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Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Ka‘ū News Brief Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Storybook Theatre's Shark was a classroom within the old Pāhala Gym today. "Captain" Mark is seen here, with keiki, mimicking a shark fin.
See story below. Photo by Julia Neal
ABANDONING PLANS FOR A LAGOON STYLE WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM FOR NĀ‘ĀLEHU is an idea being circulated. Nā‘ālehu resident Sandra Demoruelle has suggested installing big gang septic tanks or individual septic systems for 193 homes within and adjacent to the old sugar camp housing mauka of Hwy 11, where the EPA has ordered the closure of Large Capacity Cesspools. In letters to numerous public officials, from EPA Chief Scott Pruitt to Mayor Harry Kim, County Council member Maile David and state legislators, Demoruelle expressed her objections to the county's preliminary plans to create a lagoon style wastewater treatment system.
    Demoruelle said she will attend next week's county Environmental Management Commission meeting to raise her concerns. She said her opposition is three-fold. She objects to the wastewater plant being located next to Nā‘ālehu School, which parents, teachers, and other school employees expressed worry during last week's county outreach meetings in the community. She objects to possible condemnation proceedings to purchase Papa Souza Ranch, where the owners have decided they would prefer to keep the land for their family rather than sell to the county for the treatment plant. Her great grandson is one of the Souza children who benefits from the family owning a ranch with cattle, horses, and rodeo practice.
Sandra Demoruelle's great grandson Daniel points to his school. He is a member
of the Souza family who has decided to keep the land rather than sell to the 
county for a wastewater treatment plant, shown above. His great grandmother
 has made it her mission to stop the plant from being placed there. 
Photo from Sandra Demoruelle  
    Demoruelle said she is also concerned about the cost of the the wastewater treatment plant with the capital expense of creating and maintaining lagoons, and natural treatments through aeration and absorption by plants, trees, and soils. She contended that this design would be more expensive to build and more expensive to operate than septic tanks. While septic tanks would be regularly pumped, the solids likely trucked to Hilo for treatment and disposal, Demoruelle said that the lagoon system would also require hauling away solids.
   To pay for the lagoon system, she contended, there are too few homes and businesses in Nā‘ālehu with existing cesspools to justify the expense. The 4,000 cesspools throughout Ka‘ū are mostly too dispersed and distant to use it, she said. She also pointed to a declining population in Nā‘ālehu, though said that surrounding communities may be growing.
    Demoruelle said she is not confident that government will be able to come up with the money to build and maintain the $20 million lagoon wastewater facility, even though the cost would not be charged to Nā‘ālehu residents alone, but spread across the budget for building and maintaining all wastewater systems under county care.
    Demoruelle said she has established a collection of research materials, documents, and letters on the sewage issue at Nā‘ālehu Library.
      See more on the wastewater issue in yesterday's and upcoming Ka‘ū News Briefs.

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A POWER PLANT THAT WOULD BURN EUCALYPTUS TREES HARVESTED ABOVE PĀHALA was the subject of a state Supreme Court ruling yesterday. Hū Honua is a facility under construction, north of Hilo, that recently received Public Utilities Commission approval for a purchase power agreement with Hawai‘i Electric Light Co. Life of the Land appealed, contending that the PUC failed to consider climate change and the high cost of the project. The Hawai‘i Supreme Court issued two rulings on Monday. Hū Honua argued that the Hawai‘i Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal, but the court denied the motion. Life of the Land asked that construction be halted until the Supreme Court rules on the
case. Life of the Land's motion for stay and relief was denied by the Supreme Court.
     Hū Honua will determine whether to continue construction in the face of court proceedings that could cancel the contract with the electric company.
     The eucalyptus trees above Pāhala are on Kamehameha Schools lands. They are among several plantations that Hū Hunua would harvest to feed its energy facility.

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A NEW VENT ON KĪLAEUA VOLCANO'S EAST RIFT ZONE could form any time, if the increasing pressurization of the magma system beneath Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō continues, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory announced today. "A new vent located on the cone of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō would erupt lava flows onto one or more sides of the cone that would initially advance downslope rapidly within a few miles from the vent. Because of the potential for a sudden breakout anywhere on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, the cone is extremely hazardous. The location of a new vent or potential lava-flow paths cannot be estimated until such time that a new vent forms and stabilizes," the scientists reported.

