Ka`u News Briefs, Friday, Oct. 28, 2016

Ka`u Trojan Cross Country Team Daryl Moreira, Kyle Calumpit, Sheena Marie Flores, Brennen Nishimura,
and Rowlie Flores at the BIIF Championship Race at HPA on October 21. Photo by Erin Cole

KA`U HIGH’S CROSS COUNTRY team finished a terrific season at the end of October, reports coach Erin Cole and assistant coach Kevin Sun. Trojans trained Monday through Friday and raced 5K (3.1 miles) on Saturdays. State finals are tomorrow at Hawai`i Preparatory Academy in Waimea.
    The Trojan team raced on a bright sunny day at Kamehameha School in Kea`au on Sept. 10. According to Cole, the athletes enjoy this course and came in with good times: Brennan Nishimura 23:07, Kyle Calumpit 23:49, Rowlie Flores 27:12, Daryl Moreira 29:38, Sheena Flores 28:29 and Chloe Gan 29:24.  In a community wide event, the whole team, with both coaches, ran in the Ka`u Coffee Trail Run and found the trail to be challenging and fun. Runners of all ages and abilities participated in the family and neighbor friendly event "with a bit of competition to spice it up," Cole said. 

Ka`u High's cross country team members, with coaches 

Erin Coleand Kevin Sun.

      The Trojans traveled to HPA Sept. 24. Teams from other islands and the mainland participated. The weather was typical for Waimea, with a light mist, hot sun, cool shade and a breeze. The infamous HPA hill was daunting as always, Cole reported, and the Trojan team ran hard. Brennen Nishimura finished at 25:10, Kyle Calumpit 26:00, Rowlie Flores 26:47, and Daryl Moreira 28:19. After the race, the team enjoyed a Yoga for Runners class with Stacy Lanterman at Hawaiian Healing Yoga.
    At Waiakea on Oct. 1, some of the runners ran quite fast and broke their own personal records. The course winds around the Waiakea campus and ends at their field. Times were: Sheena Marie Flores 27:08, Rowlie Flores 22:10, Kyle Calumpit 22:17, Brennen Nishimura 22:26, Daryl Moreira 24:23.
     The next race was in Kea'au."The sun was hot and the big puffy clouds did not come around often enough to cool off the runners but that did not stop them from competing hard and coming in with some great times," reported the coach. Trojans turned in times: Sheena Marie Flores 26:58, Rowlie Flores 22:47, Brennen Nishimura 22:56, Daryl Moreira 26:29.
   BIIF Championships at HPA on Oct. 21 hosted four races, two Open and two, Varsity. All Ka'u runners ran in the Varsity, a stiff competition, with the fastest seven boys and fastest seven girls on each team. Girls ran first race, all season (this alternates each year). The athletes achieved a good warm-up before the races. “Excitement was high and runners from all over the island were wishing each other good luck,” said Cole. “It was very windy but otherwise a good day to run." Times: Sheena Marie Flores 28:25 came in #45 in the race which was just two spots away from qualifying in the State Championships, Brennen Nishimura 25:04, Rowlie Flores 25:08, Kyle Calumpit 26:10, Daryl Moriera 26:40. Sophia Cash from Honoka`a came in first for girls at 22:18 and Cody Ranfranz came in first for boys at 18:59.

Don Nitsche, far right, passed away last night. He was one of many
community leaders, including (front row) former County Council
member Brittany Smart, Mayor Billy Kenoi, the late Rep. Bob Herkes,
 Martie Nitshce, and Dr. Rell Woodward, who worked long to finally
bless the Ocean View potable water well. Photo by Charles Tobias

     The qualifying runners will move on to the State Championships, held at HPA this year, tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 29, at 8:30am. 

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OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY LEADER DON NITSCHE passed away peacefully last night at home in Hawaiian Ranchos. The entrepreneur, builder and advocate for potable water and much more for the community, operated Bougainvillea Bed & Breakfast with his wife Martie. He was often seen in his tanker truck, hauling water for his enterprise.  Nitsche served on numerous community boards throughout his three decades living in the Ocean View community. He was 86.  Services pending.

GPS IS TRULY INDESPENSABLE FOR UNDERSTANDING OUR DYNAMIC ISLAND," writes Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists in this week’s Volcano Watch. Entitiled New Techniques Cement GPS as a Critical Tool for Volcano Monitoring, the article notes that “Using the Global Positioning System in your cell phone or car has become an everyday occurrence that many of us take for granted and now consider indispensable. GPS-enabled gadgets are, in fact, everywhere; watches, cameras, luggage, and dog tags can all tell us exactly where on the planet they are. “ 

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist puts the finishing touches on a 

new permanent GPS station on the slopes on Mauna Loa. The GPS antenna,

 protected from the elements by the grey radome, is solidly attached to the ground

via a cement-reinforced steel rod.  USGS photo.

    To monitor volcanic activity, scientists at HVO manage a network of more than 60 scientific-grade GPS stations. “It is one of the primary tools we use to monitor ground motion and detect what’s happening inside and around Hawaiian volcanoes. “As magma (molten rock) accumulates in a volcano’s underground plumbing system, it increases the pressure in the magma reservoir, or storage chamber, which pushes the ground outward. When magma leaves the storage chamber (to erupt, for example), the ground is drawn back inward. By measuring the motion of GPS instruments toward and away from the magma reservoir, we can estimate how much magma is moving in and out of the system. With a dense network of sensors and continuous data, we can also detect changes that might indicate magma movement toward the surface.    

