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| How do we view Kilauea? is the topic at After Dark in the Park Tuesday. Photo from NPS |
In a story in this morning’s Tribune-Herald, Cabreros said he hung out at the local gas station. “All the police officers used to come there and service their cars. I got to know all of them,” Cabreros told Burnett. “And I used to raise hell with my Camaro and my dirt bike. And they told me, ‘Peter, before you get into trouble, there’s an opening at the jail. I’ll write a letter for you.' So I applied and did the interview. … They showed me a copy of the letter later on. The whole Ka`u police department signed off on the letter.”
Before being named warden, Cabreros was Chief of Security at HCCC. He took over as acting warden in January of upon retirement of the previous warden. Cabreros has been with the Department of Public Safety since February 1975. He started as a corrections officer and worked his way up through the ranks to Chief of Security in 2002.
As Chief of Security, Cabreros was responsible for planning, directing and administering overall security operations. He also served as a member of the institutional management staff and participated in the creation of institutional security policies and procedures. Chief of Security also acts in the capacity of warden in their absence.
“Peter is a valuable asset to the department and is a committed corrections professional,” said Public Safety Director Nolan Espinda. “He brings many years of corrections experience with him to this new position, and I have no doubt HCCC will benefit by his leadership.”
Cabreros oversees a staff of 180. He told Burnett there are currently about a dozen corrections officer openings, and he’s hopes to hire about five or six from the guard recruit class.
“I tell each recruit on the first day I meet them, being a corrections officer takes a special person,” Cabreros told Burnett. “It’s about commitment, about dedication, about integrity, about sacrifice. With our line of work, we work 24/7, holidays, weekends. I tell them all, ‘When your family’s out there celebrating these holidays and special occasions, somebody’s gotta work.’”
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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| Ka`u High grad Peter Cabreros is warden at HCCC. Photo from Hawa`i Department of Public Safety |
As Chief of Security, Cabreros was responsible for planning, directing and administering overall security operations. He also served as a member of the institutional management staff and participated in the creation of institutional security policies and procedures. Chief of Security also acts in the capacity of warden in their absence.
“Peter is a valuable asset to the department and is a committed corrections professional,” said Public Safety Director Nolan Espinda. “He brings many years of corrections experience with him to this new position, and I have no doubt HCCC will benefit by his leadership.”
Cabreros oversees a staff of 180. He told Burnett there are currently about a dozen corrections officer openings, and he’s hopes to hire about five or six from the guard recruit class.
“I tell each recruit on the first day I meet them, being a corrections officer takes a special person,” Cabreros told Burnett. “It’s about commitment, about dedication, about integrity, about sacrifice. With our line of work, we work 24/7, holidays, weekends. I tell them all, ‘When your family’s out there celebrating these holidays and special occasions, somebody’s gotta work.’”
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
KULANI CORRECTIONAL FACILITY HELD a special Makahiki celebration and graduation ceremony Friday for 45 inmates who received completion certificates from Hawai`i Community College.
HCC offered three educational programs for inmates at Kulani from March through June 29. The programs offered were facilities maintenance, Hale Mua o Kulani and sustainable horticulture. Through these programs, inmates learn real-world job skills that they can use once they leave. The completion certificate is also a document they can show to HCC if they chose to continue their education with the college.
The facilities maintenance program included 270 hours of carpentry and masonry. Participants ihad to demonstrate their understanding of rough construction techniques and principles, identify and recognize green construction practices, use appropriate industry methods and techniques to safely operate hand and power tools to measure and cut materials. They also had to apply the relevant use of materials, tools, equipment and procedures to perform basic building repairs.
In the masonry class, they learned about concrete materials and techniques, demonstrated the use of equipment and tools for placing concrete, identified tools and equipment used in performing masonry work and incorporated leadership skills including communication, motivation, team building, problem solving and decision-making skills.
