Monday, September 19, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff replaced the gas measurement station at Sulphur Cone on the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa in early September. Field staff (in orange) and the gas monitoring station are visible right of center in this aerial view, which also shows the 1950 fissure and Sulfur Cone. Sulfur Cone is at an elevation of 3,430 meters (11,240 feet) above sea level.See more below. USGS image by T. Elias

AN INTERNATIONAL PEACE POLE IN PĀHALA will be dedicated on the grounds of Kaʻū Hospital & Rural Health Clinic in Pāhala on Thursday.
   Sponsors include The Rotary Club of Volcano and Kaʻū Rural Heath Community Association and Kaʻū Hospital & Rural Health Clinic, who invite the community to dedication ceremonies this Thursday, Sept. 22 at 9 a.m., at the entrance to Kaʻū Hospital. The ceremonies will celebrate International Peace Day.
   A Peace Pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in different languages on each of its four or six sides. There are estimated over 250,000 Peace Poles in every country in the world, including one outside the Volcano Art Center.
    Planting a Peace Pole is a way of bringing people together to inspire, awaken and uplift the human consciousness the world over. The Pāhala Peace Pole dedication ceremony includes Kupuna, local church leaders, Hawai'i County Mayor's Office, Rotary Club of Volcano, Kaʻū Rural Health Community Association, Kaʻū Hospital & Rural Health Clinic, Hilo Medical Center, HHSC East Hawai'i Board of Directors, elected officials and community.

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THE EMERGENCY SNAP PROGRAM CONNECTED TO FEDERAL COVID EMERGENCY FUNDING has been renewed. Gov. David Ige signed a fourth emergency proclamation on Monday to allow the continuation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program emergency allotment benefits in line with the federal COVID emergency. The disaster emergency relief period continues through Nov. 18.
    "Food insecurity is just one of the lingering effects of the pandemic, and SNAP benefits provide Hawaiʻi families with nutritious food," said the governor. "It's important for families to reach out so they
can get the help they need."
    The SNAP program provides crucial food and nutritional support to qualifying low-income and needy households, and those making the transition from public assistance to self-sufficiency.
    In Hawaiʻi, the Department of Human Services Benefit, Employment & Support Services Division administers the program "and remains committed to providing food security for individuals and families in Hawaiʻi," says the statement from the governor.
    SNAP is managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is the largest food nutrition assistance program in the country. DHS reminds the public that the federal government requires recipients of SNAP and Financial Assistance Programs (FAP) to recertify, or renew, their eligibility annually (for most households) to receive continued benefits.
    Households are now able to upload required documents at https://pais-benefits.dhs.hawaii.gov/. However, renewal interviews are completed via telephone, and recipients needing assistance with this process or information about the status of their recertification can call the Public Assistance Toll Free Information Line at 1-855-643-1643.

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.html.

A MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID WORKSHOP is free online this Wednesday, Sept. 21 and is open for public participation. The sponsor, Vibrant Hawai'i, notes that the workshop aims to help participants: "Learn to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and challenges in adults." This online workshop is being offered through Vibrant Hawai'i's Resilience Hubs, including those in Kaʻū.
    Kalehua Kukahiko, of Vibrant Hawai'i, will lead this workshop and participants receive a digital badge certifying participation and training topics covered. The workshop covers sensitive topics including suicide and drug/alcohol addictions. "The intended outcome is to increase awareness of signs and symptoms of mental illnesses, reduce stigma, and increase community's confidence to start conversations with individuals experiencing mental health challenges and crisis to connect to appropriate professional supports," says the notice from Vibrant Hawai'i.  To register, see https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckrvXNzWKLapxo5S-AgA7x56voHVUYVJvu_tZB_67HnHgacQ/viewform. Provide email and answer questions to sign up. The class will also be available in November.

Trojan girls came back from being two sets
down to beat Kealakehe on Monday in 
volleyball at the Robert E. Herkes, Kaʻū
District Gym in Pahala. Photo by Julia Neal
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VARSITY AND JV GIRLS VOLLEYBALL DID IT AGAIN Monday night. They won. The Trojans took on the Waveriders from Kona's Kealakehe High at the Kaʻū District Gym, with JV beating them in two sets. Trojan Varsity lost the first two sets but came back to break the Waveriders in the final three sets. 
     After the match up, the Kaʻū team members were described as contrasting to privileged urban girls, and as scrappy and always hungry, hanging in there for the distance to make a comeback and win.
     See the kills and other accomplishments of the Trojan Girls volleyball players in Tuesday's Kaʻū News Briefs.
     The next game for Girls Volleyball is home again this Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. against Makua Lani Christian Academy at the Robert E. Herkes, Kaʻū District Gym.

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This sulphur cone is at 11,240 ft. elevation, up the side of Mauna Loa volcano, showing the evidence of eruptions
in this photo taken on Sept. 8. 
USGS Photo by T. Elias

The contrasting colors set against a backdrop
 of steam and fume make for a dramatic scene, 
during the mission to change a gas measuring
 station at a lava cone on Mauna Loa. 
USGS image by T. Elias
THE HISTORY OF AN ACTIVE MAUNA LOA VOLCANO was blatantly visible when scientists replaced the gas measurement station at Sulphur Cone on the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa earlier this month. 
    The Sulphur Cone, high on the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa, was blanketed by sulfur crystals when it was named in 1921. A subsequent visit noted that molten sulfur had flowed down the flank of the cinder and spatter cone.         The remnants of that yellow flow can be seen here on the flank of the cone. Heating along the fissure of the voluminous 1950 eruption of Mauna Loa may have melted the accumulated sulfur around the Cone creating molten flows. For more information, see a past Volcano Watch at: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-peculiar-flow-sulphur-cone-along-mauna-loa.
    During the Sept. 8 visit to replace the gas measurement station, a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist peered into the fissure that erupted in 1950 from the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa near Sulphur Cone. 
   Water vapor and sulfur gases are still emitted from this fissure and surrounding area, which is at an elevation of 3,430 meters (11,240 feet) above sea level. The contrasting colors set against a backdrop of steam and fume "make for a dramatic and beautiful scene," says the USGS statement.

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See September issue of The Kaʻū Calendar
at www.kaucalendar.com, and in the
mail - Volcano, Kaʻū to South Kona.