     “GPS data are also crucial for measuring other phenomena on the volcano. For example, GPS data are used to monitor the movement of Kīlauea’s south flank toward the ocean, a process that creates stresses that can lead to earthquakes. Large earthquakes also produce permanent ground displacements that can be measured with scientific-grade GPS.

   “The instrumentation in a scientific GPS station utilizes the same signals as a cell phone or car navigation system. However, there are two key differences. First, we don’t move scientific GPS instruments around. Instead, our GPS antennas are tightly fixed to the ground, because what we want to measure is the motion of the ground itself.

  "The second difference is in how we analyze signals from GPS satellites. Our continuously recording instruments send data via wireless links to HVO, where we use a method called “carrier-phase tracking” to calculate positions far more accurate than a hand-held device can provide. Crunching an entire day’s worth of GPS signals collected in this way can yield positions precise to several millimeters (1/8 inch). This means we can track very small and slow changes in the shape of the ground.   

Aerial image of the east Kamokuna lava delta yesterday shows lava entering the

 ocean at the front of the delta. Photo by Rick Hazlett, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo  

       “Scientific GPS also provides accurate measurements of large, fast motions, like those that occur before and during an eruption or intrusion. For example, during the buildup to Kīlauea’s 2007 Father’s Day eruption, a nearby GPS station recorded nearly 70 cm (2.3 ft) of movement within two days. Even larger and faster motions are possible when bigger volumes of magma are involved.
      “Recent developments in data processing techniques have extended the use of scientific GPS data to provide second-by-second updates in ground position and to calculate these in 'real-time,”'or within seconds of data collection. This will further improve our ability to quickly detect and measure large, fast motions.
      “This may not sound impressive, given that cell phones provide nearly instantaneous position updates as we drive down the road. However, the key difference is in the precision of the positions that HVO is able to obtain.
     “While “real-time” GPS has lower accuracy than GPS positions calculated over an entire day, we can now reliably detect motions of about 5 cm (2 in), and improvements are in progress to increase this accuracy. This is equivalent to accurately tracking the position of your cell phone as you pass it from one hand to the other.

HAVO's volcano mapping shows swarms of earthquakes
from Pahala to Halema`uma`u, to the coast.

     “Monitoring the changing shape of Hawaiʻi’s active volcanoes provides valuable information about the movement of magma. In the days, hours, and minutes leading up to an eruption, the speed at which we determine where magma might be headed becomes critical. The more accurately and quickly we can get this information, the faster we can provide guidance to emergency managers and the public about possible eruption locations and impacts.
     “With this in mind, HVO continually strives to improve the accuracy and timeliness of real-time GPS measurements on Hawaiian volcanoes,” the scientists report. See (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/)

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AN EARTHQUAKE STRUCK YESTERDAY, Oct. 27, at 12:08 p.m., registering at magnitude 3.7. It occurred 3.4 miles west of Kīlauea’s summit at a depth of 4.9 miles. A 3.6 earthquake registered within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park on Wednesday. Swarms of smaller quakes have been recorded

during the last two weeks around Pahala and in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

Upside down car seen yesterday between Volcano and Pahala.
Photo by Richard Taylor

A FLIPPED CAR on Hwy 11, Pahala side of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, was photographed yesterday by a Ka`u resident. According to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, which manages the stretch of highway, the accident occurred just before 8:30 a.m. by Mile Marker 32. The vehicle was Kona bound when it traveled into the Hilo-bound traffic lane and unto a dirt embankment along the shoulder causing the vehicle to go airborne and flip. Only one individual was in the car and no other vehicles were involved. She was transported by Medic 19 for injuries to Ka`u Hospital. The accident is still under investigation.

NA`ALEHU HALLOWEEN PARTY IS THIS AFTERNOON, Oct. 28, at Na`alehu Pulblic Library from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Spooky games, snacks and prizes. Free for all ages. 939-2444.

VOLCANO HALLOWEEN PARTY IS TONIGHT, Oct. 28 at Kilauea Military Camp's Ohia Room in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Cover charge $3 with costume; $5 without costume. Lava Lounge closed. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP. meets this Friday, Oct. 28, 5 p.m. at Hawaiian Ranchos Office.

EARLY VOTING WITH AN OPPORTUNITY FOR LATE REGISTRATION is available at Pahala Community Center today and starting again on Monday. Hours are Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Citizens can also register late and vote early at Aupuni Center Conference Room in Hilo, Monday - Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; West Hawai`i Civic Center Community Room, Monday - Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Waimea Community Center, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon.

ARTWORK TO BE CHOSEN FOR THE COVER of The Directory, the annual Ka`u Chamber of Commerce community resource and business guide, will be accepted at Naʻalehu Hongwanji, Monday, Nov. 14, between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The annual show entitled The Beauty of Ka`u opens with free entry to the public on Tuesday, Nov. 15 through Friday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Na`alehu Hongwanji Breezeway.

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