Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013

Candace Keohuloa, of Pahala, was the Big Island 2013 Children's Summer Reading Program grand-prize winner. Manager Debbie Wong Yuen presented her with a backpack filled with school supplies.

PAHALA PUBLIC & SCHOOL LIBRARY Summer Reading Program had 77 children, 18 teens and 12 adults participating. The children enjoyed weekly activities such as planting blue lake bush beans or flower seeds; doing weekly crafts making plant markers; butterfly, ladybug or dragonfly clips; making dinosaur fossils and digging for treasure.

      Through the UH-Manoa statewide Culture Extension Program, many sponsors and Friends of the Ka`u Libraries, the library hosted two programs. In Cultures of the World, C.R. Greywolf shared authentic handcrafted weapons, antiques and period costumes.

Ka`u resident Joe Iacuzzo presented programs on the dinosaur mummy
at Ka`u's libraries in July.

      New resident to Ka`u, Joe Iacuzzo, who authored the book Last Day of the Dinosaur Mummy, showed his documentary film Secrets of the Dinosaur Mummy and brought a real dinosaur tooth that excited all those in attendance.
      Besides the weekly incentive prizes for each age group that were provided by the many sponsors, each library had a drawing for special prizes. Winner of the children’s garden fun gift basket was fourth-grader Kalena Kailiawa. The teen winner of an iPod Shuffle is Rayncin Salmo-Grace, who will be in the 11th grade.
      Third-grader Candace Keohuloa, of Pahala, was the Big Island 2013 Children’s SRP grand-prize winner of a Disney Minnie Mouse backpack filled with school supplies valued at over $50, provided by Price Busters on O`ahu.
      Other activities and services Pahala Public & School Library provides are free Friday movie matinees at 2 p.m. The library also has four desktop and twenty-one laptops that can be used free with a Hawaii State Public Library card. The library also provides free Wi-Fi connection during normal business hours. Basic computer classes are in the future plans.
      Hawai`i State Public Library System offers many other free services and programs throughout the year. To find out more, see librarieshawaii.org or call manager Debbie Wong Yuen at 928-2015.

HAWAI`I ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY HAS BEEN INFORMED of a telephone scam that may affect business customers on Hawai`i Island. Customers reported receiving telephone calls from a caller who claimed to be a HELCO representative. The customers were directed to pay their utility bill at a store using a service called Money Pak. The caller also directed the customers to not make payments at the utility’s customer service office. 

      HELCO encourages customers to call its customer service office if they receive a suspicious call from someone claiming to represent the company.
      Payment options are by U.S. mail; in person at the company’s Hilo, Kona or Waimea business offices; in person at Foodland, Sack N Save, Wal-Mart, Kmart, or First Hawaiian Bank; charge, debit card or electronic check by calling a toll-free number.
      Employees will not call and request a credit card number or direct customers to submit payment via other options. Details are available on the back of billing statements.
For safety and protection, HELCO encourages customers to:

• Never provide personal, confidential or financial information to an unidentified caller. 
• Be cautious when responding to callers from an unidentified phone number. Phone scammers want to remain anonymous. 
• Ask questions: request the caller’s name, company name, and phone number. If in doubt, call Hawai`i Electric Light’s customer service office to confirm the caller’s request. 
• Report any suspicious activity to local police. 

Learn more at HELCO customer service in Hilo (969-6999), Kona (329-3584) or Waimea (885-4605) or at hawaiielectriclight.com.

HCC ag professor Chris Jacobsen

KA`U RESIDENTS CAN EARN CERTIFICATES in landscaping, agbusiness and marketing from Hawai`i Community College, which starts offering non-credit agriculture classes this week. 

      “These courses are an excellent and inexpensive way for people to expand their agricultural knowledge and skills in a short amount of time,” agriculture professor Chris Jacobsen told Pacific Business News intern Landess Kearns.
      The landscaping class, for instance, takes place over four days and meets for five-and-a-half hours per day. Students receive either a certificate of participation or a certificate of professional development. Fees range from $39 to $100.
      For more information, call HCC at 934-2500.

HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL HOLDS MEETINGS this week. Committees meet Tuesday, with Finance Committee beginning at 9 a.m. and Planning at 10:30 a.m.
      Public Safety and Mass Transit Committee reconvenes at 1:30 p.m. to consider a proposed ban on GMOs. This is a continuation of the special meeting held July 2 and 3. It was originally scheduled to continue on July 30, but was postponed due to Tropical Storm Flossie.
      The full Council meets Wedneday at 9 a.m.
      All meetings take place at Council Chambers in Hilo. Ka`u residents are invited to participate via videoconferencing from Ocean View Community Center.
      Agendas for all meetings are available at hawaiicounty.gov.

DURING A WALK INTO THE PAST, Ka`u resident Dick Hershberger brings Hawaiian Volcano Observatory founder Thomas Jaggar to life. The programs take place this Tuesday and every other Tuesday at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center and Whitney Vault in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

REGISTRATION IS STILL AVAILABLE for Volcano Art Center’s fourth annual Rain Forest Runs set for Saturday, Aug. 17. The half marathon, 10K run and 5K run/walk are held in Volcano Village. This event traverses the native rain forest in Volcano Village and the ranches near Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. All distances are open to runners and walkers of all ages and abilities. 

      Entry fees are $85 for the half marathon, $50 for the 10K run and $35 for the 5K run/walk.
      Volcano Art Center presents art awards donated by local artists to the top three male and female winners of the half marathon, to the overall winners for the 10K and 5K and to the top two male and female winners in each ten-year age division for all race events. In addition, medals are presented to half marathon finishers and to the top male and female winners of the military division for each race.
      More information and registration forms are available at volcanoartcenter.org/rain-forest-runs.

Cheryl Gansecki guides a hike in the Ka`u
Desert next Sunday.

FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK presents its monthly Walk in the Park next Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

      Volcanologist Cheryl Gansecki guides a four-mile, round-trip hike along Footprints Trail to Mauna Iki in the Ka`u Desert. The hike is free for Friends members, and non-members can join the organization in order to attend. Call 985-7373 or email admin@fhvnp.org.

MEDICINE FOR THE MIND, Buddhist healing meditation for beginners and advanced practitioners, takes place next Sunday from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Patty Johnson offers the free program at Volcano Art Center’s Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. For more information, call 985-7470.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

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Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013

Ka`u High School had enough players to field a team last year, but not enough for the upcoming season.
Photo from Ka`u High School 

KA`U HIGH’S FALL FOOTBALL SEASON IS CANCELLED. Players held their final pre-season practice and workout on Friday and Athletic Director Kalei Namohala announced that the Trojans will not field a team this year due to low player turnout. Namohala said there must be 32 players to field a team, and only a dozen signed up. She had set Aug. 5 as a deadline for signups but decided to cancel earlier, concluding that it would be unlikely that enough students would sign up even after school starts next week.

Kalei Namohala 

      Families of prospective team members said they were saddened by the news, which dashed some of the ambitious varsity football players' hopes for football scholarships to help carry them to college. The cancellation apparently means that there will be no Ka`u varsity football for at least two years. Many players have been working out for months to get in shape for this season. At this late date it would be impossible for any of them to transfer to other schools where they could play football. 

     Greg Rush, who has coached Ka`u football in the past and was to be an assistant coach this year, said he was disappointed that Ka`u won’t be able to participate in Big Island Interscholastic Federation’s football program. He said it has happened in the past, and he looks forward to football returning to the school in the future.

