Kaʻū News Briefs Sept. 24, 2024

Trojan quarterback Adahdiyah Ellis-Reyes in a file photo. He set new records in Honoka'a last Friday.
Photo by Mark Peters

 

QUARTERBACK ADAHDIYAH ELLIS-REYES SET NEW SCHOOL RECORDS when the Kaʻū football team traveled to Honoka'a last Friday night to take on the Dragons. He will receive recognition on statewide KHON Channel 2 television coverage this week called Cover 2.

    Ellis-Reyes and the Trojans played very hard throughout the game but ended up losing 64-32, reports Assistant Coach Mark Peters. Even with the loss, Ellis-Reyes achieved another epic career best performance to lead the Trojan team. He carried the ball 40 times for a total of 351 yards and 4 touchdowns. The 40 carries in a game ties the school record held by Zach Kai. The 351 yards sets a new school record in 11 man football (Bobby Pilanca-Emmsley had 400 yards or more 3 different times in 8 man football).

Adahdiya Ellis-Reyes nabs a catch in a game against
 Hawai'i Preparatory Academy. File photo by Mark Peters

The 351 yards rushing was found to be the 4th best ever in Hawai'i state high school history for 11 man football. Peters notes that "Diyah also completed 10 passes for 216 yards and one touchdown. Diyah's 567 yards of total offense sets a new school record for 11 man football. On defense, Ellis-Reyes also led the team with 6 tackles including creating a fumble by ripping the ball from a Honokaa ball carrier."
Peters comments, "What an amazing performance by Diyah. He is such a great player who represents our community every week on the field and is one of the best players on the Island. But, he did not accomplish this by himself. A lot of players helped him achieve this success with their blocking and catching. We have a great mix of some experienced players and some young players getting exposed to football for the first time."
Head coach Conner Norton states, "While this was not the outcome we were looking for, I was very proud of the way our team played hard for the whole game and continued to improve." This week, the Trojan football team will travel to Kea'au to play the Pahoa Daggers on Thursday night.

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KAʻŪ BEAT KEA'AU IN GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL on Tuesday on the road, in three sets. The scores were  25-22, 25-22, and 25-22. JV lost 20-25 and 15-25.

    Kaʻū travels to Christian Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 28 and again to LCPCS/SIS on Monday, Sept. 30. Ka 'Umeke comes to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kaʻū travels to Hilo on Saturday, Oct. 12 and again to

Pahoa on Monday, Oct. 13. Kamehameha comes to Kaʻū on Wednesday, Oct. 16, followed by Big Island Interscholastic Federation playoffs.

    Coach is Josh Ortega, Assistant Coach and JV Coach is Sarah Ortega, Trainer is Moses Whitcomb and Athletic Director is Jaime Guerpo.
    The varsity team is comprised of Mckenzie Decoito, Leahi Kaupu, Jezerie Rose Nurial-Dacalio, Kiara Ortega-Oliveira, Jazmyn Navarro, Aubrey Delos Santos-Graig, Alajshae Barrios, CaLiya Silva-Kamei and Zia Rae Wroblewski.
    The JV team is comprised of Deijah Cabanilla-Nogales, Lily Dacalio, Christy Girl Grohs, Megan Pierpont, Kalesha Hashimoto, Alazae Forcum, Wailea Kainoa Haili-Barawis and Dhaylee Cabreros.

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PROMISING CONTINUED SERVICE TO REMOTE AREAS, HAWAIIAN AIRLINES' NEW CEO Joe Sprague notes that he comes from Alaska, which like Hawai'i has both islands surrounded by water and remote inland islands of people who live in the wilderness and depend on air travel. He told Hawai'i Public Radio that serving both Alaska and Hawai'i isolated communities "gives both companies, I think, a very special sense of purpose, and that's a positive and really powerful, I think, uniting factor for the two carriers."

Sprague is already familiar with Hawai'i, having run Alaska Airlines Hawai'i division. Alaska Airlines completed the purchase of Hawaiian Airlines last week. It is taking on $900 million of Hawaiian Airlines debt and paying an additional $1 billion to own the company. It is acquiring wide body jets and international flights. More wide body jets are under construction at Boeing in Seattle where Alaska Airlines is headquartered.

Alaska also promises to keep most of Hawaiian's 6,000 union employees, and many of the 1,400 non-union employees. For those Hawaiian Airline employees whose jobs are duplicates of some of those held by Alaska Airlines employees, there will be some eventual layoffs, but all employees will be retained until at least the end of this year and there will be severance packages and efforts for retraining for jobs both inside and outside the newly merged airline, according to statements by Alaska Airlines.

    Alaska Airlines also announced it will keep the Hawaiian name and free distribution of pineapple orange juice to passengers. Its CEO Bin Minicuci called the merger "pro consumer and pro competitive." He noted that Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines are both more than 90 years old and each have good name identities expressing the history and culture of the special places they serve. He said both names mean a lot to the residents of Alaska and Hawai'i.

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September 2024, 5,000 in the mail, 2,500 on the streets.

