Thursday, November 18, 2010

Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 18, 2010

Dr. C. Dexter Hayes



A NEW DOCTOR will be coming to Ka`u Hospital and Ka`u Rural Health Clinic in January. Dr. C. Dexter Hayes is a board-certified family physician and comes from a rural community in Arizona. She said she is interested in diabetes and high blood pressure and preventive care. She will replace Dr. Sheareen Gedayloo, who leaves December 10. 





Nona Wilson


KA`U HOSPITAL NURSING DIRECTOR Nona Wilson is being honored by University of Hawai`i School of Nursing for her dedication to quality patient care, teaching and community outreach. Her accomplishments were acknowledged at a recent Faces of Nursing celebration on O`ahu.

KA`U COFFEE FARMERS were on O`ahu yesterday to oppose putting Ka`u in a quarantine area with Kona. Ka`u Coffee Co-op president Lorie Obra reports that the board recommended that the primary quarantine are start north of Na`alehu, extending into Kona. Other areas of Ka`u would be in a secondary quarantine area that includes the rest of the island and may face quarantine in the future.

BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK, an investors’ resource website, lists Aina Koa Pono, the company that plans to establish a large plantation of biofuel crops in Ka`u and build a biofuel refinery in or near Pahala. The site says that Aina Koa Pono, LLC develops non-fossil fuel energy technology. It specializes in the gasification of biomass and the manufacture of electricity and liquid fuels from synthetic gas. The company designs and builds integrated bio-refineries to generate a variety of products, including fuels, ethanol, bio-diesel, and electricity in Hawai`i. Aina Koa Pono, LLC also offers various biofeedstock products, including sweet sorghum, saccharum species hybrids, refuse-derived fuel, pennisetum purpureum and hybrid species of grasses; eucalyptus grandis, other eucalyptus species and hybrids; other tree genera, such as Leuanena and Albizia; and supporting research and design for gasification and electricity, states the Businessweek site. Company spokesmen also said they are seeking leases on large parcels of land and a site to build their refinery in Ka`u. The business address is listed as Fort Street in Honolulu. Also see ainakoapono.com.

INTERESTED IN JOINING A COMMITTEE TO establish scenic byways program along Highway 11 in Ka`u? Ka`u Main Street is helping to set up a committee to work with the state and federal Departments of Transportation. The program emphasizes partnership, promotion of preservation, and pride, as a community effort can reap national recognition and funding for educational signage to honor cultural and historic sites and vistas. In other locales, an average of one new job has been created for each 1.37 miles of scenic byway. Ecotourism also increases in areas with scenic byways. Call 929-7236.

THE STATE COMMISSION ON WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT is accepting applications for members through this Saturday. Names will be reviewed by a committee, who will propose three or more nominees for selection by Governor-elect Neil Abercrombie. The committee members will serve for four years and help set stream flow standards to determine how much water can be taken for agriculture and development. They will also help set regulations for surface water use. Members serve without pay except for reimbursement for expenses, including travel, necessary to do the job. Applications are available at http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/cwrm.

THE HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUB will have its regular third Thursday of the month meeting at Na`alehu Methodist Church tonight at 6:30 p.m. Native Hawaiians and non-natives are invited to join. Call President Blossom DeSilva 929-9731 or 936-7262.

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village hosts a Poetry Slam tomorrow night at 7 p.m. In this competition, poets read their own works, and the winners receive prizes. Call 967-8222 for more information.

ST. JUDE EPISCOPAL CHURCH in Ocean View hosts its second annual Plant, Craft and Ye Olde Bake Sale this Saturday, Nov. 20 from from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

HAWAIIAN SLACK KEY GUITARIST Makana performs on Sunday, Nov. 21 at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The concert starts at 5 p.m. Call 967-8222 or visit www.volcanoartcenter.org for tickets.