Over the past month, HVO monitoring instruments have recorded a sharp 
inflationary trend at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Brighter colors  in these thermal images 
indicate the recent lava flows. Current activity indicates an increased
 likelihood - but not a guarantee - of possible vent changes at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. S
See animated gifPhoto from USGS.gov
     The Current Volcano Alert Level is Watch. The Aviation Color Code is Orange. As of April 13, geologists observed scattered breakouts from the 61g flow within about 2.2 km (1.4 miles) from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and a sluggish breakout about 5 km (3.1 miles) from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. During the past few weeks, lava flows have also erupted onto the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater floor.
     The scientists' report states that "Since mid-March 2018, a tiltmeter and GPS station on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō have recorded a pronounced inflationary trend of the cone, and recent webcam images have detected simultaneous uplift of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater floor by several meters (yards). These observations provide evidence that magma is accumulating at shallow depths beneath Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.
     "Similar episodes of inflation and uplift of the crater floor at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō occurred in May - June 2014 and May 2016. These episodes preceded the opening of new vents on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō that produced the June 27th flow (active 2014-2016) and the 61g flow (active since 2016), respectively.
     Breakouts from the 61g lava flow are located close to Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and above the Pulama pali within the Kahaualeʻa Natural Area Reserve and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Because of volcanic hazards, the state Department of Land & Natural Resources has restricted public access to the Kahauale‘a NAR since 2007 (https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ecosystems/nars/hawaii-island/kahaualea-2/). Areas within the National Park are also closed. See https://www.nps.gov/havo/closed_areas.htm for more info on these closures.

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HAWAI‘I RANKS 16TH GREENEST STATE in the nation, according to a recent study by WalletHub.  The top ranking state is Vermont, which took first in Environmental Quality and Eco-Friendly Behaviors, with Connecticut placing first in Climate Change Contribution.
      Hawai‘i tied with four other states in the number of most LEED-Certified Buildings per Capita, fourth in Lowest Energy Consumption per Capita, seventh in Eco-Friendly Behaviors, tenth in Climate Change Contributions, and 28th in overall Environmental Quality.
      The rankings were based on scores "that speak to the current health of the environment and residents' environmental-friendliness. The data set ranges from total municipal solid waste per capita to energy-efficiency score to carbon-dioxide emissions per capita," according to WalletHub.
     The top ten greenest states are: VT, OR, MA, NY, SD, MN, CT, NH, CA, and RI. The bottom ten are: AR, IN, TX, OK, WY, AL, ND, KY, LA, with WV in 50th.
      See all the plusses and minuses for Hawai`i and other states at WalletHub.

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MAILE DAVID HAS THROWN HER SUPPORT BEHIND KEIKI SUMMER FUN. Hawai‘i County Department of
Sign up for Summer Fun and let County Council
member Maile David page $50 of the registration fee.
Photo by Julia Neal
Parks & Recreation reports that the County Council member will pay $50 of the registration fee for each participant at Ka‘ū District Gym in Pāhala and Nā‘ālehu Community Center.
     The program is open to keiki who have completed grades K-6 by the end of the current school year. Each participant will be required to pay the remaining $40 at registration, which takes place Monday, April 23, to Thursday, April 26, for Ka‘ū District Gym and Monday, May 7, through Thursday, May 10, for Nā‘ālehu.
     The program takes place 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, June 12 through July 20. For more, visit hawaiicounty.gov/pr-recreation or contact Nona Makuakane at 928-3102 (Ka‘ū District Gym/Pāhala Community Center) or Richard Karasuda at 939-2510 (Nā‘ālehu Community Center).

Analei Emmsley's last game as a Lady Trojan was
commemorated by a bubbly water dump. Photo from Aunty Pam
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SECOND TO LAST TROJANS BOYS VOLLEYBALL game against Hilo was an oddly balanced in the season. JV struggled, with 11 and 21 points scored during their two games. Varsity dominated two of the four full games played, scoring 19 and 21 in the first two, 25 each in games three and four, and 8 against 15 for the final, partial game.
     The season-ending game is Friday, April 20, with Ka‘ū hosting Parker.
     The last Trojans Girls Softball Game was Saturday, April 14, and Aunty Pam of Taylor Photography caught some great images of Analei Emmsley's "last game as a Lady Trojan," according to their Twitter feed.
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Mark Jeffers, director of Storybook Theatre of Hawai`i, tells the shark
tales in his inflatable nylon tiger shark inside the old Pāhala Gym today.
Photo by Julia Neal
STORYBOOK THEATRE OF HAWAI`I brought its inflatable classroom, a giant nylon tiger shark, to the old Pāhala Gym today.
      Grade school children heard shark tales and learned about ocean ecology. Storybook director Mark Jeffers said that many of the young children he met from Pāhala Elementary School classes were well primed about the ocean, obviously living among family members who fish and spend time on the shore and in the water.
     The activities were coordinated by Jen Makuakane and co-sponsored by Pāhala Plantation Cottages. See Storybook Theatre online at www.storybook.org.

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Print edition of The Ka‘ū Calendar is free to 5,500 mailboxes 
throughout Ka‘ū, from Miloli‘i through Volcano, and free on 
stands throughout the district. Read online at kaucalendar.com.
KA‘Ū TROJANS SPORTS SCHEDULE
Boys Volleyball: Friday, Apr 20, Parker @ Ka‘ū

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18
Ocean View Community Association Board Meeting, Wed, Apr 18, noon - 1 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-7033, ovcahi.org

300 Meter Races for Keiki Ages 6 to 12 take place at Kahuku Park, Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, on Fri, April 20, from 2 to 3 p.m., hosted by Hawai‘i County Parks and Recreation. Registration open through Wed, April 18. Athletic shoes required. For more, contact Teresa Anderson at 929-9113. See hawaiicounty.gov/pr-recreation for more county park programs.

Keiki, Ages 6 to 12, Welcomed to Paint a RainbowRegister by Wed, April 18. Free Hawai‘i County Parks and Recreation Arts & Crafts program, Tue, April 24, Kahuku Park in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, 2:45 to 3:30 p.m. Contact Teresa Anderson at 929-9113, hawaiicounty.gov/pr-recreation for more county park programs.

THURSDAY, APRIL 19
Veteran's Center & VA Medical Services, Thu, Apr 19, 8:30 a.m. - noon, Ocean View Community Center. No appointment needed to visit w/ VA counselor & benefit specialist. Matthew, 329-0574, ovcahi.org

Hawai‘i Disability Legal Services, Thu, Apr 19, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. ovcahi.org, 939-7033, ovcahawaii@gmail.com

Story Time with Auntie Linda from Tūtū & Me, Thu, Apr 19, 10:30 a.m. - noon, Nā‘ālehu Public Library. 929-8571

Family Reading, Thu, Apr 19, 6 - 7 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-7033, ovcahi.org

Hawaiian Civic Club of Ka‘ū, Thu, Apr 19, 6:30 p.m., United Methodist Church in Nā‘ālehu. Pres. Berkley Yoshida, 747-0197

FRIDAY, APRIL 20
‘Ohe Kapala, Hawaiian Bamboo Stamping, Fri, Apr 20, 10 a.m. - noon, Kahuku Unit, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes' ‘Ike Hana No‘eau "Experience the Skillful Work" workshops. Free. nps.gov/HAVO

SATURDAY, APRIL 21
Fee-Free Day at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Sat, Apr 21. Park entrance fees waived in celebration of National Park week. nps.gov/HAVO

National Park Week, Sat - Sun, Apr 21 - Apr 29, Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park & Kahuku Unit. "Park Stars" themed events (nighttime star party, guided hikes, ranger-led adventures, volunteer opportunities) to be announced. nps.gov/HAVO

Realms and Divisions of Kahuku, Sat, Apr 21, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m., Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Moderately difficult, two-mile, guided hike on Kahuku Unit’s newest trail, Pu‘u Kahuku, explores the traditional Hawaiian classification system. Bring a snack.

