Thursday, October 26, 2023

Kaʻū News Briefs Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023

Great blocking by the Trojans helped lead to their victory over Kohala on Thursday. Photo by Brenda Iokepa Moses

KAʻŪ TROJANS LADIES VOLLEYBALL WON ITS PLAYOFF GAME AT the Herkes Kaʻū District
Kaʻū moves onto finals on Saturday for the island
championship. Photo by Julia Neal

Gym on Thursday, taking down Kohala in four sets, 26-24, 25-17, 24-26 and 25-11. Precious Mareko-Ke was one of the top players with 24 kills and eight blocks. The Trojans head next to Kamehameha School for the final playoff game this Saturday, Oct. 28. If they win, they take the island championship and go to states on O'ahu, Nov. 8-11.

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A SEASON WRAPUP STATEMENT FROM KAʻŪ  TROJAN FOOTBALL STAFF was issued on Thursday, following the last game of the season last week at Honoka'a. The team finished with a 3-7 record for the season, and was top performer this year among the smaller schools that formerly played 8-man football.
    "While there were missed opportunities, the team played very inspired football during the second half of the season. The back to back victories at home over Kohala and Pahoa provided the loyal Trojan fans with some good football memories," says the football staff.
Trojan Volleyball Ladies walk the line to mahalo Kohala
players after the match. Photo by Julia Neal
    There were many school records set this year for 11-man football. For team records, this year’s team scored 222 points to break the previous record from 1965 of 201 points scored. This year’s team set the school record for offensive yards gained in a game with 596 yards at the Honoka'a Dragons game on Oct. 20. This broke the previous record set by this year’s team who gained 539 yards against the Pahoa Dragons on Sept. 30. This year’s team also broke the single game scoring record by scoring 60 points vs. Kohala on on Sept. 23. This broke the previous record of 58 set by the 2021 team. This year’s team narrowly missed the record for yards gained in a season by compiling 3,184 yards for second all-time status. The 2022 team recorded 3,210 yards gained.
    For individual records set, Trojans were led by Adahdiyah Ellis-Reys who broke the single game passing record with 301 yards passed against Honoka'a on Oct. 20. "Diyah finished the season with an amazing 2123 yards of total offense 1356 yards passing, 757 yards rushing, and 10 yards receiving. This may be a new record, but is unconfirmed at this time," according to the football staff.
    Ocean Nihipali-Sesson ran the ball 156 times for 881 yards and 13 TDs. He also hauled in 18 passes for 262 yards and 2 TDs. He set new individual records for yards rushing, TDs rushing, and total TDs for a season. "Including his 2pt conversions, Ocean broke the individual school record for scoring with 102
points, becoming the first Kaʻū player to break 100 points scored. TJ Kuahuia-Faafia caught 38 passes (new record) for 715 yards (new record) and 9 TDs (new record). The 38 passes caught broke former Trojan, Mike Alcoran's record from 2010," reports the football staff.

Kaʻū Trojans football team, comprised of Kaʻū High and Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences
students broke many of the school records for the team and individuals. Photo by Mark Peters







           Other statistics for this year’s team include La'a Kajiwara-Ke leading the team in tackles with 56 tackles. Ellis-Reyes and Keaka McDonnell both had 3 interceptions. Stephen Adler added a 70 yard interception returned for a TD at home against the Kohala Cowboys, "which was one of the season’s highlights. This year’s Trojan offense featured a balance between a tough controlled ground game, with the ability to strike it big at any time. This year’s offense had 14 plays of 40+ yards," says the football staff, wrapping up with, "Congratulations to this year’s team on your accomplishments. Mahalo to our Trojan Seniors – Jaestin Karasuda, Keaka McDonnell, Kainalu Wanzer, Stephen Adler, TJ Kuahuia-Faafia, La’a Kajiwara-Ke, Joe Buyuan, Ocean Nihipali-Sesson, Dakota Seaver, and Dominic Nurial-Dacalio."
    This year’s team finished with Ted Blanco as the Head Coach who was assisted by Garrett Greedy, Mark Peters, Greg Rush, Walter Parada, Chris Loy, and Kevin Brown. Athletic Director for Kau is Jaime Guerpo. The team’s Athletic Trainer is Moses Whitcomb. "The football staff would like to thank our community for supporting this year’s team. Your support at home and away was felt by the team at every game."

