Ka‘ū News Briefs Monday, January 1, 2018

Abandoned nets and trash collected by Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund employees and volunteers at Kamilo. A volunteer day
at Wai‘ōhinu Transfer Station will be held on Sunday, Jan. 14, to load nets previously gathered from the shoreline into
a container to ship out to burn for electriciy. See event lising below.
 Photo from Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund taken by Angie Metriyakool of Luu Kai Photography

THE ‘O KA‘Ū KĀKOU WALK FOR SENIOR HOUSING TO BE BUILT IN NĀ‘ĀLEHU begins Tuesday, Jan. 2, at the 36.5 mile marker in Honoka‘a, as the organization's president Wayne Kawachi walks 100 miles down the Hamakua and Hilo Coast, across Puna to Volcano and Kaʻū, in his rubber slippers, to raise money to buy property for the project. The four-day walk of about 20 to 28 miles per day is expected to go through Friday, Jan. 5, with Kawachi staying overnight along the way, as he travels from Honoka‘a to Nā‘ālehu. According to Nadine Ebert, of OKK, "Wayne's progress on the walk can be tracked on our website okaukakou.org through a GPS tracking system."

Kawachi shows his rubber slippers
that will carry him from Honoka‘a
to Na‘alehu to raise money for
senior housing. Image from
YouCare video.

     In a film on YouCaring, a fundraising website, Kawachi says, "I love ʻO Kaʻū Kākou because it's doing things that I personally like to do, which is helping the elders, helping the young ones. It's helping everybody and whatever comes up as a problem or something we can do to help the community, we are there to help it."
     Regarding the plans to build senior housing, he said, "I'm excited about this project, I'm training, it's going to be done and I need your kōkua." He said he will personally donate $10 a mile toward the fundraiser and asked others to chip in. "ʻO Kaʻū Kākou," proclaimed Kawachi. "We are Ka‘ū!"      
     The film notes that of the 194,190 residents in Hawai‘i County, an estimated 17 percent are 65 and older. "There are only two senior housing projects in all of Ka‘ū. At this rate, our kūpuna may not have a place to live."
     The goal is to raise $250,000 toward the purchase of 1.9 acres on the makai side of Hwy 11, at the site of the old Nā‘ālehu Fruit Stand. The idea is to build 25 to 30 units of senior housing on the property now owned by Asha Mallick, who has offered it to the community organization at a discount. To make a donation to support Kawachi's quest, see okaukakou.org or facebook.com/okaukakou.
     As of Monday, Jan. 1, about $25,000 had been committed to the project, according to OKK members who are hoping for $50,000 by the end of Kawachi's walk.
     In addition to monetary support, those interested who are senior citizens can fill out a survey form. ʻO Kaʻū Kākou is asking seniors, over the age of 62 and living anywhere in the Kaʻū district, to fill out a quick, five-question survey to help OKK gather general data essential to the planning for the senior housing project in Nā‘ālehu.

     The deadline to complete the survey is Thursday, Feb. 1. OKK member Raylene Moses, who is spearheading the senior housing project, said the survey should take no more than five minutes. "The data will help to demonstrate a demand for senior housing," added Moses. For more information and to receive a survey, contact Raylene Moses at 365-3788, or Nadine Ebert at 938-5124 or ebertn004@hawaii.rr.com. For more, call Kawachi at 937-4773.

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HAWAI‘I WILDLIFE FUND HOSTS A VOLUNTEER DAY on Sunday, Jan. 14, at Wai‘ōhinu Transfer Station, 9 a.m., in an effort to load away previously collected nets from beach clean-ups. Improperly discarded fishing nets can entangle and harm sea turtles and other marine life. To participate, contact kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com. Bring gloves and drinking water.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.

See public Ka‘ū events, meetings, entertainment at 

 kaucalendar.com/janfebmar/januaryevents.html. 

See Ka‘ū exercise, meditation, daily, weekly events at 
kaucalendar.com/janfebmar/januarycommunity.html.
January print edition of The Ka‘ū Calendar is
free to 5,500 mailboxes throughout Ka‘ū, from Miloli‘i 
through Volcano. Also available free on stands throughout
the district. Read online at kaucalendar.com.

KA‘Ū TROJANS SPORTS SCHEDULE

Boys Basketball: Tuesday, Jan. 2, @ Kea‘au.
     Saturday, Jan. 6, Laupahoehoe @ Ka‘ū.
     Monday, Jan. 8, @ Honoka‘a.
     Wednesday, Jan. 10, @ St. Joseph.
     Monday, Jan. 15, Pāhoa @ Ka‘ū.