      Rush said he has been advocating for eight-man football for smaller Hawai`i Island schools for several years. Instead of requiring 32 players to field a team, only about 20 would be required, Rush said. He also said smaller, leaner players, like most of Ka`u’s players, do well in the games, which don’t involve as much tackling.
      Rush suggested that schools where smaller teams would be appropriate may also include Kohala, Pahoa, St. Joseph’s and Laupahoehoe. Rush said Maui has eight-man football teams and that if the Big Island had some, “O`ahu would probably follow.” This could set up a program to include state tournaments. “You shouldn’t even compete in a sport where you don’t have a chance to go to states,” Rush said.
      Rush said he has discussed eight-man football with Namohala and that she seemed interested in considering it. Kohala also dropped out of football for the coming season.
     To comment on this story, go to https://www.facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Pahala's new sewage treatment plant may be sited below town and mauka of HELCO's new electric station along Hwy 11.
Photo by Julia Neal

SITING FOR THE NEW PAHALA SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT is ongoing, with archaeologists combing over one suggested parcel near Hwy 11 just above the HELCO substation. The five-acre parcel is a section of the old sugar mill site and adjacent to the land that includes the Chinese, Filipino and Japanese cemeteries along with new plantings of Ka`u coffee lining the highway. The proposed parcel for the sewage treatment plant is shown on old plantation maps to include an area designated as a U.S. Army Graveyard.

Archaeologists are collecting oral histories and maps showing a  parcel being
considered for Pahala's new sewage treatment plant. This old plantation map
shows a U.S. Army Graveyard designated for the site. 

      Cultural resources consultants working on the history of the site are asking if anyone remembers the Army Cemetery site being used for graves. The archaeologists are also looking for old lava tubes, structures and oral histories of the property. The land was used for years as pasture by Gus Villanueva, Mike Silva and other paniolo. Anyone with more information can call archaeologist Roland B. Reeve of the consulting firm Pacific Legacy at 351-9560. 

      This proposed sewage treatment plant site is below the town and would not require pumping to service homes, businesses, schools and other public buildings in Pahala. The county is planning to construct the sewage treatment plant with government funds and money provided by former sugar company owner C. Brewer, which had operated a gang cesspool for many of the homes in the town. Gang cesspools are outlawed, and the federal Environmental Protection Agency is requiring them to be abandoned.
     To comment on this story, go to https://www.facebook.com/kaucalendar.

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES has unanimously approved the bipartisan, bicameral Helping Heroes Fly Act (H.R. 1344), introduced by Ka`u’s Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, as her first piece of legislation in the House in March. The bill has been submitted to President Obama for his signature. 

      The measure improves airport security screening processes for wounded and severely disabled service members and veterans.
      “The passage of this bill today will improve the lives of those who have served our country so bravely,” Gabbard said. “This has been a strong bipartisan effort, where Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate came together with unwavering and unanimous support for our wounded warriors and the Helping Heroes Fly Act. This is an example of what can be accomplished when we set aside differences and work together for the good of our nation.”
      Gabbard introduced the legislation after hearing from advocates of members of the Armed Forces and veterans themselves about inconsistencies in the screening of wounded warriors by the Transportation Security Administration. Some gave accounts of having to remove clothing and prosthetics in view of other passengers or having to awkwardly go through screening machines without the benefit of a prosthetic leg or limb.
      The Helping Heroes Fly Act has been endorsed by the American Legion, Disabled Veterans of American, Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Wounded Warrior Project and the American Federation of Government Employees.
     To comment on this story, go to https://www.facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Hawai`i's Energy Office has updated its website, energy.hawaii.gov.

THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM’S Hawai`i state Energy Office has launched an improved website (energy.hawaii.gov) along with new accounts for Twitter (@EnergyHawaiiGov) and Facebook (facebook.com/Hawaii-StateEnergyOffice). 

      “In recent years, the state Energy Office has produced and provided an abundance of online resources and self-help tools,” DBEDT director Richard Lim said. “The revamped website is designed to help potential investors, developers, stakeholders and policy makers and the public easily navigate and locate key information on Hawai`i’s clean energy portfolio.”
      With the URL remaining at energy.hawaii.gov, the upgraded website features improved site navigation of the Hawai`i State Energy Office’s top programs, including GEMS (Green Energy Market Securitization), Energy Savings Performance Contracting in the Efficiency section and Project Permitting Assistance.
      Users will also be able to access the online suite of self-help tools such as the Renewable EnerGIS Map for analyzing the renewable energy potential of sites statewide and the Renewable Energy Permitting Wizard that helps proposed projects understand the various required permits. 