Gold Leaf and Illumination w/Rose Adare, Sat, Apr 21, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Volcano Art Center. Students learn how to use gold, copper or silver leaf. Includes metallic pigments and paints. Class fee $60/VAC member, $65/non-member, plus $15 supply fee. Register: volcanoartcenter.org, 967-8222

The Art Express, Sat, Apr 21, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Discovery Harbour Community Hall. Instructions on oil, acrylic, watercolor, and other mediums; old or new projects. Monthly class size limited to 25. Meliha Corcoran 319-8989, himeliha@yahoo.com, discoveryharbour.net/art-express

Bunco & Potluck, Sat, Apr 21, 6 p.m., Discovery Harbour Community Hall. Popular game played with nine dice, also known as Bonko or Bunko. Bring dish to share. Margie Hack, 541-954-8297

Ka‘ū Coffee Festival: Miss Ka‘ū Coffee Pageant, Sat, Apr 21, 6 p.m., Ka‘ū District Gym. Tickets, $10 donation. Ka‘ū Coffee Pageant Director Trinidad Marques, 928-0606, TrinidadMarques@yahoo.com, or Facebook Trinidad Marques. kaucoffeefestival.com

Ka‘ū High School Students Compete on It's Academic - Hawai‘i, re-air, Sat, Apr 21, 6:30 p.m., Channel 5 (KFVE). Watch live stream on KFVE.com. More info.

SUNDAY, APRIL 22
‘Ōhi‘a Lehua, Sun, Apr 22, 9:30 - 11 a.m., Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Learn about the vital role of ‘ōhi‘a lehua in native Hawaiian forests, and the many forms of the ‘ōhi‘a tree and its flower on this free, easy, one-mile walk. nps.gov/HAVO

MONDAY, APRIL 23
Fishery Council Monthly Meeting, Monday, April 23; new membership encouraged - especially recreational, commercial and regional fishers - to provide feedback for the council on a regular basis, passed on to the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Visit westhawaiifisherycou.ipower.com

TUESDAY, APRIL 24
HOVE Road Maintenance Monthly Meeting, Tue, Apr 24, 10 a.m., RMC Office in Ocean View. hoveroad.com, 929-9910

Ka‘ū Food Pantry, Tue, Apr 24, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Ocean View.

Getting a Handle on Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death, Tue, Apr 24, 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium, Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. J.B. Friday, extension forester with University of Hawai’i, shares current understanding, management, and how to avoid spreading the disease. Free; park entrance fees apply. nps.gov/HAVO

ONGOING
Nāʻālehu Independence Day Parade, June 30, looking for participants. If interested, call Debra McIntosh at 929-9872.

National Park Week, Sat - Sun, Apr 21 - Apr 29, Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park & Kahuku Unit. "Park Stars" themed events (nighttime star party, guided hikes, ranger-led adventures, volunteer opportunities) to be announced. nps.gov/HAVO

One Community and One Parent Representative are sought by Nāʻālehu Elementary School Community Council. Nominations will be accepted from April 2 through April 16 at 3 p.m. The community representative will serve a two-year term for school year 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. The parent representative will serve a one-year term for school year 2018-19. The parent rep cannot be a Nāʻālehu Elementary School employee.
     The campaign for the positions starts April 16. Voting is April 30 through May 11. Those interested, contact Leilani Rodrigues at 313-4020 or pcnc@naalehu.org, or name and number at the main office line, by calling 313-4000.

Volcano Art Center Gallery Presents Ho’oku’i I Nā Kiko, Connecting the Dots, by Natalie Mahina Jensen and Lucia Tarall. "A curated collection of photographs, paintings, sculptures, and feather work items deliver a sublime message, connecting the viewer artistically with the provenance of the design." Daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Sunday, May 6. volcanoartcenter.org or 967-8222

Tūtū and Me Offers Home Visits to those with keiki zero to five years old: home visits to aid with helpful parenting tips and strategies, educational resources, and a compassionate listening ear. Home visits are free, last 1.5 hours, two to four times a month, for a total of 12 visits, and snacks are provided. For info and to register, call Linda Bong 646-9634.

Kaʻū Coffee Recipe Contest registration open through Friday, April 20, limit one entry per category, per contestant. Recipes will be judged Sunday, April 29, 11 a.m., at Ka‘ū Coffee Mill. Youth and adult submissions judged separately. Categories are pūpū, entrée, and dessert; all recipes must be made with (any) Ka‘ū Coffee. Entry info at kaucoffeemill.com or kaucoffeefestival.com, or call 808-928-0550. Entry forms can also be found at Ka‘ū Coffee Mill or Mizuno Market; forms below. Email for info/with questions sales@kaucoffeemill.com

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