who want to have a school named after either them or a family member.

To qualify, nominees must have made substantial contributions to either education or the community. Additionally, they must demonstrate a lifetime of good citizenship.

Those making a nomination must submit an explanation of qualifications of the person they are nominating, including a comprehensive biography.

Application forms and additional information is available by contacting Dolores Horton, facilities division, Clark County School District, 4828 S. Pearl St., Las Vegas, NV 89121. The telephone number is 799-8710, ext. 229.

The School Board is expected to approve those choices on Thursday for five elementary and three middle schools whose locations have yet to be determined.

The honored ones range from 95-year-old Joseph Thiriot, a legend at the old Las Vegas High School, to Dean Petersen, an early Las Vegas casino owner.

They were in the first round of names selected this year for 12 elementary and six middle schools. The tough work of sifting through boxes of applications is done by a panel of School Board and community members.

Five new high schools will be named by a committee of students.

"It's really tough, because there are a lot of people out there who have done wonderful things for children and the Clark County School District," said School Board member Ruth Johnson, who also sits on the School Name Committee.

The names that received the committee's nod this time include Dean Petersen, Wayne N. Tanaka, Howard E. Hollingsworth, Eileen Conners and Joseph E. Thiriot elementary schools; and Anthony Saville, Lawrence and Heidi Canarelli and Ralph L. Cadwallader middle schools.

The lives behind the names: