Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 21, 2010

Ocean View's first annual Clunkers to Classics Car Show raised over
$4,600 to purchase computers for Na`alehu School students.

THE CLUNKERS TO CLASSICS Car Show and fundraiser at Ocean View Auto Parts has tallied up its income and determined that more than $4,600 will go to buy computers for Na`alehu School students. Ocean View Auto Parts co-owner Dorothy Antolin thanked all the volunteers. In the competition, Ocean View resident Neil Felton won the People’s Choice Award with his Red and Black 1937 Ford Pickup. In the Engine Elimination Contest, another Ford outlasted a Chevy.

Neil Felton's 1937 Ford Pickup
won the People's Choice award.

The Ford outlasted the Chevy in the
 engine elimination contest.

A CELL TOWER WILL RISE above Pahala Ballpark adjacent to Ka`u High School. The Windward Planning Commission has approved the tower for Sprint Nextel Hawai`i for installation of panel antennas and ground equipment. Antennas will go on a one-hundred-foot-tall light pole. And the equipment will be on a 525-square-foot footprint near Pakalana and Huapala Streets in the park. 

THE TEMPORARY TRANSFER STATION opened at Kahuku County Park yesterday and will be open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A gravel and concrete pad were laid for the rubbish bin that is hauled away each week. The state Department of Health gave an exemption from requirement for the temporary service on Nov. 12. Only plastic bags with rubbish are being accepted. See hawaiizerowaste.org for more.

A FUNDRAISING CHALLENGE for critical surgery needed by beloved KAHU radio manager, musician and composer Demetrius Oliveira is underway. Big D's `Ohana and the Edmund C. Olson Trust are challenging the community to help raise $20,000 for surgery for Demetrius that is critical to restore his health. Olson will match up to $5,000 in donations raised by December 7. Donations can be made at the Ka`u Federal Credit Union offices in Pahala, Na`alehu and Ocean View. Checks to the Demetrius Oliveira Medical Fund can also be mailed to P.O. Box 511, Pahala, HI 96777. Or drop them off at KAHU radio station on Maile Street in Pahala.

THE U.H. HILO GEOGRAPHY & Environmental Science Club surveyed Pahala last night and plan to return to spray for coqui frogs. Club President Kenberly Gray said that the coquis have destroyed the tranquility in Hilo, and her U.H. student colleagues offer to help Pahala save the peace and quiet here. If you want to remove coqui frogs from your land, call 769-1135.

MAKANA PERFORMS this afternoon at 5 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater. Call 967-8222 for concert and season tickets. Upcoming artists include the Honolulu Brass on December 12, HAPA on Dec. 18 and Honolulu Jazz Quartet, Jeff Peterson and Spring Wind Quintet in early 2011. 

A SLACK KEY WORKSHOP WITH MAKANA will be held Monday, Nov. 22 at he Volcano Art Center Niaulani campus. Call 967-8222.

THE ANNUAL RUBBER BAND TURKEY SHOOT will be held on Tuesday, November 23 at Pahala Community Center from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Everyone of any age is invited to compete and win prizes. Call Nona Makuakane at Department of Parks & Recreation at 928-3102. 

THANKSGIVING DINNER will be served at Ocean View Community Center this coming Thursday, Nov. 25 at noon.

THE DISCOVERY HARBOUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION hosts its third annual Thanksgiving feast on Thursday at 3 p.m. $10 includes turkey, trimmings, dessert and beverage. Children under 12 are free. All proceeds go to the Family Support Services of West Hawai`i Emergency Food Pantry in Na`alehu. The seating is limited to 70 diners. Please RSVP in advance at 929-9576.

Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 20, 2010

Jamae Kawauchi

NA`ALEHU NATIVE JAMAE KAWAUCHI has been nominated to become County Clerk for Hawai`i Island. She is the daughter of David Kawauchi, a retired police officer, and Jamie Kawauchi, who is retired from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
     Jamae is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and University of Hawai`i Richardson School of Law. She is a former Harvard University fellow and served as assistant director of Harvard Medical School’s Center of Excellence in Minority Health and Health Disparities. She is a former president of the County of Hawai`i Bar Association. The 37-year-old is a land use, business and civil attorney who worked with Carlsmith Ball and Tsukazaki, Yeh and Moore and has her own law practice.
     Kawauchi recently served on the County Charter Commission, which came up with numerous amendments that were approved in the general election in November.
     Kawauchi has support from both Mayor Billy Kenoi and the incoming County Council. The council is expected to confirm her after the swearing in on Dec. 6.

