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Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022

Applications for the Tree Canopy Fellowship Program are available. This is a s tree canopy map of Kaʻū which aims to help manage threats to canopy, tree planting and forestry masterplans. The interactive tool is provided by state Kaulunani Urban & Community Forestry Program, the state Division of Forestry & Wildlife and USDA Forest Service, which are partners in the fellowship program for college students and recent graduates.
See more below and at 
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/forestry/lap/kaulunani/tree-canopy-viewer-hawai%ca%bbi/.

YOUTH WILL BE ABLE TO BOARD A HELE-ON BUS AND ASK THE DRIVER FOR A SAFE PLACE, through the National Safe Place Network transit model, says the announcement from County of Hawaiʻi on Tuesday. "The bus driver will connect with dispatch, who will contact the appropriate resources or organizations to meet the youth in need to help them out of the crisis. With a community of more than 21,000 partner businesses across the country, Safe Place seeks to expand its reach through partnerships similar to its relationship with Hele-On."
    The County statement says, "Safe Place programs offer a place to turn for many keiki who believe they
have no other option. The MTA has elected to partner with NSPN because Hawaiʻi Island does not have a complete operating Safe Place program. The partnership will help to bring resources and services to those in need," says the County statement. Another partner is expected to be the Salvation Army.
    Mayor Mitch Roth said, "Our keiki need to know that our County staff, resources, and facilities are safe places they can turn to when they're in need. We have an obligation as government to ensure the safety of our entire community – especially our keiki. It's our hope that teachers, parents, and other members of our community will join us in informing youth across the island that this program exists if they find themselves in a situation where they need protection."
    National Safe Partners CEO Laurie Jackson said, "Unfortunately, in today's world, young people face family problems, homelessness, bullying, neglect, abuse, and even human trafficking. Each year, the Safe Place and TXT 4 HELP programs directly impact the lives of more than 12,000 youth by providing access to immediate help and safety. TXT 4 HELP has offered real-time assistance to youth in crisis by responding to more than 117,000 incoming text messages since its inception in 2009."
    John Andoh, Mass Transit Administrator and General Manager said, "This partnership is important to
us because safety is a key part of our mission in our service to the keiki of our island, and we are dedicated to being a resource for those in need. Providing a safe, secure haven for our vulnerable youth is something we feel called to do, and in joining forces with NSPN, we join more than 12,000 other transit/mobile locations nationally."
    Another partner, said Andoh, is Hawaiʻi Youth Services Network, which been instrumental in implementing a new Safe Spaces for Youth Pilot Project recently approved by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. David Ige. Its Executive Director Judith Clark said, "Nearly half of Hawaiʻi's juvenile arrests are for status offenses like running away from home or being truant from school. Since 2013, our youth have advocated for safe places where they can go before they get in trouble with the law. The Hele-On Safe Place Program will help our youth connect with the help that they and their families need. "For Safe Place and Hele-On information, call (808) 961-8744 or visit http://www.heleonbus.org.

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JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT NĀ’ĀLEHU ELEMENTARY, PĀHALA ELEMENTARY AND KAʻŪ HIGH will be presented at Project: Homegrown Hires, the state Department of Education Job Fair on Friday, Aug. 26. Nā’ālehu Elementary Gymnasium will be the site of the Job Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Opportunities to fill out applications for jobs will be available for those who bring a government issued ID, social security card, COVID information and TB information. 

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TREES ARE VITAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT MAKE COMMUNITIES MORE LIVABLE, HEALTHY AND RESILIENT, according to an announcement seeking applicants for the Tree Canopy Viewer Fellowship Program. "Specifically, tree canopy (the leaves, branches, and stems that provide
Big trees provide huge shaded areas for outdoor gatherings in Kaʻū.
  Photo by Julia Neal
coverage over the ground) drives ecological, economic, and human health benefits including improving air and water quality, increasing property values, lowering ambient air temperatures, and reducing human stress levels."
    Eligible to apply are college students and recent graduates interested in exploring the role of trees in communities. The Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program of the state Department of Land & Natural Resources, Dept. of Transportation and other partners invites applicants.
    To visualize Hawai’i’s existing tree canopy coverage, the state Department of Land & Natural Resources' Division of Forestry & Wildlife and U.S. Forest Service are partnering to create the Hawai‘i Tree Canopy Viewer.
    Four fellows will be selected to carry out projects that utilize the Tree Canopy Viewer data to support urban and community forestry in Hawaiʻi. Fellows may explore research questions such as: How do urban trees impact the health of our water, land, and communities? Which trees might be best for future climate scenarios? Where are the towns, neighborhoods, schools, and parks that should be prioritized for tree plantings? How and where does Indigenous resource stewardship impact urban trees?
    Each fellow will receive a stipend of $5,000 and be supported by mentors who will guide their research and connect them to a network of agency and industry partners. Applications must be submitted online by Sept. 15, 2022 at 5 p.m. See the Tree Canopy Viewer Fellowship Application at 
    For more information about the Tree Canopy Viewer Fellowship, contact Heather McMillen, Kaulunani Program Coordinator, at heather.l.mcmillen@hawaii.gov.
    Learn more about the Tree Canopy in Hawai'i at https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/forestry/lap/kaulunani/tree-canopy-viewer-hawai%ca%bbi/.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at wwwkaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.htm
ʻĀina Akamu, Joyce Iwasihta and Kelson Gallano at the book launch on May 5 at Kaʻū High with the image of Pu'u Makanau
by Gallano gracing the cover. Gallano and Iwashita will present the book again at Basically Books in Hilo on Saturday, Aug. 27.
Photo from Hawai'i Executive Collaborative

