Kaʻū News Briefs Dec.16, 2024

Fisherman Santa Comes to Town

Rolling toward Christmas with the theme of fishing for food, Good To Grindz food truck traveled Pāhala Town Lighted Christmas Parade route on Saturday. See more business, school, church and community parade participants, along with coverage of the first Kaʻū Taro Festival, in upcoming Kaʻū News Briefs.  

Photo by Stacyn Sakuma

MAYOR KIMO ALAMEDA has announced the appointments of Hugh Ono for county Director of Public Works, Neil Azevedo for Deputy Director of Public Works, and Corey Stone for county Director of Information

Hugh Ono

 Technology. The Directors appointments are subject to approval by the County Council.
    Alameda said, "Each of these administrators are natural fits for their departments and bring a strong commitment to serving the public. In some cases, the search was extensive, and I couldn't be more confident in the skills and leadership abilities that they bring to the County."
    Director of Public Works appointee Hugh Ono is a professional engineer who served as the County's Public Works Director from 1984 to 1990. Prior to his most recent appointment, he was the Vice President in charge of SSFM International, Inc.'s Hawaiʻi Island Office.

Neil Azevedo

    Ono previously served as Highways Division Administrator for the state Department of Transportation and Hawaiʻi District Engineer for state DOT. He was named Hawaiʻi State Engineer of the Year in 1992 and Hawaiʻi Island Engineer of the Year in 1985.
    Deputy Director of Public Works appointee Neil Azevedo was Highway Division Chief for Public Works from December 2015 until his appointment as deputy director. He has been a conduit for the County's emergency response, assisting Fire, Police and Civil Defense agencies with multiple eruptions, hurricanes, tropical storms, flooding, and brush fires.

Corey Stone

    Alameda said that Azevedo's experiences and knowledge assisted to improve, construct, and repair emergency evacuation routes in Lower Puna, Waikoloa, Puako, and Keaukaha.
    Director of Information Technology appointee Corey Stone worked for the County as an Information Systems Analyst in the Department of Information Technology since 2012. He previously worked for Hewlett-Packard in Colorado and came back home to Hawaiʻi Island in 2004 to raise his family. "Stone enjoys working in information technology because he builds relationships with staff across departments and all over the island," says the Mayor's statement.

To read co

Diyah Ellis-Reyes earns Big Island MVP.
Photo by Kama Reyes Wroblewski

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KAʻŪ HIGH TROJAN FOOTBALL STAR Adahdiyah “Diyah” Ellis-Reyes received the Big Island Offense Most Valuable Player Award for his performance in the 808 Senior P.R.O. Bowl football game in O'ahu this past Sunday. The quarterback, who graduates in 2025, set school records at Kaʻū.

    Assistant football coach Mark Peters reports that Ellis-Reyes' MVP award "caps off a stellar high school career with the Kaʻū Trojans where he passed for over 3,200 yards and ran for over 3,100 yards. He totaled 51 touchdowns in his high school career. Ellis-Reyes holds seven individual school records for 11 man football at Kaʻū High School. Congratulations Diyah!"

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THE MAIN VISITOR CENTER STORE AT HAWAI'I VOLCANOES National Park, along with park visitor services, will move to Kīlauea Military Camp for about two years. The move will be a fews days after Kīlauea Visitor Center, across from Volcano House, closes for renovations, starting Feb. 17. 

   An announcement from Hawai'i Pacific Parks Association, the nonprofit partner that operates the store, says that the new venue will be at a welcome center at KMC's Koa Room, adjacent to the lobby for the KMC cottages.

Hawai'i Pacific Park's gift store will move to KMC for
about two years during HVNP renovations. Photo from HPPA

     The statement says, "Hawai'i Pacific Parks Association staff is pleased to keep working alongside NPS rangers to meet visitor needs for the estimated two years of construction. This move is necessary to accommodate upcoming national park facility upgrades and renovations at the visitor center. It will allow HPPA to continue offering retail sales services to park visitors without interruption until the new park visitor center is ready. Proceeds directly contribute to preservation, education, and interpretation initiatives in the park."
    HPPA invites all visitors to continue supporting Hawaiʻi national parks by visiting the temporary location or exploring HPPA’s online store: https://shop.hawaiipacificparks.org. Bookmark this webpage for park construction updates at https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/construction-closures.htm.

    Al Galiza, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park area manager, said, “Change, like the ever-evolving landscape of Kīlauea Volcano, brings new opportunities. We are excited for the upcoming partnership with KMC and look forward to continuing to provide our visitors with memorable keepsakes of their time at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.”

Kīlauea Visitor Center will move to KMC for
about two years. Photo from HPPA

    

    Mel Boehl, HPPA Executive Director, said, “HPPA is excited about the KVC remodeling project as we know the updated facilities will result in an expanded interpretive product line and an enhanced visitor experience. Mahalo nui to KMC and NPS for their partnership in finding a good solution for a temporary visitor center and park store. The use of the Koa Room at KMC will allow us to provide the same level of high-quality interpretive products and visitor services as we have done at the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Visitor Center for the past 90 years.”

    HPPA is the nonprofit partner of seven national park sites in Hawaiʻi and American Samoa. Proceeds from its visitor center park stores and online shop have contributed over $26 million in support to parks since 1933.

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KAʻŪ COFFEE FARMERS AND MACADAMIA GROWERS MAY QUALIFY FOR MARKETING ASSISTANCE along with other Specialty Crop Producers. The $2 billion for the nationwide program comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Applications from Specialty Crop Producers, who will share in funding for expanding markets and managing higher costs, will be accepted from Dec.1- Jan. 8.

    Funded by the Commodity Credit Corp. and administered by USDA's Farm Service Agency, eligibility and application processes for specialty crop producers who would like to participate in the program can be found here on the FSA website. Complete the necessary forms and submit them to the FSA County Office in Hilo. Primary contact for submitting the forms is Debby Ann Itchon, DebbyAnn.Itchon@usda.gov or the general Service Center staff line at 808-933-8381

    This program is similar to the CFAP and other programs that provided subsidy payments to growers based on their coffee cherry and macadamia in-shell production. On the form FSA-1140, report the value of crops before adding value such as processing or roasting. That means farmgate values for coffee cherry or macadamia nut-in-shell should be listed under Part C Sales, for example. Contact Farm Service Agency in Hilo, with any questions.
    Also see a Stakeholder Meeting on the funding at FarmersGov YouTube or download the Fact Sheet here.

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Volcano Art Center Gallery inside Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.