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Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013

American Honey Queen Caroline Adams, center, asks members of Vince Krakau's first-grade class to spread their knowledge about honeybees and what can be done to help the necessary pollinators of food and ornamental plants. First row: Malyann Lokot, Owen Flores and Kaui Young. Second row: Jayden Haina-Sesson-Haalilio, Stephen Throne, Vince Krakau, Manu Yahna, Caroline Adams, Angelica Bivings and Trinity Torres. Photo by Nalani Parlin
AGRICULTURAL DIVERSITY HELPS KEEP honeybees healthy by providing a variety of nutrients. The bees make farmed and wild fruits, nuts and vegetable plants more productive by helping with their pollination, said American Honey Queen Caroline Adams, who spoke to Ka`u residents on Sunday and Monday. Adams, who represents the American Beekeeping Federation, is visiting 25 states during her reign. She said her organization encourages those with orchards and large fields of row crops to set aside an acre or a border with a variety of wild or other planted crops to provide diverse nutrients to the bees. She also complimented Hawai`i for producing the most expensive honey in the world, a kind of kiawe honey.
      The American Honey Queen encouraged Ka`u residents to purchase local honey so they know where it comes from. Some “honey” made in China, she noted, is not real honey – it is thinned out and infused with high fructose corn syrup. The American Beekeeping Association is fighting importation of such products labeled as honey, Adams said.
American Honey Queen Caroline Adams encourages Ka`u
residents to attend the Hawai`i Honey Festival.
      Adams, who comes from Plano, Texas, has her own hives. She talked about the life of the bees and the care given to their queens. She also encouraged Ka`u residents to attend the Hawai`i Honey Festival coming up on Saturday, Nov. 23 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Nani Mau Gardens. Attendees will be able to vote on a People’s Choice Award for best tasting local honey. There will be a Bee Friendly plant sale, food, beekeeping demonstrations and bee education. Adults can enter for $3, and keiki are free. 
      During the session yesterday at Pahala Senior Center, Julie Pasquale, the nutritional director there, offered a tasting test between an imported honey and Raw Natural Honey from Ka`u Honey Co. in Wai`ohinu. The local honey is made from the nectars of lehua, Christmas berry, citrus, macadamia, mango, lilikoi and other wildflowers. It won the taste contest over the imported honey.
      Adams also stopped at Na`alehu School yesterday morning and visited the children of Vince Krakau’s, Dayna Santiago’s and Dale Sales’ first-grade classes, as well as Karen Wallace’s fourth-grade class. She asked students to take her honeybee challenge, which included sharing at least one thing they learned about honeybees with someone else and explaining one thing we can all do to protect and help bees. She taught students that when honeybees approaches you, they are often smelling you and actually do not want to sting you, because then they will die. If you swat at the bees, they will be scared and might sting you to protect themselves. The best thing to do, said Adams, is to wrap your arms around yourself and walk away. Her presentation was videotaped for other classes who want to see her presentation but did not have time due to scheduling.
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IN RECENTLY RELEASED KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN draft documents, Ka`u is described as being part of what is called the fourth wave of economic development.
      “The field of economic development has come full circle to recognize the wisdom of communities like Ka`u that never forgot the root meaning of economics,” the document states. It describes the first three waves of economic development as focusing on business attraction, business retention and then community-based economic development.
      “In the emerging fourth wave, economic development re-integrates the local economy with the preservation and enhancement of each place’s unique natural, cultural, and community assets,” the document states. “In other words, the fourth wave of economic development – the wave that Ka`u’s soul never left – is about localization, holism, stewardship, reciprocity and genuine wealth.”
      The document discusses ho`owaiwai and defines the Hawaiian word as the holistic understanding of wealth. “Even more simply,” it says, “fourth wave economic development – and economic development in Ka`u – is about wealth creation, retention, and sharing. Again, wealth is not limited to financial capital. Rather, it includes many different types of capital – human, intellectual, social, cultural, natural, political, etc.”
Hawai`i County planner Ron Whitmore, seen here with his
family, says Ka`u is part of the "fourth wave of
economic development."
      Ho`owaiwai is also the name of Hawai`i County’s plan for building genuine wealth and the name of the statewide network “whose goal is to help families and communities build genuine wealth, and to do so in a way that is appropriate for island people – respecting the relationship island people have with the islands that feed them, both body and spirit,” the document says.