The Hale Mua o Kulani Program emphasized Hawaiian culture. The class included conversational Hawaiian language, Hawaiian values in the workplace, imu cooking, paniolo (livestock ranching), Hawaiian `ukulele and Pahu drum carving. Participants cooked a pig in an imu at Kulani for their Makahiki lunch.
The sustainable horticulture production program included classes on identification of native Hawaiian plants and a series of introductory classes on agriculture, soil science, plant nutrition and composting.
There are currently 195 inmates housed at Kulani. Inmates housed there are within a year of release.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.com.
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| Kulani inmates who participated in educational programs graduated Friday. Photo from Hawai`i Department of Public Safety |
In the masonry class, they learned about concrete materials and techniques, demonstrated the use of equipment and tools for placing concrete, identified tools and equipment used in performing masonry work and incorporated leadership skills including communication, motivation, team building, problem solving and decision-making skills.
The Hale Mua o Kulani Program emphasized Hawaiian culture. The class included conversational Hawaiian language, Hawaiian values in the workplace, imu cooking, paniolo (livestock ranching), Hawaiian `ukulele and Pahu drum carving. Participants cooked a pig in an imu at Kulani for their Makahiki lunch.
The sustainable horticulture production program included classes on identification of native Hawaiian plants and a series of introductory classes on agriculture, soil science, plant nutrition and composting.
There are currently 195 inmates housed at Kulani. Inmates housed there are within a year of release.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.com.
CUTBACKS IN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES in Hawai`i, including Ka`u, lead to increased risk to communities and unfair treatment of those with mental problems.
State psychologists contend the problem may grow “as a result of staffing shortages and an overall breakdown in Hawai`i’s mental health system," according to an investigative story by Kristen Consillio in this morning’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
“The psychologists and clerical staff in the Health Department’s Courts and Corrections Branch have filed an internal complaint about shortages they say are resulting in serious consequences for mentally ill defendants and the community," the story reported.
Daryl Matthews, a forensic psychiatrist who has worked by contract with the state, filed his own complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice concerning civil rights violations of defendants awaiting mental health evaluations. He told the reporter, “It’s outrageous what’s going on. It’s horrible.”
According to Matthews, defendants are being kept in jail for “grossly inappropriate, unconstitutional lengths of time," leading directly to their “egregious harm,” Consillio reported.
The story gave an example of a man killed by police on O`ahu. He was drunk and refused to get out of his vehicle when ordered by police, after they perceived he was attempting to run into the police car. He was without care, waiting for mental health evaluation.
“It’s an essential component of government that is not getting attention,” Reneau Kennedy, a private-practice psychologist who was the Health Department’s forensic chief, told Consillio. “You've got competent professionals who are crying for help asking for more staffing, and it’s not being addressed.”
Mark Fridovich, administrator of the department’s Adult Mental Health Division, told Consillio, “It’s a very serious situation, but I don’t think it’s a public safety concern. There’s been a backlog. We’ve been monitoring the backlog and are very concerned about it.”
According to the story, the Health Department is using psychologists from other branches to help with the backlog while working to fill four vacant positions.
See staradvertiser.com.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.com.
KA`U FARM BUREAU MEMBERS can contact Chris Manfredi, of Na`alehu, with their concerns to relate to congressional leaders. As president of Hawai`i Farm Bureau, Manfredi is headed to Washington, D.C. this week for American Farm Bureau Federation’s Council of Presidents meetings. “I’ve scheduled several meetings with our Congressional delegation while I’m there,” he writes on Hawai`i Farm Bureau’s blog. “The Government Affairs Committee collaborated with ag industry stakeholders on an issue paper. If you want a copy, or have a particular issue you want me to emphasize, please email me at chris@hfbf.org.”
Another contact for input is Ka`u Farm Bureau President Brenda Iokepa Moses at biokepamoses@gmail.com. See more at hfbf.org.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.com.
KA`U CELEBRATES OBON SEASON with services tomorrow at Pahala Hongwanji at 3 p.m. (928-8254) and Na`alehu Hongwanji at 6 p.m. (966-9981).
