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Sunday, June 12, 2016

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Sunday, June 12, 2016

A rapidly moving `a`a lava flow was one of several that advanced down the west flank of Mauna Loa during the
volcano's 1950 eruption. The massive flow traveled from the Southwest Rift Zone vent to the ocean, a distance
of about 11 miles, in around 18 hours. Incandescently hot areas on the flow appear white. See more below.
Photo from Air National Guard's 199th Fighter Squadron & USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

EARLY HEAD START is available in Ka`u. The program offers parenting and health education that is developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive, and family development that empowers families’ abilities to support and nurture their children by meeting social and economic goals. It encourages leadership through participation and community building.
      Early Head Start can help participants answer questions about pregnancy, labor and delivery, discover the latest ideas in baby care and development, learn about playing with infants and toddlers, and plan a healthy future for themselves, their baby and their families.
Early Head Start is available in Ka`u. Image from Family Support Services
      Participants can take advantage of supportive home visits that provide a “Parent Partner” to share early childhood health and development information and include fun, educational activities for the whole family to do together.
      Participants can be part of parent/child socialization groups, parent support and education activities, community events, policy council and parent committees and family literacy projects. They connect with community resources like prenatal care, well-child care, food through WIC and other nutrition services, support services, education and job training, family planning services and child development programs, child care and family literacy training
      To be eligible for Early Head Start participants are pregnant or have a child under three years of age, a teen parent or a foster parent, living below the poverty level, receiving TANF benefits or S.S.I. benefits and homeless or hidden homeless (couch-surfing).
      For more information, call 939-7028.
      See more at http://familysupporthawaii.org/early-head-start.
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KA`U LEARNING ACADEMY is accepting applications for the next school year that begins on Aug. 1. The tuition-free public charter school is now enrolling grades three through seven. The school provides free transportation and free meals.
      Applications and more information are available at kaulearning.com and 808-498-0761.
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KRRA's Fourth of July Rodeo is on July 2 and 3 this year.
Photo by Julia Neal
WANT TO BE RODEO QUEEN? Ka`u Roping & Riding Association is looking for contestants between the ages of eight and 18 to run for queen for its Fourth of July Rodeo coming up on July 2 and 3 in Na`alehu.
      Call Tammy Ka`apana at 929-8079 for details.
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THE CURRENT ISSUE OF VOLCANO WATCH continues Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists’ discussion of lava flows from Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone that crossed Highway 11.
      “During the past 148 years, Mauna Loa Southwest Rift Zone eruptions have sent massive lava flows across Hawai`i Island’s main road six times: in 1868, 1887, 1907, 1919, 1926, and 1950,” the article states. “These flows destroyed villages, displacing residents; burned forests and ranch land, trapping cattle on isolated knolls; blocked roads, disrupting traffic; and torched telephone poles, severing communication.
      “Last week’s Volcano Watch article focused on the 1868, 1887, and 1907 eruptions. This week, we describe the 1919, 1926, and 1950 lava flows, which were unlike any of the flows observed during the ongoing Kilauea eruption.
      “On Sept. 26, 1919, a vent high on Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone erupted for just a few hours. Three days later, a breakout lower on the rift zone erupted fountains of lava up to120 meters (400 feet) high and sent a river of lava down the volcano’s forested slopes. Within about 20 hours, an `a`a flow several hundred meters (yards) wide crossed the circle-island Government Road (predecessor of Highway 11), burying the small village of `Alika. This flow can be seen today at Highway 11 mile markers 90-91. 
      “The 1919 lava flow advanced 18 kilometers (11 miles) in about 24 hours, reaching the sea north of Ho`opuloa, where it poured into the ocean for 10 days. The eruption then slowly waned until Nov. 5, when all activity ceased.
Lava flows have crossed Highway 11 six times in the past
148 years. Map from USGS/HVO 
      “The 1926 eruption began on April 10 at the summit of Mauna Loa, but fissures soon migrated down the volcano’s Southwest Rift Zone. By April 14, three main vents were sending huge `a`a flows downslope. Two days later, the main flow – 4-6-m (15–20-ft) high, 150-m (500-ft) wide, advancing at two m (seven ft) per minute – crossed the road. This flow is visible today along Highway 11 at mile markers 87-88.
      “The 1926 flow thickened and widened as it rapidly advanced beyond the road toward the sea. On April 18, a 9-12-m (30-40-ft) high and 455-610-m (1,500-2,000-ft) wide `a`a flow plowed through the Ho`opuloa village and harbor. The destruction was gradual but complete. The eruption ended on April 26. Today you can see the extent of this flow from the coastal village of Miloli`i.
      “After the 1926 eruption, Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone was quiet for 24 years. That ended in 1950 with one of the volcano’s largest historical eruptions.
      “On June 1, 1950, a 2.4-km- (1.5-mi-) long fissure began erupting high on Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone around 9 p.m. Minutes later, the roar of lava fountains could be heard from Highway 11, up to 24 km (15 mi) away. Floods of lava streamed downslope from the rift zone.
       “As the fissure extended farther down the rift zone, several flows raced down the west flank of the volcano. Within about two hours, the first of these flows crossed the highway and inundated the village of Pahoehoe. All villagers reached safety, but for some, who escaped with only the clothes on their backs, it was a close call.
      “Thirty-five minutes later, the flow entered the ocean, creating a steam cloud that rose 3,000 m (10,000 ft) into the air. It’s noteworthy that, from vent to sea, this massive `a`a flow traveled a distance of 21 km (13 mi) in only about three hours. Two additional flows south of the first one reached the ocean in about 14 and 18 hours.
      “Before ending on June 23, the 1950 eruption destroyed nearly two dozen structures and cut Highway 11 in three places (visible today between mile markers 92 and 98), burying more than 1.6 km (one mi) of the road.
      “If a Mauna Loa Southwest Rift Zone lava flow crossed Highway 11 today, the lives of thousands of residents would be significantly impacted – even if they do not live in the immediate path of the flow. At the very least, travel to homes, schools, and workplaces would be disrupted.
      “A Mauna Loa eruption is not imminent at this time, but the volcano will erupt again – and chances are that it will occur in your lifetime. So, now is the time to consider how you would cope with the disruptions caused by lava crossing the highway.
      “Questions about Mauna Loa are answered on the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/FAQ_Maunaloa/.”
      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.
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SENIOR IDS ARE AVAILABLE tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at St. Jude’s Church in Ocean View. For ages 60 and over.
      Call 928-3100 for more information.

