Ka'u News Briefs Dec. 23, 2011

Planners showed the public the plan to raise Hwy 11 at Kawa. Photo by Julia Neal

TODAY IS THE DEADLINE for comments on the plan to raise Hwy 11 along some 3,000 feet of road at Kawa to alleviate flooding risks. When Kawa floods, access is cut off to the hospital in Pahala from Na`alehu. Emergency vehicles, school buses and around-the-island traffic are blocked along the coastal road and must take the old sugar cane haul road in the mountains. For travel during construction of the raised road, a bypass would be built makai of Hwy 11, starting about 100 yards south of the main entrance into the Kawa surfing beach.
     The Kawa Drainage Project Environmental Assessment explains that Hwy 11 would be raised some 10 feet above grade to 46 feet above sea level. An 84-foot-wide culvert, eight feet high, would be placed beneath the highway.
     Whether the elevated highway, something like an overpass, would be visible from Kawa Beach, where the largely unfettered and panoramic views are of table top mountains, ranches, forests and Mauna Loa, is one of the questions.
     During a public meeting earlier this month, planners said that the wetlands, springs and other features would not be disturbed at Kawa by the new flood project.
     Comments can be sent to the state Department of Transportation’s Hawai`i District Office, 50 Maka`ala Street, Hilo, HI 96720.
     The draft EA is available at Pahala and Na`alehu public libraries, and online at http://hawaii.gov/ health/environmental/oeqc/index.html.

COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICTS are finalized, with the county Redistricting Commission signing off on the report yesterday after assessing populations and redrawing voting maps based on the latest federal census, which is taken every decade. Candidates can start signing up to run for County Council on Feb. 1, when nomination papers will become available at the county Office of Elections. The new District 6 will extend farther north and will include the home of South Kona Council member Brenda Ford, who could be facing incumbent Ka`u Council member Brittany Smart, should both decide to run. While the obligation of the Commission is to create voting districts with about the same number of people in each one of them, the Commission is suggesting for next time that population differences between districts be allowed by as much as 5.99 percent to help keep communities together.

Jeju volcanic island in Korea and Hawai`i Volcanoes
National Park build their sister relationship as more
flights between Korea and Hawai`i are planned.

DAILY FLIGHTS TO HAWAI`I from Seoul, South Korea will begin July 16 on Hawaiian Airlines. More Koreans are expected to visit Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The Korean volcanic island of Jeju has been building a sister park relationship with Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, with cooperation between park officials, as Jeju is a World Heritage Site. 

     Hawaiian currently flies from Korea four times a week. The new daily flight is expected to leave Seoul at 10:20 p.m. and arrive in Honolulu just after noon, in time for travelers to hop a plane to Hilo. The new flight will increase Hawaiian Airlines lift from Seoul and Hawai`i to 96,000 total air seats a year. Hawaiian also plans to add a third daily flight between Los Angeles and Honolulu in 2012.

GORDON KIMO LOPES has been identified as the likely victim of drowning while SCUBA diving at South Point. The 49-year-old Ocean View resident was reported as calling for help during a night dive after 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Rough waters kept rescue divers out of the water. A boat from Keauhou arrived before midnight, and firefighters found Lopes, who had passed away. The location was near the lighthouse, according to the police report.

A MATERIAL RECYCLING FACILITY with conveyor belts would be a “finely tuned and efficient process” to upgrade the county’s sort center, according to County Council member Brittany Smart. Mayor Bill Kenoi said he is open to the idea and all other proposals that would put less garbage into the landfills, according to a Jason Armstrong story in the Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. The County Council voted this week to approve a resolution urging the mayor to consider soliciting bids to convert the county sort station into a material recycling facility. The resolution asks the county to advertise for proposals by Feb. 29. According to the Tribune-Herald story, the mayor called the proposal an “11th-hour” suggestion, with the Council having already approved the sort station to cut back on rubbish shipped to the Pu`uanahulu landfill once the Hilo dump becomes full. Kenoi said additional county employees will run the sort center after receiving the state Department of Health permit. Equipment has already been purchased, including an excavator and loader with a grapple. 

     The resolution states that privatizing the recycling with a more sophisticated method would save millions of dollars in avoided cost for the county and keep the organics and recyclables out of the Hilo landfill. It says that cross-island shipping of waste would be avoided and that up to 30 green jobs would be created. Methane could be a byproduct. 

     This example of a materials recycling center in San Jose, CA shows the handling of trash along the conveyor belt.

     1) As incoming material moves along a conveyer belt, workers pull out large items, cardboard and plastic bags and toss them into bins. Unusable trash is thrown away.
     2) The recyclables move into a double-deck screening machine that separates newspapers, mixed paper and containers into separate streams. Material bounces over rows of square wheels spinning 1,000 times per minute. Blasts of air dislodge cans and bottles from newspapers. Gaps between rollers allow smaller items to fall onto conveyer belts.
     3) Workers again pull out any trash and discard it.
     4) Next is the trommel-mag - a large, rotating tube with small holes in the sides and an electromagnet at one end. Small items such as bottle caps fall through holes. The electromagnet snags tin cans. Then it's on to the air classifier, where a powerful fan blows lightweight aluminum and plastic onto one conveyer, and heavier glass falls onto another. Workers sort glass and plastics.
     5) An electromagnetic device diverts aluminum cans into a storage bin.

Stealth towers can take the place of
classic metal cell towers.

NEXT FRIDAY IS THE DEADLINE for comments on a 120-foot-tall cellular communications tower planned off Maile Street for land makai of the Old Pahala Community Clubhouse, according to the county Planning Department. The proposal filed with planners shows the cell tower about 200 feet from Maile Street near the intersection of Maile, which goes to Hwy 11 and Lower Moa`ula Road, which goes to the county transfer station. The company planning the cell tower is Crown Castle USA. A notice from the company states that “Crown invites comments from any interested party on the impact of the proposed tower on any districts, sites, buildings, structures or objects significant in American history, archaeology, engineering or culture that are listed or determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.”
     Comments should be addressed to Monica Gambino, 2000 Corporate Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317 or by phone at 724-416-2516. 

THE GREEN MARKET at Ocean View Community Center is open today from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Items available include fresh produce, fruits, herbs, flowers and plants.

TO KEEP THE KA`U REEFER in Na`alehu open, Kaohi Mokuhali`i is selling pipikaula, the old Hawaiian-style, marinated sun-dried beef, in one- and two-pound packages for $10 a pound. Contact her at 938-9040 or kmokuhalii@yahoo.com, or Carol Massey at 929-9001or masseys2@hawaii.rr.com.

Varsity player Royden Esperon looks
to score amid three Kea`au defenders.
Photos by Nalani Parlin

JV player Larry Navarro led
his team with 22 points.

KA`U HIGH BEAT KEA`AU 61-52 last night. Played at home, it was the second game in Varsity Boys Basketball this season. Junior Nathaniel Kauhi was on fire, racking up Trojan points in the first half. The Cougars chased the Trojans the entire game, but could never gain the lead. Kauhi was top scorer with 20 points. Junior Greg Javar was right behind with 16 points, putting away three three-pointers. 

     In JV, the Trojans were first to score, enjoying a slight lead until the end of the first quarter. Ka`u turned up the juice in the second half, but it was not enough to win. Final score was 59-52. Sophomore Larry Navarro put away a game-high of 22 points.
     In soccer, the Trojan boys Varsity team tied with HAAS, 1-1. Senior Patrick Garcia scored for Ka`u, making the first Trojan goal of the season.