Work is underway to name the Hughson Unified School District's sports complex after slain Stanislaus County Sheriff's Deputy Dennis Wallace.

Wallace, a longtime Hughson resident, was fatally gunned down Nov. 13 last year while investigating a stolen vehicle at Fox Grove Fishing Access. After a widespread manhunt, the assailant was arrested. The community of Hughson wished to honor Wallace and it seemed fitting to name the complex after Wallace since he helped establish the Hughson Youth Soccer league.

The community of Hughson has a history of naming facilities after slain officers associated with the community. The private Rhapsody Park in Hughson was named after Earl Scott, the California Highway Patrol officer who lived in Hughson and was killed in the line of duty on Feb. 17, 2006. A school was named after Deputy Billy Joe Dickens who was killed as he responded to a Jan. 27, 1970 bank robbery on Hughson Avenue.

The request for the board to act on the request was made by an impassioned Amanda Young, who is the wife of Hughson Mayor Jeramy Young, and city worker Neil Raya.