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW, the new book by Kaʻū High School 2022 graduate and artist Kelson Gallano and educator and Kaʻū alumna Joyce Iwashita, will be featured at an event leading up to the 60th anniversary of Petroglyph Press at Basically Books in Hilo. The talk story and book signing will be on Saturday, Aug. 27, beginning at 1 p.m.
     Subtitle of the book is A Guide for Helping Kids Make Good Choices. However, it has been described in reviews as uplifting to people of all ages. See the story about the book's publication at http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022_05_05_archive.html. Proceeds of the book sales benefit art education and literacy at Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary School. Yamashita set up a non-profit organization for this purpose.
     At 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 27, Richard Ha and Leslie Lang will present What Would Our Kupuna Do? And What We Can Do For Future Generations? Basically Books is located at 334 Kilauea Ave in Hilo.
Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach is the Kelson Gallano image to illustrate "Choose to take care of our environment" in the new book What the World Needs Now, with a book signing on Aug. 27 at Basically Books in Hilo. 

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JAZZ IN THE FOREST returns to Volcano Art Center Niaulani campus on Saturday, Sept. 10. The Tribute to Duke Ellington is called A Prelude to a Kiss. JP and the Jazztones will feature Jean Pierre Thoma on clarinet, and soprano, alto and tenor saxophones; Vocalist Binto Bailey, pianist Alex Czerny, bassist Brian McCree, and percussionist Noa Eads, in a selection of Ellington favorites from his early years of the 1930's to the later classics.           
Jean Pierre Thoma will be on sax
and clarinet at Jazz in the Forest.
    The Ellington collection of hundreds of compositions has influenced jazz and popular as well as more contemporary classical stylings such as his renditions of The Nutcracker Suite and Grieg's Peer Gynt Suites.           Volcano Art Center Niaulani Campus is located at 19-4074 Old Volcano Road in Volcano Village.  Doors open at 5 p.m. The concert begins at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $30/  $25 for VAC members.The Volcano Art Center is a non-profit educational organization created in 1974 to promote, develop, and perpetuate the artistic and cultural heritage of Hawaiʻi's people and environment through activities in the visual, literary and performing arts.

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VOLCANO SWAP/ART/CRAFT MEETS, regularly held on second and fourth Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, will be on Sept. 10 and 24 at Cooper Center on Wright Road, Volcano Village. It will feature onolicious grinds, live music, local jam, honey, produce and plants, Koa decor and gifts, handmade arts, crafts and jewelry, gemstones and crystals, custom-made swimwear all sizes, as well as new and gently used treasures. Cooper Center Bookstore and Thrift Store will be open. 
     Also see, Facebook and Craigslist under Volcano Cooper Center Swap Meet. To vend/for info call Auntie Frances @ 808-985-8646.

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NINETEEN WERE ARRESTED FOR DUI BETWEEN AUG. 8 AND 14. During that week, Hawai‘i Island police arrested 19 motorists for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Two of the drivers were involved in a traffic accident. Two of the drivers were under the age of 21.
     So far this year, there have been 632 DUI arrests compared with 697 during the same period last year, a decrease of 9.3 percent. There have been 502 major accidents so far this year compared with 495 during the same period last year, an increase of 1.4 percent.
    To date, there were 23 fatal crashes (one fatal crash reclassified on 5/30/22 due to a medical condition) resulting in 25 fatalities (one of which had multiple deaths, and one of which was reclassified due to a medical condition), compared with 13 fatal crashes, resulting in 13 fatalities for the same time last year.                This represents is an increase of 76.9 percent for fatal crashes, and 92.3 percent for fatalities.
    Police promise that DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue islandwide.

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