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Saturday, August 31, 2013

Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, August 31, 2013

New & Old. Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park Ranger Travis Delimont stands outside the 1877 Volcano House, now
Volcano Art Center, which was relocated to its present location in 1921. NPS Photo Art by Jay Robinson
HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, Hawai`i Electric Light Company and Maui Electric Company have issued a request for proposals for the supply and delivery of up to 150,000 barrels of ultra-low-sulfur diesel and/or biodiesel and/or biodiesel blends per year for up to three years, with delivery beginning Jan. 1, 2015. The fuel would be used for power generation on the Big Island, O`ahu and in Maui County.
      The RFP states that potential suppliers who may not be able to supply 150,000 barrels per year may propose smaller volumes within their range of capacity.
      Hawaiian Electric spokesman Peter Rosegg told Dave Smith, of Big Island Now, that the proposal is designed to accommodate the utilities’ short-term needs. The biodiesel would likely be used at HELCO’s Keahole plant until biodiesel becomes available from `Aina Koa Pono, whose proposed 20-year contract with the utilities to produce up to 16 million gallons of biofuel per year at a refinery above Pahala is currently being considered by the state Public Utilities Commission.
      Submission deadline for the proposals is Oct. 15, with the goal of submitting a proposed contract to the PUC for approval by December.
      Information about the RFPs is available at hawaiianelectric.com/fuels.
      See more at bigislandnow.com.
      To comment on or “Like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

IN AN EFFORT TO PROVIDE animals for consumption to the public following animal control activities to be conducted by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife, carcasses taken during scheduled aerial shoots will be available for salvage at prescribed locations to the those with permits. However, there is no guarantee that animals will be able to be salvaged, according to a statement from DLNR.
      Due to expected high public participation, telephone call-ins to the Kamuela Office at 887-6063 for receiving salvage permits will be conducted from 9 a.m. Sept. 18 to 10 a.m. the day before each shoot day. One permit will be issued per call per vehicle for one day only. Applicants can have their names added to a stand-by list for additional days, should all slots not be filled by other applicants. No standbys waiting at the gates will be allowed access. The driver, occupants, vehicle license plate and make/model of vehicle are needed when calling in. A maximum of 15 permitted vehicles will be allowed at the Pu`u Ko`ohi location and 10 permitted vehicles at the Kaluamakani location.
      DLNR will conduct animal control activities – specifically, trapping mouflon/feral sheep hybrids, staff hunting, and/or aerial shooting from helicopters – within Palila Critical Habitat in the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve (Unit A), Palila Mitigation Lands, and Ka`ohe Game Management Area (Unit G) for feral goats, feral sheep, mouflon and mouflon/feral sheep hybrids.
      Controls are scheduled on Oct. 1, 2 and 31; Nov. 1; and Dec. 19 and 20.
      Public access to Mauna Kea Forest Reserve, Palila Mitigation Lands, Kaohe Game Management Area and Mauna Kea Hunter Access Road will be restricted and allowed by permit only for animal salvage purposes on the following dates:
  • 7 a.m. Oct. 1 – 7 p.m. Oct. 2 
  • 7 a.m. Oct. 31 – 7 p.m. Nov. 1 
  • 7 a.m. Dec. 19 – 7 p.m. Dec. 20. 
      According to a statement from DLNR, “Aerial shooting is required for compliance with the federal court order mandating the removal of sheep and goats from critical habitat for palila, a bird endemic to Hawai`i.”
      Copies of the map illustrating the area subject to aerial shooting on these dates are available for inspection at DOFAW’s office.
      For additional details regarding meat salvage or access permits, contact DOFAW in Hilo at 974-4221 or in Kamuela at 887-6063.
      To comment on or “Like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