THE NEW TEMPORARY RUBBISH transfer station in Ocean View is open for household trash beginning today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the county Kahuku Park. The location for the bin is on Paradise Circle Makai, and the hours are every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The county will have an attendant on duty to accept only household rubbish in plastic bags. Commercial rubbish, metals or white goods such as washers, dryers, and refrigerators will be turned away. Recyclables are accepted at Wai`ohinu. Any questions? Call Environmental Management at 961-8083, or see http://www.hawaiizerowaste.org.

Deanna Hartynyk and Teresa Alderdyce
with items for foster care children.

DONATIONS CAN BE MADE TO foster care children. New duffel bags, blankets, and Teddy bears are among the items being collected for care packages that will be given to Kaʻū children making the move to foster care. Teresa Alderdyce, of Mark Twain, is spearheading the effort. Three to five children go into foster care in Kaʻū each month, said Deanna Hartynyk, Family and Adult Services Case Manager. Anyone wanting to make a donation for foster care packages can contact Teresa Alderdyce at 929-9611 ext. 10, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Wild turkey hen

HUNTERS ARE REMINDED that the season is open for game birds on Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays on public lands where the hunting is approved. The season lasts through the third Sunday in January. Hunting is allowed on Wednesdays and Thursdays on land managed by cooperators. There are limits on the number of game birds that can be taken. They include pheasants, quails, partridges, francolins, sandgrouse, doves, turkeys and peafowl. Licenses can be purchased online with a credit card or at the state Department of Forestry and Wildlife office in Hilo and Kamuela and at The Nature Conservancy office on Highway 11 in Na`alehu.




PRINTMAKER AND ILLUSTRATOR Dietrich Varez and author David Kawika Eyre are among dozens of Hawai`i artists and artisans who help the Volcano Art Center kick off the holiday season at its annual Christmas in the Country celebration today and tomorrow, and then over the Thanksgiving weekend from Friday through Sunday, Nov. 26-28.

ST. JUDE EPISCOPAL CHURCH in Ocean View is hosting its second annual Plant, Craft and Ye Olde Bake Sale today until 1 p.m.

Makana

MAKANA PERFORMS tomorrow, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater. Call 967-8222 for concert and season tickets. Upcoming artists include the Honolulu Brass on December 12, HAPA on Dec. 18 and Honolulu Jazz Quartet, Jeff Peterson and Spring Wind Quintet in early 2011. 

A SLACK KEY WORKSHOP WITH MAKANA will be held Monday, Nov. 22 at he Volcano Art Center Niaulani campus. Call 967-8222.

THE ANNUAL RUBBER BAND TURKEY SHOOT will be held next Tuesday, November 23 at Pahala Community Center from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Everyone of any age is invited to compete and win prizes. Call Nona Makuakane at Department of Parks & Recreation at 928-3102.

THANKSGIVING DINNER will be served at Ocean View Community Center this coming Thursday, Nov. 25 at noon.

THE DISCOVERY HARBOUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION hosts its third annual Thanksgiving Day feast at 3 p.m. $10 includes turkey, trimmings, dessert and beverage. Children under 12 are free. All proceeds go to the Family Support Services of West Hawai`i Emergency Food Pantry in Na`alehu. Limited to 70 diners; please RSVP in advance.

Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 19, 2010

Coffee berry borer

TWO QUARANTINE AREAS for the Coffee Berry Borer are proposed by the Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals, which helps with the prevention of pests and invasive species throughout the islands. Ka'u coffee farmers Bull Kailiawa and Lorie Obra testified to the committee in Honolulu to separate Ka`u and Kona in the quarantines. One quarantine zone would extend from Kaloko in Kona to the Ka`u border at Manuka State Park. It is this region of South Kona where the destructive coffee borer has been found on many farms. With the two-tier quarantine, there would be tough restrictions on bringing green coffee, coffee plants and coffee bags from Kona to Ka`u. The state Board of Agriculture will take up the issue next Tuesday, November 23rd in Honolulu. In the meantime, the Department of Agriculture is assessing treatment and mitigation methods that would allow for the transport of green coffee beans from the quarantine zones.
     Volunteer coffee farmers are asking for anyone with wild or planted coffee trees with borers to call for help with stumping the trees and burning the branches to get rid of the coffee borers. Call Bull Kailiawa at 895-6099.