MR. KIKO SEARCHES FOR ALOHA Tuesday at 12 p.m. at Pahala Public & School Library. Former Pahala resident Marion Kittelson-Villanueva reads her recently published book at this free event. 
      Written under the pen name Marion Louise, Mr. Kiko Searches for Aloha is a children’s picture book, for ages four to eight, which the author described as having “cultural implications and highlighting the values of individual differences. In the story, the coqui, a singing tree frog of Puerto Rican fame, finds himself as a misfit in Hawai`i. Not by choice, Kiko faces the other species in the rainforest and comes to know true rejection. Will there ever be any aloha for this new arrival?”
      After the program, there will be a simple craft for children.
      For more information, call Library Manager Debbie Wong Yuen at 928-2015.

NATIVE DRYLAND PLANTS are discussed at a free, one-hour workshop Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Public & School Library. Among topics, Lehua Lopez-Mau discusses `ohi`a lehua’s environmental and cultural values, and Edward Rau presents information on rapid `ohi`a death.
      Call 928-2015 for more information.

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK presents Lili`uokalani at Washington Place Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`I Volcanoes National Park. Jackie Pualani Johnson performs a one-woman show taken directly from the writings of Queen Lili`uokalani, the queen’s family and other historical sources.
      $2 donations support park programs; park entrance fees apply.

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

See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html
and kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.pdf.
See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_June_2016.html.