      “Returning to Ka`u’s values, priorities, and objectives, indicators of oikonomia, na `ohana economy and ho`owaiwai should account for all three of the community’s goal areas – managing and conserving natural and cultural resources, preserving and strengthening community character and building a resilient, sustainable local economy,” the documents conclude.
      The documents are available for review online at kaucdp.info and at area libraries and community centers. The Planning Department invites comments through Dec. 16, and a feedback form is available on the website.
      The documents will also be discussed during Ka`u CDP Steering Committee’s meeting a week from today, on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.
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FREE TUTORING FOR STUDENTS OF KA`U is offered by Kathryn Tydlacka, M.Ed. Parents are asked to make a small contribution to Ka`u Learning Academy, which is now operating as a 501(c)3. All donations go toward the development of this charter school, said Tydlacka, who noted that she will employ computer-based programs to assist instruction. “This has been made possible by Ross Rammelmeyer’s generous donation of five laptop computers and a projector and screen,” she said. “We have successfully completed round one of the application process, and based on the enthusiasm of many supporters, we feel certain we will succeed in bringing a much-needed charter school to Ka`u.” Contact her at kathryntydlacka@hotmail.com.
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ALAN S. DOWNER IS THE NEW ADMINISTRATOR of the state Historic Preservation Division. Department of Land and Natural Resources chairperson William Aila, Jr. said, “With extensive experience as director for one of the nation’s largest historic preservation agencies, Downer brings tremendous experience in leadership…. I also believe his qualifications will provide SHPD with much needed direction on working with the National Park Service to meet requirements under its Corrective Action Plan.”
      Downer served 27 years as director of the Navajo Nations Historic Preservation Department in Window Rock, Ariz. He was hired in 1986 to establish the first tribal historic preservation agency in the United States. The Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department remains one of the largest public historic preservation agencies in the United States.
      “Mr. Downer has the right experience to lead the Hawai`i’s State Historic Preservation Division,” Gov. Neil Abercrombie said. “The division plays a vital role in protecting and preserving Hawai`i’s historic and cultural sites, while balancing complex issues that affect the state’s economy.”
      Downer presently is special advisor to the executive director for the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources, a multi-agency resource management organization responsible for the management and stewardship of the natural and cultural resources of the Navajo Nation.
      Prior to working for the Navajo Nation, Downer was senior archaeologist for the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, overseeing the western United States, where he had the responsibility to review many Section 106 cases for Hawai`i and worked extensively with project sponsors, federal agencies, Native Hawaiian groups, and the State Historic Preservation Officer. The work required a working knowledge of the fundamentals of Hawaiian history and Native Hawaiian culture.
Videoconferencing is available at Ocean View Community Center for
County Council meetings today and tomorrow.
      Downer received his Bachelor of Science in geology from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. and his Masters in anthropological archaeology and his PhD in applied anthropology from University of Missouri–Columbia.
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HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL MEETINGS TAKE PLACE today and tomorrow. A special meeting is scheduled today at 2 p.m. to discuss a bill that would prohibit most GMO crops.
      The council's regular meeting is tomorrow, and both meetings are held at Council Chambers in Hilo.
      Ka`u residents can participating via videoconferencing at Ocean View Community Center.

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK PRESENTS Susan Cordell, senior scientist and research ecologist for the USDA Forest Service’s Institute of Pacific Island Forestry, discussing forest management tomorrow. The program begins at 7 p.m. this evening at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

BENTO RAKUGO VISITS PAHALA PUBLIC & SCHOOL LIBRARY Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Performers present a comic story while sitting on a Japanese cushion throughout the entire performance, speaking all of the voices in both the first person and third person. All stories are spoken in English. The program is suitable for ages 5 and older, and young children must be accompanied by parent or caregiver.
      Call 928-2015 for more information.

HAWAIIAN MUSIC MASTERS AND THEIR STUDENTS present a free concert Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. The concert celebrates the eighth annual Hawaiian Music & Lifestyles Workshop held by Keoki Kahumoku and his Center for Hawaiian Music Studies. Attendees are encouraged to bring folding chairs and mats for seating on the lawn. Smoked meat plates will be available for purchase. 

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

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