Information about financing green energy improvements
is available at energy.hawaii.gov.

      “Our intent is for the energy industry, media and community to view the updated energy.hawaii.gov website as their primary resource for Hawai`i-focused clean energy solutions and opportunities,” state energy administrator Mark Glick said. “It’s a great way to stay connected with what’s happening in Hawai`i’s fast-moving clean energy landscape.”
      “As demonstrated by the state Energy Office’s site, the state’s online transformation will provide increased transparency and a better flow of information for the public,” state chief information officer Sonny Bhagowalia said. 

      “This builds on the website modernization project completed earlier this year that included the redesign of all state department websites. Over the next six months, all state-attached agency websites will be redesigned to this new format.”
To comment on this story, go to https://www.facebook.com/kaucalendar.

FOOTSTEPS THROUGH THE RAIN FOREST EXHIBIT opens today from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. This is a mixed media exhibition featuring selected works of paintings, clay, jewelry, wood, fiber & cement from members of the Paradise Studio Tour Artist Collective. It is open to the public at Volcano Art Center's Rainforest Gallery at Niaulani Campus. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily at 19-4074 Old Volcano Rd. in Volcano Village. In conjunction with Volcano Art Center's Annual Rain Forest Runs registration on August 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., artists will conduct hands on art projects and demonstrations including painting on silk, prayer flag making and clay stamp making. For more information call 967-8222 or visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.

OCEAN VIEW EVANGELICAL CHURCH’s first community ho`olaule`a is two weeks from today on Saturday, Aug. 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The lu`au will include lomi lomi salmon, chicken and long rice, kalua pig and beverages.
      Organizer Mary Wheeler is asking for monetary donations and door prizes. “We will help meet community needs, while getting the opportunity to serve,” she said. For more information and to donate, call 990-3480.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

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Ka`u News Briefs Friday, August 2, 2013

South Point is in the Ka`u Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan. Photo by Peter Anderson

KA`U SCENIC BYWAY received support form both state senators this week. Josh Green, representing West Ka`u, wrote to the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce Scenic Byway committee today, saying, "I like this plan and will be totally supportive." He said that he and Sen. Russell Ruderman can co-sponsor legislation to seek funds. A summary for the Corridor Management Plan, being developed by the committee, says the goal is to "enhance the experience of driving the Byway as it passes through some unique scenery along the western and southern slopes of Mauana Loa. The Byway should 'tell the story' of the drive around the world's highest mountain as measured from the ocean floor, and an active volcano. The Byway is the route between the Manuka Forest Reserve, at the boundary with South Kona, and the main entrance to the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Optionally it offers a side trip along a narrow road to Ka Lae, South Point, the southernmost tip of the 50 states. The Byway passes through areas of unusual natural beauty and some of the longest stretches of untouched landscape anywhere in the state."
     The Corridor Management Plan describes 16 sites identified as being of particular interest, "mostly because of scenic or other natural qualities but also including some sites that offer recreational opportunities. A summary of archaeological and historical points of interest along the Byway also includes a listing of some of the more important cultural events in Ka`u District." The main improvements proposed in the CMP are six new turnouts and three kiosks, one in each of the main population centers in the District. "The turnouts will offer new opportunities to pause and appreciate the scenery, and will have interpretive signs that relate the scenery to its geological past, and may include references to historical or cultural events. A kiosk provides local maps and information, telling the traveler what facilities are available locally and in relation to the Byway in general.

Eva Lee will present a program on growing tea in Ka`u for health, beauty and
economic development at Pahala Plantation House on Aug. 18.

  "The CMP will include an overall strategy for landscaping that is consistent with the natural beauty and a general strategy for preservation of the attractive attributes of the Byway."    Suggestions for improving the safety of the drive along the Byway are also included. The Plan includes proposals for funding the proposed improvements and a timeline for implementation, wrote committee chair Marge Elwell. See more on the Scenic Byway project at http://www.hawaiiscenicbyways.org/index.php/byway/kau-scenic-byway-the-slopes-of-mauna-loa. To comment on this story, go to https://www.facebook.com/kaucalendar.

