Ka`u News Briefs July 4, 2011

Flags honored Hawai`i and the U.S. at the two-day Na`alehu rodeo.  Photo by Julia Neal

FIREWORKS DISPLAYS today will light up the sky at 8 p.m. on Coconut Island in Hilo; 8:30 p.m. from a barge off-shore on Ali`i Drive in Kailua-Kona, and at 8 p.m. at Queen’s Marketplace in Waikoloa. With a valid permit, firecrackers and consumer fireworks will be allowed to be set only from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. today. 

Lorilee Lorenzo, daughter of Mahina and
Frank Lorenzo, reigned over the parade.
Photo by Julia Neal

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT sent out its safety tips, including: 

     It is illegal to remove the powder or pyrotechnic contents from any fireworks; throw fireworks from a moving vehicle; set off any fireworks at any time not within the time periods as permitted; set off any fireworks within 1,000 feet of any operating hospital, nursing home, home for the elderly or animal hospital or in any school building or on any school grounds and yards on any occasion; and to set off any fireworks on any highway, alley, street, sidewalk or other public way; in any park, or within 1,000 feet of a church during the periods when services are held.
     It is illegal for any person to offer for sale, sell, or give any fireworks to minors, and for any minor to possess, purchase, sell, or set off, ignite, or otherwise cause to explode any fireworks, except under the immediate supervision of an adult.
     The Hawai`i Fire Department also asks everyone to do their part to prevent fires and injuries caused by fireworks.

HAWAII ELECTRIC LIGHT CO is reminding everyone to celebrate safely today on the Fourth of July. Here are some of HELCO’s tips: Do not use metal ladders or poles near power lines. Keep any ladders, poles or tie lines that are used to set up fireworks at least 10 feet away from power lines. Overhead power lines are energized and could be dangerous. Carefully set up and use fireworks only in areas clear of overhead power lines. Do not string fireworks on utility poles. If an object should become tangled in an overhead power line, do not try to free it. Call HELCO’s trouble line at 969-6666 and call 911 if it is an emergency. 

Po Wai U is Hawai`i's exclusive rodeo sport, stemming from catching cattle in the forest.  Photo by Julia Neal

DEEP SEA MINING OF rare earth elements could be proposed for waters near Hawai`i, as a Japanese scientist has mapped the Pacific locations of these very valuable elements used in industry. Locations both east and west of the Hawaiian islands are on his map. The majority of the rare earth elements are mined in China, but these newly found locations, within international waters, could give other countries a chance at mining them. Environmentalists are concerned. 

Healthy cows like this one could be
threatened by a disease carried
by bulls.  Photo by Julia Neal

A DISEASE IN CATTLE that can apparently be transmitted from bulls to cows and cause fewer and delayed pregnancies, as well as abortion of calves, is being tracked by the state veterinarian who is testing bulls throughout Ka`u. There is no cure for the carrier, and bulls with the disease are separated from the herd and usually slaughtered. The cows recover. Any owner of cattle can call the state veterinarian to have bulls tested at 808-483-7100. 

A LIVING ANCHIALINE POOL is Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s newest exhibit at Kilauea Visitor Center. The unveiling takes place at tomorrow night’s After Dark in the Park program at 7 p.m. Also during the program, Dr. Scott Santos uncovers the secrets of Hawai`i’s most famous endemic shrimp, `opae `ula, that live in anchialine ponds.