Marla and Peter Hunter

MARLA HUNTER, of Ka`u, has been elected to the board of the Hawai`i Fruit Growers Association. She and her husband Peter grow and graft 25 varieties of mango trees on their 15-acre Eke Nui Farm mauka of Highway 11 near the old Na`alehu Dairy site. Among the mangos they sell at Volcano Farmers Market are: Golden Glow, Gouveia, Manzanillo and Mapulehu. Marla said she is interested in drawing more Ka`u and Volcano members to the Hawai'i Fruit Growers. Call 929-8127 or email ekenuifarm@aol.com. See hawaiitropicalfruitgrowers.org. 

THE NEW TEMPORARY RUBBISH transfer station in Ocean View will be open for household trash beginning tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the county Kahuku Park. The location for the bin is on Paradise Circle Makai, and the hours are every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The county will have an attendant on duty to accept only household rubbish in plastic bags. Commercial rubbish, metals or white goods such as washers, dryers, and refrigerators will be turned away. Recyclables are accepted at Wai`ohinu. Any questions? Call Environmental Management at 961-8083, or see http://www.hawaiizerowaste.org.
     The sudden appearance of the rubbish bin on land set aside for recreation and education at Kahuku Park will be one of the topics at the next Ka`u Chamber of Commerce meeting on Monday, Dec. 12 at Ocean View Community Center at 6 p.m. County staff will explain.

Tahnee-Lee Kakatin, Dayse Andrade, Dacy Davis-Andrade,
Malie Ibarra, Junially Manantan and Junialla Manantan are
Ka`u fifth-graders who attended the GEMs program
in Kona yesterday.

Madalyn McWhite-Lamson,
of Ocean View, supports the
GEMS program for
fifth-grade girls.

KA`U FIFTH GRADE GIRLS traveled to Keauhou Beach Hotel yesterday for the GEMS program, which stands for Girls Exploring Math and Science. They met women whose careers involve an education with math and science and were given time to talk to them about their careers. Among the professions explored were astronomy, medicine, alternative energy, pharmacy and marine biology. The event is sponsored by the American Association of University Women. One of its Ocean View members, Madalyn McWhite-Lamson, assisted with a workshop on Coral Reef Critters. 

HELCO IS WARNING the public of a scam. Individuals impersonating Hawai`i Electric Light Company employees have been contacting residents and businesses by telephone and asking for personal information. Impersonators are telling customers their electric bill is overdue and must be paid, or electric service will be disconnected. HELCO is aware of these calls, which were made on the Big Island. The company reminded all customers Wednesday to not provide personal, confidential or financial information to any unidentified individual. It urged customers to be cautious when responding to phone calls and to report any suspicious activity to HELCO at 969-6999 or police at 935-3311.

Hog the Bounty Hunter

A PIG looks out of  the window of a car parked alongside Hwy 11 near South Point Road. Tourists are stopping by to take photos and see the pig is stuffed. To find out more about this project by Roger Downing, see the website hogthebountyhunter.com.

PRINTMAKER AND ILLUSTRATOR Dietrich Varez and author David Kawika Eyre are among dozens of Hawaii artists and artisans who will help the Volcano Art Center kick off the holiday season at its annual Christmas in the Country celebration Saturday and Sunday, and then over the Thanksgiving weekend from Friday through Sunday, Nov. 26-28. 

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village hosts a Poetry Slam tonight at 7 p.m. In this competition, poets read their own works, and the winners receive prizes. Call 967-8222 for more information. Admission is eight dollars.

ST. JUDE EPISCOPAL CHURCH in Ocean View hosts its second annual Plant, Craft and Ye Olde Bake Sale tomorrow, Nov. 20 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.