Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Sunday, July 3, 2016

Thy Word Ministries-Ka`u won Most Patriotic in Na`alehu's Independence Day Parade yesterday.
Photos by Ron Johnson

KA`U FAMILIES ENJOYED A FUN-FILLED Independence Day celebration in Na`alehu yesterday. The parade, sponsored by `O Ka`u Kakou, drew pa`u riders on horseback, along with community groups and candidates for public office walking and riding on decorated vehicles and floats. Participants competed for Most Elaborate and Most Patriotic categories. Thy Word Ministries-Ka`u won Most Patriotic, and South Side Shaka was Most Elaborate.

Darlyne Vierra, of Ka`u Multicultural Society, was emcee
for Na`alehu's parade.

      Miss Ka`u Coffee Rochelle Koi, Miss Peaberry Chazlynn Pua-Queja and 2016 princesses graced the parade, representing Ka`u Coffee growers. Pa`u Queen Teani Souza led horse riders representing Hawaiian islands. 

      Activities at Na`alehu Park followed the parade. Keiki enjoyed water slides and bounce houses, as well as the brand new playground that opened last Wednesday.
      `O Ka`u Kakou also offered shave ice and other goodies at the park. Kupuna enjoyed Bingo and lunch out of the sun inside breezy Na`alehu Community Center.

      The celebration continues in Na`alehu today at Ka`u Roping & Riding Association's Fourth of July Rodeo.

      See more in future Ka`u Calendar News Briefs.
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Miss Ka`u Peaberry 2016 Chazlynn Pua-Queja greets parade watchers.

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO YESTERDAY HOSTED the first in a series of outreach events to assist Filipino World War II veterans in applying to reunite with family members still living in the Philippines. Hirono brought together close to 50 Filipino veterans and family members with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services District Director David Gulick and members of the Hawai`i Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association to provide information and assistance on the USCIS Filipino WWII Veterans Parole Program. 

      Under the program, Filipino veterans whose service has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense, or their surviving spouses, may apply to bring their children and certain other family members to the United States.

Miss Ka`u Coffee 2016, Rochelle Koi, waves to onlookers.

      “Filipino World War II veterans have waited decades for the opportunity to be reunited with their family from the Philippines. I appreciate the Obama Administration’s recognition of the importance of family reunification for Filipino WWII veterans. A key part to this is the implementation of FWVP, and I will work with USCIS and nonprofit organizations to make sure these veterans receive timely information and assistance,” Hirono said. “I plan to host outreach events and share information throughout the summer with Filipino WWII veterans across the state.” 

      Filipino veterans were granted citizenship in recognition of their service to the United States during World War II. Many of their children, however, were not. Due to backlogs in the U.S. immigration system, it can take more than 20 years for immigration applications to be reviewed. Under the FWVP program, families, some of whom have been waiting decades, can finally be together in the United States while their applications are processed. FWVP is an additional process for families of Filipino World War II veterans who have already received approval for their immigrant visas but continue to wait for a visa number to become available.

Miss Ka`u Coffee princesses ride a float sponsored by Ka`u Coffee
Growers Cooperative.

      Hirono has been the leader in Congress of the effort to reunite Filipino World War II veterans with their families. After years of her advocacy, the Obama Administration announced last July that it would create a parole program to reunite the families of Filipino World War II veterans. Hirono then pushed the Administration to quickly implement the program and make children eligible for expedited consideration to come to the United States. To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY’S current issue of Volcano Watch focuses special attention on gravity, which scientists use to study and monitor Hawai`i’s active volcanoes.

Pa`u Queen Teani Souza and her escorts.

      “We tend to think of gravity as a constant – a force that pulls on everyone equally, everywhere,” the article states. “But this is not quite true. In fact, the force of gravity depends on the mass beneath your feet, and your distance from that mass. 

      “If there is something very dense beneath the ground, like a solidified magma chamber, gravity is a bit stronger in that area. Conversely, the farther you are from the Earth’s center, the weaker gravity is. For example, you weigh slightly less (by a small fraction of a pound) at the 4169-meter (13,678-foot) summit of Mauna Loa than at sea level in Hilo!

Walking in the parade was one of many activities for this year's Summer Fun participants.

