Kaʻū News Briefs Sept. 18, 2024

All from Kaʻū, Arabella Ortega, Khloe Moses, Nohea Ka'awa, Kumu Debbie Ryder, Leiahi'ena Ka'awa and Kahea Wong Yuen at the Native Hawaiian Convention for the Council of Native Hawaiian Advancement. It is taking place at Hilton Waikoloa Village where the four young ladies and their Kumu performed and participated in sessions. Photo Lauren Wong Yuen 

CULTURAL PRACTITIONERS AND DANCERS are among those from Kaʻū at the Native Hawaiian Convention, sponsored by the the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement this week at Hilton Waikoloa Village.

     Kumu Debbie Ryder, of Hālau Hula O Leionalani, said the Kaʻū contingent is representing this district "very proudly." The contingent includes four representing the halau - Arabella Ortega, Khloe Moses, Leiahi'ena Ka'awa and Kahea Wong Yuen. 

Chloe Moses, Arabella Ortega and Kahea Wong Yuen with Kumu
 Heinaleimoana Kalu-Wong, a cultural advisor to Council for Native
Hawaiian Advancement. During the Native Hawaiian Convention in
Waikoloa, Kalu-Wong referred to her family roots in Kaʻū.
Photo by Lauren Wong Yuen

      Ryder said she invited Kumu Nohea Ka'awa to also join the halau to chant and sound with the ipu. Ryder said she personally did not grow up here and turned to Ka'awa, a native of Kaʻū to help to represent the district.

    Joining the halau to kokua are halau family members Lauren Wong Yuen, Kamalani Wong Yuen, Tyra Wong Yuen, Laurie Ortega and Jack Moses. 

    The Kaʻū contingent also met with Kumu Heinaleimoana Kalu-Wong, cultural advisor to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

    The three-day event wrapping up Wednesday features discussions and workshops on cultural perpetuation, lei, hula, land use, housing, fashion, tourism, education, and self-determination. 

    Leiahi'ena Ka'awa said she was enthusiastic about such sessions as Mo'olelo, with participants engaging to dissect and define a chant called Kaukahali'a, led by Luka Mossman and Kuha'o Zane.

    Sessions were wide ranging and included a breakout entitled Carrying Culture: Microsnesia, "to help participants understand and support people from the region of Micronesia, focusing on an overview of the region and culturally sustaining practices based on understanding key Micronesian cultural norms and delivering professional practices in ways that support those norms while promoting success."

    Another is called Uihā! The Cultural Impact of Paniolo. Another is Hula: Hālau vs Show. Another is The Future of Our Lands, described as,"He aliʻi ka ʻāina; he kauwā ke kāne. The land is chief; a person is its servant. Our kūpuna remind us that caring for the land is our kuleana, ensuring its resources sustain us. With growing threats to both land and people, what does effective aloha ʻāina look like in today’s world?"

    See the entire schedule and links to events, some of them recorded at https://www.hawaiiancouncil.org/2024convention/.                                                                        See https://www.facebook.com/hawaiiancouncil and https://www.instagram.com/hawaiiancouncil/

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.

Steam and volcanic gas continue to be emitted from the first fissures that erupted the night of Sept. 15 on the middle East Rift 

Zone of Kīlauea, west of Nāpau Crater. This photo, taken during the Wednesday morning monitoring overflight, looks southeast. The vog makes its way off the Kaʻū Coast to Kona. USGS photo by H. Winslow

ERUPTION HAZARDS EASED AND CHAIN OF CRATERS ROAD REOPENED ON WEDNESDAY. However, the eruption at Nāpau Crater continues and serious hazards still exist. All visitors to Chain of
Craters Road are urged to stay safe and be respectful of the hazards by noting the following:

Although most of the lava flow field within Nāpau Crater
 was inactive Wednesday morning, lava was actively oozing
 out of a marginal area. USGS photo by H. Winslow

Volcanic eruptions can be hazardous and change at any time. Stay on marked trails and overlooks. Do not enter closed areas. Avoid cliff edges and earth cracks, they are unstable.
    Hazardous volcanic gases present a danger to everyone, especially people with heart or respiratory problems, infants, young children and pregnant women. Use the park air monitoring website as you visit the park.
    Slow down and drive safely. Observe posted speed limits, drive slow over earthquake cracks and bumps and be on the lookout for wildlife such as nēnē, the world's rarest goose.
    The eruption near Nāpau Crater Kīlauea volcano's middle East Rift Zone began this past Sunday, Sept. 15 in a remote wilderness area. This area remains closed, no eruption viewing is possible. Lava glow was not visible from Chain of Craters Road overnight. Visitors should always check the park website for updates, closures, and alerts that could impact their visit.
Hilina Pali Road and Kulanaokuaiki Campground are now open to traffic. With the exception of Nāpau, backcountry sites have reopened as well.
    Maunaulu Trail and parking area, Nāpau Trail and Nāulu Trail remain closed to all use due to continued eruption hazards including gas emissions and for potential wildland fire. Escape road is open from Highway 11 to the Mauna Ulu Parking lot access road closure.

During a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring overflight the morning of Sept. 18, geologists observed only very weak activity at Kīlauea's middle East Rift Zone eruption site in Nāpau Crater. One vent was active with weak low fountaining in a tiny lava pond and much of the flow field was no longer active, though there was a residual ooze out on a margin of the flow field. A new small pad of lava had formed at west end of the fissure system since the overflight yesterday morning, but it was inactive by the overflight this morning. USGS photo by M. Patrick

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.

ACTION COMMITTEE FOR KAʻŪ COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN meets Thursday, Sept. 19 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Herkes Kaʻū District Gym Multi-Purpose Room.

CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW SEWER COLLECTION SYSTEM FOR PĀHALA IS MOVING FORWARD. Brenda Iokepa-Moses, Deputy Director of County of Hawai'i Department of Environmental Management, sent out an announcement on Wednesday saying the collection system "will connect or make your parcel accessible to a package wastewater treatment plant. DEM is requesting permission for a Right-of-Entry onto your property, for the purpose of planning, design, and constructing the sewer system improvements, closing out the existing large capacity cesspool (LCC), and restoration of impacted site features. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2025 and the County has entered into an administrative order on consent (AOC) to complete these works and close out the LCC in 2027.
    "The County has successfully secured a $12 million federal grant and additional funding for this project that will provide wastewater treatment that is protective of surface water and underground sources of drinking water for 174 properties in Pāhala. The ability to access your property is necessary for the County to remain in compliance with the AOC."
    With questions, contact Mark Grant – Wastewater Division Project Coordinator and (TA) Deputy Chief at (808) 961-8589 or via email at MarkJ.Grant@hawaiicounty.gov.
    Visit www.dem.hawaiicounty.gov/projects for more information and status updates.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.

September 2024, 5,000 in the mail, 2,500 on the streets.