GROW TEA is a cultivation and production program with educator and tea farmer Eva Lee of Tea Hawaii & Company. It will be held Sunday, Aug. 18 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. The program is for prospective tea farmers on Hawai`i Island interested in growing the Specialty crop Camellia sinensis tea producing white, green, oolong and black tea. The purpose is too help individuals and small family farms make greater strides in community production. The program is sponsored by The Kohala Center and funded in part by the U.S.Department of Agriculture Co-op Support program. To sign up, call Julia Neal at 928-9811. See more on Eva Lee at www.teahawaii.com.

A WASTE TO ENERGY PLANT that would take care of garbage collected by the county and produce electricity for the county to sell to Hawai`i Electric Light Co. is being studied by the administration and County Council. Ka`u's County Council member Brenda Ford said today that the county considered such a plant years ago, but in the end, the proposal failed with the majority of council members and Ford voting it down.
     Ford contended that "It didn't pencil out with a $120 million cost," for which the county would have had to issue a bond. She said the company proposing waste to energy started with a $60 million price tag that escalated to $120 million.  

Ka`u's County Council member
Brenda Ford

     "It was ludicrous and we didn't know what price HELCO would pay us per killowatt hour" and how the county could make back the money. She said that the county administration, at that time, estimated that HELCO would offer to pay the county 28 cents to 33 cents per kilowatt hour but that HELCO executive Jay Ignacio told the council that he would lose his job if he were to promise a contract at that price. "He reports to shareholders not the council," Ford said. "We weren't going to get the kind of the money we had been told."
     Ford also explained that the county would have to come up with an average of approximately 220 tons of combustibles per day to feed the waste to energy plant "or we would be fined by that company. At the time we were collecting less than 500 tons of total garbage per day islandwide. Of that amount 60 percent was green waste. With green waste going to composting and mulching, we would have been able to provide only 200 tons of waste a day, with only part of it being combustible," she explained.
     Ford said she hopes the council and county will consider some of the newer, innovative waste to energy proposals for which a contracting company would build the infrastructure at no cost to local government. She said that at least one entity promised to charge the county no money to build a Materials Recovery Facility and would use the Hilo sort station, pay union wages and by the end of the second year start mining the Hilo landfill for combustibles and other materials. "We need to take down the Hilo landfill. It is an unlined landfill that is leaching into the ocean and God knows what's in it and what went in it 60 years ago," said Ford. 

   Regarding concerns that Hawai`i County could become a guinea pig for experimental methods to deal with trash, Ford said, "If we can be a guinea pig for free and it works, we could possibly have a scalable solution that could be replicated in different parts of the island." She said that a Materials Recovery Facility, which is only one possibility, could separate out the green waste, ferrous and non ferrous metals, combustiles like paper and cardboard, plastics and glass. "Some of the combustibles would be used to generate energy to run the plant." She said such a system, funded by an outside contractor could have a bond or insurance that would require the chosen company to take down the plant should it fail. "We have a big problem out here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Barging the garbage to somewhere else would not be financially conducive to the taxpayer," said Ford.
         She called for open discussions and said she hopes the county launches requests for information first, then requests for proposals second. She said the solid waste solution may require multiple methods. "There is no silver bullet. We should not force the solution into one type of technology." More than one technology from more than one provider may be able to solve the problems with solid waste, said the council member. She talked about multiple locations. "We don't want green waste going from one side of the island to the other, the transportation leading to invasive species falling off the trucks - like coqui, fire ants and stinging nettle caterpillar. We are trying not to spread these pests around the island." To comment on this story, go to https://www.facebook.com/kaucalendar.

A 3.3 EARTHQUAKE ON THURSDAY at 8:42 p.m. was followed by three more small quakes overnight and today in the same area. The epicenter of the larger quake was 7 miles north of Pahala, mauka of Hwy 11 on Kapapala Ranch at a depth of 8.2 miles. The temblors that followed measured 2.3, 2.6 and 2.8 on the richter scale. No damage nor injuries were reported. To comment on this story, go to https://www.facebook.com/kaucalendar.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

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