Ka`u News Briefs August 22, 2011

More events and facilities at Kahuku are in the option plans for Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
Photo by Kenji Kuroshima

OPTIONAL PLANS for the future of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park go to public meetings tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday. Possible plans include more infrastructure, like a restaurant and other facilities at the Kahuku section above South Point, restricting the private vehicle and rental car use of Chain of Craters Road, more trails, and more interpretation throughout the park.

     Talk story sessions will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight at Kilauea Visitor Center, then tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 23 at Pahoa Community Center, and finally on Wednesday, Aug. 24, at Na`alehu Community Center. Options include more recycling and self-sustaining, enhancing communication with the community to tackle issues, preserving Kahuku, high-level trails linking upper slopes of Kahuku on Mauna Loa with the Mauna Loa Wilderness, and more money for restoration.

Volunteers will continue to play a major role in the
conservation of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
Photo by Dave Boyle

     The current General Management Plan was adopted over 30 years ago. Since then, the park has more than doubled in size, and visitation has grown, with Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park becoming one of the most visited places in all of Hawai`i.

     The park asks for comments to be sent by Sept. 30 online by going to http://parkplanning.nps.gov/havo or by mail to Cindy Orlando, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, P.O. Box 52, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, HI 96718.

THE FIRE COMMISSION will host two public hearings this week to determine who will succeed Darryl Oliveira as fire chief. The names of five candidates ware: Aaron Arbles, Glen Honda, Gerald Kosaki, Paul Paiva and Darren Rosario. The hearings allow public input on the candidates. The first will be tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the Department of Liquor Control Conference Room and the second at the same time this Thursday at West Hawai`i Civic Center. Those interested may submit testimony by mail to the Fire Commission, Corporation Counsel, 333 Kilauea Ave., 2nd Floor, Hilo, HI 96720, or by email to the Commission secretary at jkualii@co.hawaii.hi.us. Testimony must be submitted by this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.

SECOND ANNUAL RAIN FOREST RUNS winners are in. Jason Braswell won the half marathon, and Rani Tanimoto came out as the fastest woman. Mark Noetzel won the 10K race, and close behind him at third was the top woman, Serena Chamberlain. Scott Hunter won the 5K race, with the fastest woman Karina Lawrence at ninth place. The event held at Volcano Village promotes fitness, the natural environment and is a fundraiser to support community art programs by Volcano Art Center.

Volcano Skate Park may re-open in October.

VOLCANO SKATE PARK may re-open in October, said county Department of Parks and Recreation and Cooper Center staff. County inspectors determined damage to ramps was repaired, but the park needed further minor improvements. Parks and Recreation closed the park in January due to maintenance and safety concerns. The facility was transported from Hilo to Volcano in 2003 and 2004 and rebuilt without building permits, as there are no standards for skate parks.

PUBLIC HEARINGS ON REAPPORTIONMENT will be held next month to receive public input on proposed plans. One plan would divide Ka`u’s Congressional district in two. Longtime representative for Ka`u, Bob Herkes, would have to campaign to represent a district that would run from Punalu`u to Pahala, Volcano, and subdivisions in Puna. Another candidate would run for a district that would represent Na`alehu, Discovery Harbour, Green Sands, Kalae, Ocean View, and Miloli`i, which would be thrown in with people living in Kona all the way to Kahalu`u.
Hearings are scheduled for Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. in the Hilo Council chamber and Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. in the Kona Council chamber.

BLUEGRASS MUSICIANS return to Pahala Plantation House tomorrow at 6 p.m. with the same group of musicians who brought down the house in March when they performed in Ka`u. Tyson Alteri sings and plays lead mandolin. Katy Rexford sings and plays lead fiddle. Rion Schmidt sings and plays lead banjo. The stand-up bass player will be Shea McKusic, who is also famous for her Johnny Cash and June Carter duets. Also joining in will be Keoki Kahumoku and friends.
The concert is free, but donations are accepted for the musicians. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House.

Kamoamoa Eruption.  Photo from USGS

GEOPHYSICIST MIKE POLAND is the featured speaker tomorrow at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s After Dark in the Park. He will review Kilauea’s March Kamoamoa fissure eruption and discuss Pu`u `O`o’s current activity. The floor of the Pu`u `O`o vent on Kilauea’s east rift zone collapsed in March. Lava erupted between Napau and Pu`u `O`o, beginning the Kamoamoa fissure eruption that reached over a mile long. The event begins at 7 p.m.