EVERY KID OUTDOORS HALLOWEEN CELEBRATIONS will be this Saturday at Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park's  Kīlauea Visitor Center and Kahuku Visitor Contact Station from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with fun filled family-friendly events.    
NPS Photo of three park staff dressed as a wizard, a bat and
 a scary Star Wars character who is Luke's daddy.
    At Kīlauea, decorate a park-themed mask then explore the trails and look for clues to earn charms for the mask. At Kahuku, come for the third annual Halloween Bingo Scavenger Hunt. Return to the visitor centers for a treat bag provided by the Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association.
    Costumes are encouraged.  Families with fourth graders receive a free park entrance. Complete the online activity on www.everykidoutdoors.gov and print the paper voucher to bring to the park in exchange for a fourth-grade pass.

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UNREST CONTINUES AT KĪLAUEA SUMMIT is the subject of this week's Volcano Watch written by
U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates:
    The most recent eruption at Kīlauea's summit began on Sunday, Sept. 10. Following weeks of heightened unrest, fissures opened on the Halema'uma'u crater floor and to the east on the "down dropped block," a remnant of the older caldera floor that collapsed in 2018.
    The eruption was short lived, ending just a week later, on September 16. Lava stopped flowing. Gas emissions diminished. Seismicity and ground deformation returned to "background" levels. Things got quiet. But not for long.
    A new series of earthquake swarms began suddenly at Kīlauea's summit on Oct. 4. Activity escalated quickly and more than 250 earthquakes were recorded in the south caldera region on Oct. 5. Seismicity at this scale has been observed prior to recent Kīlauea summit eruptions, but as we know, a new eruption did not begin in early October.
      Instead, intermittent seismic swarms have continued, varying from less than 20 events per day to more than 150 events on October 22. Most earthquakes have been smaller than magnitude-2 and have occurred at depths of around 1–3 km (0.6–2 mi) below the surface. Seismic signals indicating magma movement—such as low-frequency tremor—have also been observed, most recently on October 23.
    Ground deformation rates increased in early October as well. The Sand Hill tiltmeter, located southwest of the caldera, has recorded approximately 120 microradians of change over the past three weeks. GPS and satellite radar data confirm that over 10 cm (4 in) of uplift has occurred in the south caldera region since late September. Northeast of the caldera, the Uēkahuna tiltmeter has recorded approximately 20 microradians of change over the past three weeks.    

