Committee defers Soap Lake name change
Soap Lake Finance Director Karen Dillon, standing, counts hands raised in opposition to a proposal to change the city's namesake to Lake Smokium during a council meeting in March. The council ultimately voted to oppose the move, which was discussed in Olympia last week.
OLYMPIA - The Washington State Committee on Geographic Names voted last week to defer a proposal to change the name of Soap Lake to Lake Smokiam.
The names committee held an initial hearing last fall and another in Olympia last Friday to consider whether to reinstate the lake's purported native name at the recommendation of Soap Lake resident Bonnie Holt-Morehouse and Moses Lake historian Robert Ruby.
Bob Redling, who acts as spokesman for the names committee, said on Monday that the names committee opted to table the issue until their next meeting, which is Oct. 19.
While the official meeting minutes won't be released for a couple more weeks, Redling said two likely reasons for the decision were the opposition of local government officials as well as a member of the Yakama Tribe, who reportedly raised questions about the research that went into the place names.
"It's not dead, things can be deferred until (committee members) feel they have enough information to decide one way or another on it," Redling said. "It seems like they just didn't feel they had enough information."
Committee members may request more comments prior to their next meeting, or they could ask proponents to gather more facts on their proposal.
At this point, more than 450 comments have been submitted opposing the name change, 19 people have expressed support and eight voiced no objection to the prospect. Those opposed included the Soap Lake City Council and the Grant County Board of Commissioners.
"There is some criteria to help committee members in terms of how much weight to give something," Redling said. "In terms of local governments, it's a lot, but it's not the sole determinant. There are also things like the actual history of the area, what the local customs are or how the locals feel."
At last week's meeting, Holt-Morehouse, Ruby and a member of the Colville Tribes spoke in favor of the name change, while a representative of the Yakama Tribe spoke against the idea, according to Redling.
"The board looks more at the content of the comments than the pure numbers," he said, conceding the issue did draw a high amount of input. "I've been told there are some other proposals that have gotten in the hundreds (of comments) for and against, but this is one of the ones received the most comments in recent times."
Once it's ultimately made, the committee's recommendation to either accept or deny the name change will be forwarded to the Washington State Board on Geographic Names, which oversees the official establishment of names throughout the state.
Comments are available for viewing online at www.soaplakeforlocals.com under "Soap Lake or Smokium?" by clicking on the link for the committee's website.