COUNTY COUNCILMEMBER BRITTANY SMART, state Office of Aging executive director Wes Lum and Hawai`i County Office of Aging executive Alan Parker are hosting meetings on needs of senior citizens. The first will be this Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. with South Kona Seniors Club at St. Benedict’s “The Painted” Church. They will hold two meetings this Thursday, the first at 10:30 a.m. at Na`alehu Community Center and the second at 2 p.m. at Pahala Senior Center. A meeting in Mt. View is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. Smart will continue to tour the district next month and join the Volcano Seniors Club at Cooper Center on Sept. 29 at 9:45 a.m. Call 961-8536 for more information.

KILOHANA DOMINGO AND HIS MOTHER LEHUA share the skills and arts of lei hulu, or feather lei making, and papale lauhala, or lauhala weaving, from 10 a.m. to noon this Wednesday on the lanai of Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

Ka`u News Briefs August 21, 2011

The coffee orchards of the Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative are on the 2,000 acres where a subdivision is planned.
Photo by Julia Neal

CHRIS MANFREDI has been nominated by Mayor Billy Kenoi to serve on the Windward Planning Commission as an at-large member. The nomination must be confirmed by the County Council. Manfredi is the representative of the real estate investment group that owns 6,000 acres of former C. Brewer sugar lands in Ka`u.

     The hui recently received approval from the county Planning Department for a Project Unit Development Plan for some 2,000 acres, which could eventually lead to subdividing the land and selling it. The plan includes the land where most of the Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative members have been growing coffee since sugar shut down in 1996. The plan calls for selling coffee estates but allowing the local coffee growers to stay and farm while providing room for new owners to build their homes. He said he hopes to have long-term leases for the coffee growers soon.

Chris Manfredi

     Manfredi has promoted Ka`u Coffee for years and recently said he has lined up the sales of Ka`u Coffee to 140 Starbucks in Japan, Canada and on the U.S. mainland.
     Manfredi is vice president of the statewide Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation, president of Ka`u Farm Bureau, one of the organizers of the Ka`u Coffee Festival, a director of the statewide Hawai`i Coffee Association, a district steering committee member of the Ka`u Agricultural Water Cooperative, vice president of the Big Island Resource Conservation and Development Council, statewide origin representative for Ka`u on the coffee berry borer task force, a director of Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo, vice president of the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce and a director of the Ka`u Soil and Water Conservation District.
     Public comments on the nomination of Manfredi are welcomed by the mayor’s office and the County Council, as the County Council must confirm the nomination.

OPTIONS FOR A NEW MANAGEMENT PLAN for Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park go to public meetings this week from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dates and locations are Monday, Aug. 22 at Kilauea Visitor Center, Tuesday, Aug. 23 at Pahoa Community Center, and Wednesday, Aug. 24, at Na`alehu Community Center.
     The General Plan was last implemented over 30 years ago. Since then the park has more than doubled in size, acquiring more than 117,000 acres at Kahuku, stretching high across the slopes of Mauna Loa, to Volcano. In addition, the number of park goers has grown dramatically, making Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park one of the most visited places in all of Hawai`i.
     Options include making some of the roads only open to bicycles and group transportation but not to individual cars. Building more infrastructure at Kahuku for visitors is also an option.
     The Park asks for comments to be sent by Sept. 30 online by going to http://parkplanning.nps.gov/havo or by mail to Cindy Orlando, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, P.O. Box 52, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, HI 96718.

Sugar truck is decorated in flowers, ti leaves and cane to open Ka`u Plantation Days.  Photo by Michael Neal

KA`U PLANTATION DAYS drew many former sugar workers to a decorated sugar cane truck with the signage “Last Run” yesterday near the old mill site in Pāhala. Retired police officer Bobby Gomes and Pastor Troy Gacayan opened the event with stories of plantation days and prayer. 

WWII veteran Tokuichi Nakano, who served in the 442nd,
talked about Japanese sugar workers leaving Ka`u to fight
for the U.S.  Photo by Michael Neal

     Portuguese songs and dancing, an impromptu Bon Dance and many displays of the photographic history of the plantation and the multiethnic community that grew up here highlighted the day, along with ethnic foods and talk story sessions. 