A proposal calls for temporarily trucking trash from Hilo to Puuanahulu
landfill. Photo from Big Island Video News
KA`U’S COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER BRENDA FORD is skeptical about a proposal to temporarily truck trash from Hilo to West Hawai`i’s Puuanahulu landfill, according to a story in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. “They’ve been trying to send Hilo garbage to Kona for two decades,” Ford told reporter Nancy Cook Lauer. “They would love nothing better than to truck Hilo garbage with their fire ants and coqui frogs. We don’t want their pests.” 
      Ford responded to a proposal by Hilo Council member Dennis Onishi asking for an exemption to the county’s ban on the trucking trash from Hilo to Kona. The trash would be used in a new cell at Puuanahulu to create a bottom layer of soft garbage devoid of material that could pierce the lining and lead to leachate.
      See more at hawaiitribune-herald.com.
      To comment on or “Like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Members of Hala Hula O Leionalani are fundraising for their October trip
to Lana`i's cultural festival. Photo by Julia Neal 
HALAU HULA O LEIONALANI raised about $600 with a recent bread sale and is looking for more support from the Ka`u community to help send the hula sisters to Lana`i’s cultural festival in the first week of October. The halau practices at the Old Pahala Clubhouse and is a regular participant at Ka`u Coffee Festival each year, hosting dancers from the other islands and Japan to celebrate Ka`u coffee. 
      Kumu hula is Debbie Ryder, who became a kumu under the tutelege of the late George Na`ope. One of the signature hulas of the halau, which they will dance on Lana`i, is Na`ope’s composition Ka Nani a o Ka`u.
     The halau will take the direct flight from Hilo to Kahului, Maui, the Speedy Shuttle to Lahaina and the ferry to Lana`i. Dinners and accommodations will be provided on Lana`i. In addition to performing, the halau will walk up Mauna Lai, Lana`i’s only valley where taro is grown, and participate in a chanting ceremony in the nearshore waters, similar to the ceremony held at dawn at Punalu`u during Ka`u Coffee Festival week this year.
      To donate, call Keisha Enitan at 339-2423.
      To comment on this story or “Like” it, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA IS OFFERING bow hunting opportunities today and tomorrow from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.
      Training Areas 10 and 11, as well as the northern portion of Training Area 2 (on the Mauna Kea side of new Saddle Road), will be open for bow hunting of mammals only. Hunters are allowed one pig, one goat and one sheep per day, in keeping with state bag limits. Shooting sheep with blue collars is not permitted.
      For more information, call PTA’s Hunter’s Hotline at 969-3474, visit garrison.hawaii.army.mil/pta and click on the “Hunting” tab, or refer to instructions on the hunting pass.

History of Volcano House is a new guided walk offered by rangers at
Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Photo from hawaiivolcanohouse.com
HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK RANGERS are interpreting the history of Volcano House, one step at a time. A new, one-hour guided walk takes visitors on an anecdote-filled journey through the various incarnations of Volcano House, which “officially” began in 1846 as a grass house on the rim of Kilauea Caldera. 
      Visitors can participate in the new trek starting Fri., Sept. 6, during a public open house of the hotel, which celebrates the grand opening of the property following a multi-million dollar renovation. Dubbed History of Volcano House, the walk is offered at 11 a.m., 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. The walk and open house are free; park entrance fees apply.
      Ranger Travis Delimont, who developed the program as a way for visitors to understand and appreciate the hotel’s past and present, includes a stop at a halau near the Kahua Hula, similar to the 1846 structure. Then it’s a short walk to the 1877 Volcano House that today serves as Volcano Art Center. Along the way, visitors learn about colorful characters and stories that punctuate the hotel’s history. The program ends at the “new” 1941 Volcano House.
      “Volcano House hotel has always captivated people, Delimont said. “Its rich and eclectic history has contributed to the personality of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park today. There are many interesting stories and characters along the way, and we want to share them with everyone.”
      The walk is offered at various times throughout the week. Check the bulletin board outside Kilauea Visitor Center after 9 a.m. for daily hikes and programs.
      To comment on or “Like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.  

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