Kaʻū News Briefs Sept. 23, 2024

The eruption between Sept. 15 and 20 produced some night skies with red glows on on the horizon reflecting off of clouds, as
 seen from Chain of Craters Road. USGS photo by K. Mulliken

THE ERUPTION THAT STOPPED on Friday at Kīlauea volcano in and near Nāpau Crater showed only a couple of intermittent small spots of residual glow on Sunday night, according to reports from USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. "Weak degassing from the vent continues with the gas plume moving to the southwest," said the Monday morning update. "Geophysical signatures of eruptive activity have all returned to background levels. The Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code was lowered from WATCH/ORANGE to ADVISORY/YELLOW Monday morning. No changes have been detected in the lower East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. "
    The middle East Rift Zone eruption near Nāpau Crater lived through four eruptive phases between Sept.

15 and Sept. 20. Lava flows from this eruption covered about 2/3 (500,000 square meters or 125 acres) of the floor of Nāpau Crater. Approximate effusion rates of roughly 5-15 cubic meters per second (6-16 cubic yards) were estimated during the most active part of the fissure eruption on Sept. 19.  A webpage with eruption-related resources is available at: Eruption on Kīlauea middle East Rift Zone | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov) 
    USGS cautions that near the recent middle East Rift Zone eruption site, minor to severe ground fractures and subsidence features may continue to widen and offset, may have unstable overhanging edges, and should be avoided. Hazards associated with the recent lava flows include glassy (sharp) surfaces that can cause serious abrasions, and lacerations upon contact with unprotected or exposed skin; uneven and rough terrain that can lead to falls and other injuries; or, locally elevated levels of volcanic gases that can lead to breathing difficulty.
    Hazards remain around Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes within the area closed to the public. This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of the rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since early 2008.  
    For discussion of Kīlauea hazards, see: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hawaiian-volcano-observatory/hazards.  

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Some electric lines will be replaced, their locations changed, according to a plan by Hawai'i Volcanoes
National Park and Hawaiian Electric. The public is welcome to comment on the EA. HVNP photo

MAKING THE ELECTRICAL LINE SYSTEM MORE RESILIENT TO EXTREME WEATHER within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is a plan that welcomes public input. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, in coordination with Hawaiian Electric, seeks the public input on their environmental assessment of the proposed electrical line relocation project.

    The project will relocate the sub-transmission electric utility poles and power lines and improve reliability and resilience in the area between Piʻi Mauna Drive and the Hilo-side park boundary near Old Volcano Road, says the announcement from the partners. The project is Phase 3 of HECO's efforts to upgrade its transmission line that spans from Puna to just outside the park's Kaʻū boundary.
    Comments received during public scoping for Phase 3 were considered for the environmental assessment. Phase 1 and 2, completed in 2020, included the area between the Kīlauea Switching Station outside the Kaʻū-side boundary to Piʻi Mauna Drive within the park.
    Existing poles and lines are located along a corridor within hazardous terrain, including earth cracks and lava tubes. Maintenance and repairs are currently difficult and unsafe. Relocating the line along the highway will also help reduce potential impacts to forested areas in the park.
    HVNP worked with HECO and Tetra Tech, Inc. to develop and analyze alternatives, develop mitigation measures, and conduct consultations. Two main actions are proposed:

    1. Relocate the existing power line by installing new poles and transmission and distribution lines along 2.6 miles of Highway 11; and
    2. Remove and/or decommission approximately 2.6 miles of existing poles and transmission and distribution lines within the current power line alignment in HVNP.
    The park encourages the community to provide input during the 30-day comment period which started Sept. 23, 2024. There are three ways to provide input:
    Online: Visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/Phase3 for project information to submit comments online.
    Email: Send comments to havo_planning@nps.gov. Hard copy: Mail written comments to:
    Attention: 3400 Phase 3 Power Line Relocation
    Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
    P.O. Box 52
    Hawai'i National Park, HI 96718-0052
    Comments must be submitted online, via email, or postmarked by Oct. 23, 2024 to be considered.

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Isaiah "Hano" Manila-Louis gets lined up as the offense gets ready to run another play. Photo by Mark Peters

Senior Vladimir Fedoruk takes on a Honoka'a 
blocker during Friday night's game. 
Photo by Mark Peters

   Kaʻū Trojan Football Highlight
     In these Mark Peters photos, Kaʻū Trojans are on the road last Friday in Honoka'a  where they left 64 points and brought home 34.
   Trojans travel to Pahoa this Thursday, Sept. 26.             Kohala comes to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 5. 

   Kaʻū goes to Hawai'i Preparatory Academy on Saturday, Oct. 12.

   Kamehameha comes to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 19.       Honoka'a travels to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 26, followed by BIIF Division Championships.
    Athletic Director is Jaime Guerpo. 

    Head coach is Connor Norton. Assistant Coachis Mark Peters.                

    Coaching staff includes Greg Rush, Ray Mayzack, Duane Pua, Time Drafaul, Ted Blanco and Walter Parada. Athletic Trainer is Moses Whitcomb.

Freshman Haku Hashimoto lines up for a snap against the Honoka'a defense. Photo by Mark Peters

Quarterback Adahdiyah Ellis-Reyes takes a snap. Photo by Mark Peters

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September 2024, 5,000 in the mail, 2,500 on the streets.