BARBARA FAHS discusses Hawaiian medicinal plants today at 1 p.m. at Na`ohulelua Historical Garden on Kamaoa Road during the monthly plant and seed exchange. Fahs owns Hi`iaka’s Healing Herb Garden and authored the Super Simple Guide to Creating Hawaiian Gardens. The garden is open from noon to 3 p.m.

THE STATE AND COUNTY have pretty much given up on trying to control coqui frogs on this island, according to a Stephens Media report. Funding dried up, and the state now hopes to simply keep the tiny, noisy frogs from spreading to the other islands. Coquis can live from the seashore all the way up to at least 5,000 feet and have even taken hold in Volcano. Without funding the county keeps its anti-coqui spray equipment at the Department of Research and Development for community members to use in their own neighborhood fights against the pest. The coqui is native to Puerto Rico and is believed to have come here in a shipment of potted plants. Ka`u is one of the least infested areas on the island when it comes to the coquis.

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK on Tuesday will feature geophysicist Mike Poland of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. He will review Kīlauea’s March Kamoamoa fissure eruption and discuss Pu`u `O`o’s current activity. The floor of the Pu`u `O`o vent on Kilauea’s east rift zone collapsed in March. Lava erupted between Napau and Pu`u `O`o, beginning the Kamoamoa fissure eruption that reached over a mile long. The event begins at 7 p.m.

Bluegrass musicians return for a concert at Pahala Plantation House
this Tuesday, Aug. 23 at 6 p.m.

BLUEGRASS MUSICIANS return to Pahala Plantation House this coming Tuesday, Aug. 23 at 6 p.m. with the same group of musicians who brought down the house in March when they performed in Ka`u. Tyson Alteri sings and plays lead mandolin. Katy Rexford sings and plays lead fiddle. Rion Schmidt sings and plays lead banjo. The stand-up bass player will be Shea McKusic, who is also famous for her Johnny Cash and June Carter duets. Also joining in will be Keoki Kahumoku and friends. 

     The concert is free, but donations are accepted for the musicians. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House this coming Tuesday.

COUNTY COUNCILMEMBER BRITTANY SMART, state Office of Aging executive director Wes Lum and Hawai`i County Office of Aging executive Alan Parker are hosting meetings on needs of senior citizens. The first will be on Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 1:30 p.m. with South Kona Seniors Club at St. Benedict’s “The Painted” Church. They will hold two meetings on Friday, Aug. 26, the first at 10:30 a.m. at Na`alehu Community Center and the second at 2 p.m. at Pahala Senior Center. Smart will continue to tour the district in September and join the Volcano Seniors Club at Cooper Center on Sep. 29 at 9:45 a.m.

WHAT REMAINS OF FORMER tropical storm Fernanda has the potential to dump heavy rain on Hawai`i Island today, forecasters at the National Weather Service said. Also, a high surf advisory is in effect until 6 p.m., with a small craft advisory in effect until tomorrow morning.

Jaggar Museum will remain open during
repaving of exterior areas. 

REPAVING THE EXTERIOR OBSERVATION areas and pathways at Jaggar Museum in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park begins tomorrow and is expected to last until mid-October. Visitors are encouraged to use the Kilauea Overlook as an alternate area to view Halema`uma`u Crater. Jaggar Museum will remain open throughout the repaving project.

THE PHILIPPINE CONSULATE OUTREACH TEAM will be in Hilo tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to process Philippine passports and accept applications for dual citizenship, delayed registration of birth, report of marriage abroad and other consular services. The consulate comes to Hilo only once a year from Honolulu in order to help citizens avoid interisland travel expenses when submitting applications. 

Ka`u News Briefs August 20, 2011

Peter Anderson's Nene graced the cover of The Directory 2011. The public can
vote for next year's cover during at art show in September at the
Ka`u Federal Credit Union office in Na`alehu.

NEW WASTEWATER SYSTEMS in Ka`u will receive some help from unexpected funding. A Stephens Media article by Nancy Cook Lauer states that Hawai`i County was slammed with a violation by the state Department of Health in 1990 for failing to mitigate wastewater in Kailua-Kona. In response, the county originally planned to open a new wastewater plant in Kona, but construction on Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway delayed the project. Rather than wait, the funding has been moved to Ka`u, where three large capacity cesspools left over from plantation housing camps in Na`alehu and Pahala are being replaced as they violate federal Environmental Protection Agency standards. The new sewage systems will cost up to $12 million and be completed in 2014.