This map shows recent unrest at Kīlauea summit. Yellow circles denote earthquake locations from October 4–24, 2023, as recorded by HVO seismometers. Nearly 2,000 earthquakes were detected during this time period. Colored fringes denote areas of ground deformation from September 24–October 10 as measured by satellite radar. Approximately 10 cm (4 inches) of uplift was detected during this time period. Each color cycle represents 1.5 cm (0.6 in) of ground motion toward the satellite, indicating uplift associated with a magmatic intrusion. Map from USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
 Deformation has also been intermittent, with days-long periods of increased rates alternating with similar-duration periods of little or no displacement. Increased numbers of earthquakes have generally coincided with increased rates of ground motion at Sand Hill, as seen on October 4–6, 16–18, and 21–23.
    These observations indicate that magma is accumulating in the geologically complex south caldera region. Examining history, this is not surprising.
    Numerous intrusions have been recorded here in the past, most recently in 2021 and 2015. In August 2021, an intrusion here occurred over about a week and was followed by an eruption within Halema'uma'u about a month later (September 29, 2021). In May 2015, an intrusion here lasted less than a week and occurred during ongoing eruptions within Halema'uma'u and at Pu'u'ō'ō.
    Intrusions also occurred here in the 1960s, 1970s, early 1980s, and in 2006. But only one, in December 1974, led to an eruption. It migrated southward from the caldera and then reached the surface, erupting as a series of short fissure segments with a total length of 5 km (3 mi), as it turned southwest. Of note is the fact that, before the 1974 eruption, earthquakes had migrated farther southwest than HVO has observed during recent unrest.
    Although it is not possible to forecast an exact outcome from current unrest, here are three possible scenarios that could play out in the coming days to weeks.
    Magma could continue to accumulate but eventually stop, with no eruption.
    Or, magma could continue to accumulate, followed by a summit eruption inside the caldera—similar to recent eruptions at Halema'uma'u. If this happens, we expect to see accelerating deformation and seismicity beneath the caldera 1–2 hours before an eruption.
    Or, magma could continue to accumulate, with an eventual summit eruption outside the caldera, to the south or southwest. If this happens, we expect to see earthquakes migrating southward as they did in December 1974, followed by accelerating deformation and seismicity 1–2 hours before an eruption.  
    The timeframe for any scenario is uncertain. With permission from Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, HVO has installed two new webcams to better monitor the south caldera region ([MITDcam] - Kīlauea's upper Southwest Rift Zone, looking north and [S2cam] - Kīlauea's upper Southwest Rift Zone, looking southwest). Considering potential volcanic hazards, the National Park has closed trails near areas of unrest.
    Unrest continues at Kīlauea summit. HVO is watching closely. Time will tell what happens next!

Volcano Activity Updates: Kīlauea is not erupting. Its USGS Volcano Alert level is ADVISORY.
    The area just south of Kīlauea's summit continues to show signs of episodic unrest. Overall, inflation at the summit of Kīlauea remains high and has surpassed the level seen just before the most recent eruption on September 10th. Seismicity in the region south of Kīlauea caldera summit continues, though at decreased rates from the peak in activity on October 6. The most recent sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rate, of approximately 100 tonnes per day, was measured on October 19.
    Mauna Loa is not erupting. Its USGS Volcano Alert Level is at NORMAL.
    Webcams show no signs of activity on Mauna Loa. Seismicity remains low. Summit ground deformation rates indicate slow inflation as magma replenishes the reservoir system following the recent eruption. SO2 emission rates are at background levels.
    Two earthquakes were reported felt in the Hawaiian Islands during the past week: a M29 earthquake 1 km (1 mi) WSW of Pāhala at 32 km (20 mi) depth on Oct. 23 at 7:37 p.m. HST and a M3.5 earthquake 11 km (6 mi) NE of Pāhala at 31 km (19 mi) depth on Oct. 19 at 5:09 p.m. HST.
HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and Mauna Loa.

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HPD ARRESTED 15 FOR DUI the week of Oct.16, through Oct. 22. Hawai‘i Island police arrested 15 motorists for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Three of the drivers were involved in a traffic collision. One of the drivers was under the age of 21.
   So far this year, there have been 786 DUI arrests compared with 799 during the same period last year, a decrease of 1.6 percent.
   Hawai‘i Police Department’s Traffic Services Section reviewed all updated crashes and found 677 major collisions so far this year compared with 666 during the same period last year, an increase of 1.7 percent.
   To date, there have been 14 fatal crashes, resulting in 15 fatalities, (one with multiple deaths); compared with 28 fatal crashes, resulting in 30 fatalities (one of which had multiple deaths, and one was reclassified to a medical condition) for the same time last year. This represents a decrease of 50 percent for fatal crashes, and 50 percent for fatalities.
    To date, the non-traffic fatality count (not on a public roadway) so far this year is one compared to zero non-traffic fatalities for the same time last year.
   HPD promises that DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue island wide.