Girls Basketball: Friday, Jan. 5, Konawaena @ Ka‘ū.
     Wednesday, Jan. 10, Honoka‘a @ Ka‘ū.
     Friday, Jan. 12, @ Laupahoehoe.
     Monday, Jan. 15, @ HPA.

Swimming: Saturday, Jan. 6, @ Kamehameha.
     Saturday, Jan. 13, @ HPA.

Boys Soccer: Saturday, Jan. 6, Konawaena @ Ka‘ū.
     Tuesday, Jan. 9, Pāhoa @ Ka‘ū.

Wrestling: Saturday, Jan. 6, @ Kea‘au.
     Saturday, Jan. 13, @ Konawaena.

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KA‘Ū COFFEE GROWERS MEET Tuesday, Jan. 2, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Pāhala Community Center.

DISCOVERY HARBOUR VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT MEETS Tuesday, Jan. 2, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Discovery Harbour Community Hall. For more, call 929-9576 or visit discoveryharbour.net.

OPEN MIC NIGHT AT KĪLAUEA MILITARY CAMP'S LAVA LOUNGE is Wednesday, Jan. 3, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., welcoming singers, bands, comedians, and other performers to take the stand. Call 967-8365 after 4 p.m. to sign up. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests 21 years and older. The lounge is inside Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. For more, visit kilaueamilitarycamp.com.

HAWAI‘I COUNTY COUNCIL committees meet Wednesday, Jan. 3, with a full council meeting on Thursday, Jan. 4. Both meeting days take place in Hilo. The committees will meet again on Wednesday, Jan. 23, and a full Council meets Thursday, Jan. 24, both in Kona. Ka‘ū residents can participate via videoconferencing at Nā‘ālehu State Office Building. Agendas at hawaiicounty.gov.

OCEAN VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH meets Thursday, Jan. 4, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m, at Ocean View Community Center. For more, call 939-7033 or visit ovcahi.org.

STEWARDSHIP OF KĪPUKAPUAULU begins at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4, with volunteers meeting in the Kīpukapuaulu parking lot on Mauna Loa Road off Hwy 11 in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Volunteers will help remove invasive plants, like morning glory, from an area said to be home to an "astonishing diversity of native forest and understory plants." The event will take place again on Jan. 11, 18, and 25. Free; park entrance fees apply. For more, contact Marilyn Nicholson at nickem@hawaii.rr.com or visit nps.gov/HAVO.

Samantha daSilva shares her unique method of painting
on Saturday, Jan. 6. Photo from Volcano Art Center 

TROPICAL FLOWER ARRANGING WITH HAWAIIAN CULTURAL PRACTITIONER Kaipo Ah Chong takes place Friday, Jan. 5, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at Volcano Art Center's Ni‘aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Ah Chong offers a popular tropical flower arranging workshop and provides flowers for all those in attendance; however, individuals must bring their own clippers. Pre-registration is required. The class fee is $45 plus a $20 supply fee per person. For more, visit volcanoartcenter.org.

FEARLESS ABSTRACT PAINTING, an acrylic paint art class, is set for Saturday, Jan. 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Professional artist Samantha daSilva shares her unique method of painting using rollers, tables, lots of paint and water, canvas manipulation and plaster, sand, and wood shavings to create textured abstracts. No experience necessary. Class fee is $85 for VAC members and $90 for non-members, plus $15 supply fee per person. Register online at volcanoartcenter.org, or call 967-8222.

STEWARDSHIP AT THE SUMMIT offers four days in January for volunteers to help remove invasive, non-native plant species that prevent native plants from growing in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The upcoming meeting is Saturday, Jan. 6. Interested volunteers should meet Paul and Jane Filed at Kīlauea Visitor Center at 8:45 a.m. Other opportunities this month take place Jan. 13, 19, and 26. Free; park entrance fees apply. For more see nps.gov/HAVO.

DISCOVER THE HAWAIIAN GODDESSES HI‘IAKA & PELE and the natural phenomena they represent on a free, moderate, one-mile walk on Saturday, Jan. 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. For more, see nps.gov/HAVO.

Palm Trail in the Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Photo by Sami Steinkamp/NPS

TAKE A FREE GUIDED HIKE ALONG THE PALM TRAIL and learn about native plants that play a vital role in Hawaiian culture in Nature & Culture: An Unseverable Relationship on Sunday, Jan. 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., in the Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The hike is approximately 2 miles and moderately difficult. Observe the catastrophic change and restoration of the land as it transitions from the 1868 lava flow to deeper soils with more diversity and older flora. For more, visit nps.gov/HAVO.

HAM RADIO OPERATORS POTLUCK PICNIC is Sunday, Jan. 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at  Manukā Park. The event organizers invite American Radio Emergency Service members, anyone interested in learning how to operate a ham radio, and families. For more, call Dennis Smith at 989-3028.

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