The green and brown areas show two different state
House of Representative districts proposed for Ka`u.

MORE VOICES ARE SPEAKING UP against cutting Ka`u in two for determining boundaries for the state House of Representatives. Local music and language teacher Robert Domingos wrote: “At all cost, we should keep Ka`u one. This area has been a unit for many, many centuries! What can we do? Flag wave at the Punalu`u border crossing?” asked Domingos.

     The proposed splitting of Ka`u would leave people from Punalu`u and Pahala voting with those from Volcano and deeper into Puna. It would leave Discovery Harbour, Kalae and Na`alehu citizens voting with people all the way up in Kona at Kahalu`u Beach.
Rep. Bob Herkes would most likely have to run for the district more aligned with Hilo, which is upsetting community leaders in Ocean View who have depended on him for help with their water system and their new mobile medical van.
     Public meetings on the issue will be on Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. in the Hilo Council chamber and Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. in the Kona Council chamber.

COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT will hold a special Household Hazardous Waste Collection event between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3 at the Wai`ohinu Solid Waste Transfer Station. Only household-generated and self-hauled waste will be accepted. The event will allow residents to dispose of acceptable hazardous waste to protect public health and the environment. Acceptable waste includes automotive fluids, used batteries, fluorescent lights and pesticides. A latex paint reuse collection and exchange will also be held. A list of acceptable and unacceptable waste is available at www.hawaiizerowaste.org.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE is offering Value-Added Producer Grants with proposals due Aug. 29. Grants of up to $100,000 each are for developing business plans and feasibility studies including marketing plans. Grants of up to $300,000 are for working capital to operate a value-added business venture or alliance. To find out more, contact USDA Rural Development in Hilo or on its website.

BARBARA FAHS discusses Hawaiian medicinal plants tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Na`ohulelua Historical Garden on Kamaoa Road during the monthly plant and seed exchange. Fahs is the owner of Hi`iaka’s Healing Herb Garden and the author of the Super Simple Guide to Creating Hawaiian Gardens. The garden is open from noon to 3 p.m.

Fountains of lava reached the height of trees in March.
Photo courtesy of USGS

VOLCANIC CRISIS AWARENESS will be held at the Hawai`i County Civil Defense Agency on Aug. 30 and 31. The one and a half days of classes will cover Hazards and Impacts, the Pulse of the Volcano, Case Studies, Awareness and Preparedness and will run through an Eruption Scenario where participants will learn key skills and decision-making tools. The course will be taught by Bruce Houghton, Gordon A. MacDonald Professor of Volcanology, with support from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Hawai`i County Civil Defense Agencies. Interested parties can contact Justine Nihipali at justinew@hawaii.edu.

FERNANDA, now a remnant low, is expected to bring some rain to the Islands, first to the Big Island perhaps later today. The former tropical storm is expected to pass south of Kalae on Monday and was located about 500 miles east-southeast of Hilo this morning. The Pacific Hurricane Center said there is zero chance of Fernanda reorganizing into a tropical storm.

KA`U PLANTATION DAYS ARE BEING held today at Pahala Plantation House, with KAHU Radio and Channel 52 community TV on hand to film talk story sessions with people who grew up or worked during the sugar mill days. A former sugar cane truck, photos and a chance to find a photo of your old house from plantation times are offered to those attending. Music, ethnic food and dance and displays from the cultures of the community are available there. This afternoon tours of the new Ka`u Coffee Mill will be offered.

THE KA`U CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Annual Art Show and Contest is coming up at the Ka`u Federal Credit Union in Na`alehu. Artists can submit one piece of original art in any medium, and entry is free with a donation of two to five cans of food, or the cash equivalent, to be donated to the food bank. Three cash prizes will be given, and the winning art will appear on the cover of The Directory 2012, next year’s edition of the Chamber’s annual community and business directory.
     Entries must be delivered to the Credit Union on Saturday, Sept. 24 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Entries should include the name of the piece, the medium used, the size, the price and the artist’s name. They will be on display Monday, Sept. 26 through Saturday, Oct. 1 during the Credit Union’s business hours. The public can vote for their favorite piece throughout the week.
     Coordinator Wanda Aus is asking artists to volunteer a few hours to host the show during the week.
     The winner will be announced during the End of Show Celebration on Saturday, Oct. 1 from noon to 2 p.m. For more information and to volunteer, call Aus at 929-9139.