      “Gravity can also change over time. As magma accumulates beneath the ground, it pushes the ground upward, causing gravity to decrease. This change is counterbalanced, however, by the new mass of magma beneath the ground, which causes gravity to increase.

Barrel train carries keiki along the parade route.

      “By measuring gravity and surface deformation at the same time, these effects can be separated. This makes it possible to use gravity to measure just how much magma may be moving beneath the ground. 

      “Measurements of gravity change have been conducted at Kilauea since the 1970s, usually by surveying a network of points conducted every year or so. A noteworthy result of these studies is the recognition that there are void spaces – probably a network of interconnected cracks rather than a single large cavern –beneath the volcano’s surface. Magma accumulation in these voids causes a gravity increase due to the addition of mass, but there is little associated surface uplift.

Statuesque-lei-bedecked horse carries keiki rider in Na`alehu's
Independence Day parade.

      “In the past several years, gravity changes have also been measured by continuously recording instruments installed at three locations on Kilauea. These measurements allow volcanologists to detect rapid changes in mass beneath the surface that might otherwise go undetected. They have also revealed surprising insights about Kilauea’s summit lava lake. 

      “Island residents might remember the eventful volcanic activity at Kilauea in 2011. In March that year, the summit lava lake within Halema`uma`u Crater drained due to the onset of the Kamoamoa fissure eruption near Pu`u `O`o on the volcano’s East Rift Zone. The dropping lava lake level was associated with a major decrease in gravity measured by an instrument on the rim of Halema`uma`u.
      “A nearby thermal camera also tracked the lowering lava lake level, making it possible to calculate the volume of lava that drained from the lake. Knowing the mass and volume, we can determine an important physical property of lava: density.

Most Elaborate went to Na`alehu's South Side Shaka Restaurant.

      “The density of the basaltic rocks that make up most of the Island of Hawai`i is about 2.5 times the density of water. HVO scientists expected Kilauea’s summit lava lake to be slightly less dense than the rock, given the gases contained in the lava, but not by much. 

      “The gravity and thermal camera data from the draining of the lava lake in March 2011, however, revealed that the upper 200 m (650 ft) or so of the lake has a density less than that of water! Apparently, the upper part of the lava lake is frothier than expected due to the large amount of gas in the lava.
      “The Kilauea summit vent gravity station has recorded changes over several years since 2011, through many cycles of lava lake level rise and fall. These data clearly demonstrate that the lava lake density has remained low, roughly equal to that of water.

After the parade, keiki kept cool riding
a giant water slide.

      “Abrupt changes in gravity have also occurred a few times since 2011, signaling the arrival of fresh batches of magma near the summit. These gravity data, therefore, provide important information, not just about lava lake characteristics, but also about subsurface magma movement that might otherwise be overlooked. 

      “Kilauea is a wonderful ‘natural laboratory’ in which we can develop advanced methods of volcano monitoring and research, like continuous gravity. In the years to come, HVO looks forward to refining our techniques for measuring gravity change and sharing them with scientists who are studying other U.S. volcanoes, such as Mount St. Helens.”
      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
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LIVE & LOCAL COMEDY for all ages comes to Pahala Community Center today at 7 p.m., featuring Augie T, Frank De Lima and Mel Cabang. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
      Call 990-0474, or see AugieT.com.

FOURTH OF JULY BREAKFAST BUFFET is available tomorrow from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Kilauea Military Camp’s Crater Rim Café in Hawai`i 

      Volcanoes National Park. Menu includes Punalu`u Sweet Bread French Toast, Omelet Station, breakfast meats, breakfast potatoes and more. Adults $12; child 6-11 years old $6.
      KMC is open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests; 967-8371.
      Park entrance fees apply.

Keiki volunteers help their `O Ka`u Kakou kupuna counterparts
set up lunch for seniors at Na`alehu Community Center.

VOLCANO FOURTH OF JULY PARADE & Celebration is tomorrow. The parade begins at 9 a.m. at the post office and travels along Old Volcano Road to Cooper Center. Activities there continue to 1 p.m.

FOURTH OF JULY SILENT AUCTION tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Cooper Center in Volcano Village benefits Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Items include tours, hotel stays, gift baskets, gift certificates and much more.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_July_2016.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html
and kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.pdf.