300 submissions for new West Richland middle school name and mascot

The Belmont Rattlesnakes, The Colonel Franklin T. Matthias Eagles or the Carl Heminger Jackrabbits, those are just a few of the names and mascots submitted to the Richland School District from community members ready to suggest a moniker for the newest middle school.

Franklin Matthias is the first person who wanted Hanford to be built here, Carl Heminger as one of the people who owned much of the land that became West Richland and Belmont is the street the school is located on.

Other names in the list included rather unique choices including Hogwarts from the Harry Potter novels, James Doohan, an actor from Star Trek or simply "the death star" from Star Wars.

Principal Andre Hargunani says the school will hold a forum to get input from students, parents and community members on which suggestions they like best, and will use a scientific ruberick to rank the finalists before submitting a final suggestion to the school board.

"So that we do get the voice of the community and make sure this school name respects the will of the people living here and it reflects the vision for this school," says Hargunani.

The forum will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Enterprise Middle School in Richland. You can find the full list here.