AT AFTER DARK IN THE PARK TUESDAY, Manaiakalani Kalua and historian Philip K. Wilson present a deliberative discussion on Klauea’s place in Hawaiian culture and the history of science, and where the two perspectives intersect and encounter one another.
Kalua is a kumu hula and faculty member of I Ola Haloa, Center for Hawai`i Life Styles, at Hawai`i Community College. Wilson is professor of History at East Tennessee State University and has been a visiting professor at University of Hawai`i at Manoa. One of his interests is Hawaiian history, comparing the significance of the volcano Kilauea during the nineteenth century from the perspectives of naturalists, missionaries and native Hawaiians.
The program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
Sponsored by Hawai`i Council for the Humanities and University of Hawai`i-Hilo. $2 donations support After Dark programs; park entrance fees apply.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
State psychologists contend the problem may grow “as a result of staffing shortages and an overall breakdown in Hawai`i’s mental health system," according to an investigative story by Kristen Consillio in this morning’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
“The psychologists and clerical staff in the Health Department’s Courts and Corrections Branch have filed an internal complaint about shortages they say are resulting in serious consequences for mentally ill defendants and the community," the story reported.
Daryl Matthews, a forensic psychiatrist who has worked by contract with the state, filed his own complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice concerning civil rights violations of defendants awaiting mental health evaluations. He told the reporter, “It’s outrageous what’s going on. It’s horrible.”
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| Reneau Kennedy |
The story gave an example of a man killed by police on O`ahu. He was drunk and refused to get out of his vehicle when ordered by police, after they perceived he was attempting to run into the police car. He was without care, waiting for mental health evaluation.
“It’s an essential component of government that is not getting attention,” Reneau Kennedy, a private-practice psychologist who was the Health Department’s forensic chief, told Consillio. “You've got competent professionals who are crying for help asking for more staffing, and it’s not being addressed.”
Mark Fridovich, administrator of the department’s Adult Mental Health Division, told Consillio, “It’s a very serious situation, but I don’t think it’s a public safety concern. There’s been a backlog. We’ve been monitoring the backlog and are very concerned about it.”
According to the story, the Health Department is using psychologists from other branches to help with the backlog while working to fill four vacant positions.
See staradvertiser.com.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.com.
KA`U FARM BUREAU MEMBERS can contact Chris Manfredi, of Na`alehu, with their concerns to relate to congressional leaders. As president of Hawai`i Farm Bureau, Manfredi is headed to Washington, D.C. this week for American Farm Bureau Federation’s Council of Presidents meetings. “I’ve scheduled several meetings with our Congressional delegation while I’m there,” he writes on Hawai`i Farm Bureau’s blog. “The Government Affairs Committee collaborated with ag industry stakeholders on an issue paper. If you want a copy, or have a particular issue you want me to emphasize, please email me at chris@hfbf.org.”
Another contact for input is Ka`u Farm Bureau President Brenda Iokepa Moses at biokepamoses@gmail.com. See more at hfbf.org.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.com.
KA`U CELEBRATES OBON SEASON with services tomorrow at Pahala Hongwanji at 3 p.m. (928-8254) and Na`alehu Hongwanji at 6 p.m. (966-9981).
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| Kumu Hula Manaiakalani Kalua Photo from Kalua's facebook page |
Kalua is a kumu hula and faculty member of I Ola Haloa, Center for Hawai`i Life Styles, at Hawai`i Community College. Wilson is professor of History at East Tennessee State University and has been a visiting professor at University of Hawai`i at Manoa. One of his interests is Hawaiian history, comparing the significance of the volcano Kilauea during the nineteenth century from the perspectives of naturalists, missionaries and native Hawaiians.
The program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
Sponsored by Hawai`i Council for the Humanities and University of Hawai`i-Hilo. $2 donations support After Dark programs; park entrance fees apply.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
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| See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf. |
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| See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_July2015.pdf. |
