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Friday, August 30, 2013

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, August 30, 2013

The newly renovated Volcano House holds its grand opening celebration and an open house next Friday, Sept. 6.
Photos from Sandi Yara Communications
CONGRESSWOMAN TULSI GABBARD HAS PARTNERED with several of her House colleagues to send a letter to President Barack Obama calling for consultation with the U.S. Congress before any military intervention in Syria is authorized. 
      “The use of chemical weapons and weapons of mass destruction is atrocious and violates international norms and basic human rights,” Gabbard said. “The challenges faced by UN weapons inspectors as they gather evidence has only exacerbated this conflict that has gone on for too long, with countless innocent casualties.
      “Right now, we do not have enough facts about all facets of what is occurring on the ground, the factions involved in this civil war, and what the unintended consequences would be for U.S. military involvement. Congressional debate and approval must occur before any U.S. military action is taken, and through this process we need to have a clear-eyed view of our objectives and what the outcomes would be, understanding the impacts in Syria and those that extend far beyond Syria.”
      To comment on or “Like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Marley Strand-Nicolaisen
MARLEY STRAND-NICOLAISEN “got the party started on her college volleyball career with a match-high 14 kills Thursday night, and a crowd that was fit for a carnival had ample reason to celebrate as the Vulcans swept Alaska-Fairbanks 25-18, 25-16, 25-17 before 512 enthusiastic partisans in their opener at UHH gym.” That was the lead in the story this morning by Matt Gerhart of the Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, headlined “UHH is a sweep sensation.” 
         The story said that the “biggest debut” of all the new players “belonged to Strand-Nicolaisen, who looked just as comfortable as she did when she was a two-time Big Island Interscholastic Federation player of the year at Ka`u High School. She registered her first college kills back-to-back early in the first set, and then she put down another ball and combined with Shelby Harguess on a block to get UHH off and running on an 8-0 run.”
Elijah Navarro coached Strand-
Nicolaisen for three years.
      Sports writer Gerhart quotes Vulcan coach Tino Reyes saying, Nicolaisen “didn’t play like a freshman. We knew she was athletic. I wasn’t sure what her mindset was going to be, but she came out pretty good.” She came in with eight digs, 14 kills and a .242 hitting average. See more at hawaiitribune-herald.com.
Josh Ortega was head coach
for Strand-Nicolaisen during
her senior year.
       Strand played for the Ka`u High School Trojans three years under head coach Elijah Navarro and for one year under head coach Joshua Ortega.
       Navarro said this morning that he recalls inviting Vulcans Coach Tino Reyes to see Strand-Nicolaisen play during a match with Christian Liberty in Hilo. Navarro said that “after the second year of coaching her, I knew she had the potential to play at a college level.” Reyes followed her Trojan high school career, and UH-Hilo offered her a full scholarship to play volleyball.
Vulcan coach Tino Reyes
      Navarro said there is more college-bound volleyball coming from Ka`u High. “While I am not coaching this year, I can see that there is a lot of talent on the Trojan girls volleyball team under Coach Ortega. You can certainly expect more Trojan players entertaining scholarship offers,” said Navarro.
       UHH entertains another Alaskan team on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the UH-Hilo gym, taking on University of Alaska-Anchorage. Strand-Nicolaisen is daughter of Laurie Strand and Robert Nicolaisen, of Discovery Harbour. Strand works at Ka`u High School, and Nicolaisen is famous for going fishing for poke that he provides for fundraisers at community events in Ka`u.
      To comment on or “Like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.


HAWAI`I POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORTS DROPS IN DUI arrests, major accidents and traffic fatalities. So far this year, there have been 820 DUI arrests compared with 907 during the same period last year, a decrease of 9.6 percent.
      There have been 878 major accidents this year compared with 948 last year, a decrease of 7.4 percent.
      There were 21 traffic fatalities on Hawai`i Island compared with 24 last year, a decrease of 12.5 percent.
      DUI roadblocks and patrols continue islandwide.
      To comment on or “Like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

KA`U’S FIFTH-GRADE GIRLS ARE INVITED to the 2013 Girls Exploring Math and Science program at Sheraton Kona resort and Spa at Keauhou on Thursday, Nov. 14. Last year, 30 girls from the Ka`u school district attended the GEMS program along with others from West Hawai`i. 
      Registration deadline for forms to be postmarked is Friday, Sept. 20. Forms are available at public and private schools.
      This event is sponsored by the American Association of University Women, Kona Branch, whose mission is to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research. This annual day of discovery features hands-on workshops and exhibits led by local women volunteers who work in math and science careers and who show the girls how they use math, science, and technology in their daily work. The program is designed to stimulate interest and bolster confidence of girls in these fields, as well as provide positive role models, and may also stimulate a girl’s interest in a new career goal. Some responses from fifth-grade girls from prior years as to what the girls learned are: “Girls can do science just as well as boys;” “Everyone has the power to do what they love doing;” “Why we need to protect the corals”; and “Learned not to be shy.”
      Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, and all fifth-grade girls residing in the West Hawai`i School Complex in public, private, or home schooled are welcome. The fee is $20 per girl. Scholarships are available, and no girl will be turned away for financial reasons. Sponsorship of girls from individuals or businesses will be accepted. 
      Some of the workshop topics this year are SCUBA diving, architecture, veterinary medicine, astronomy, dentistry, land surveying, Zumba, archaeology, robotics, chemistry and culinary science. Early registrations offers best choice of workshops.
      For more information about GEMS, to sponsor a girl, or to request a registration packet, call Laurel Gregory at 969-8833 or lgregory@hawaii.edu.
      To comment on or “Like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Volcano House rooms offer views of Halema`uma`u cater.
VOLCANO HOUSE IN HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK holds its grand opening and an open house next Friday, Sept. 6. “Festivities are open to the public and celebrate the successful completion of a multi-million dollar renovation and restoration as well as showcase the ‘new’ Volcano House,” said general manager Rudy Fao. 
      The following activities are free and open to hotel guests, visitors to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and the community:
  • Open House, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Coffee and cookies will be served in the lobby. 
  • Music by Rupert Tripp, Jr. at the Pa Hula, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. 
  • Hula `Auana by Kupuna at the Pa Hula, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 
  • One-hour History of Volcano House interpretive walks, 11 a.m., 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. 
  • Guest room tours 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
      History of Volcano House interpretive walks start at Kilauea Visitor Center and end at Volcano House. The walk is led by a Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park ranger.
      Volcano House is Hawai`i’s oldest hotel, welcoming visitors since 1877. The hotel in use today was built in 1941 and expanded in 1961. It is managed by Hawai`i Volcanoes Lodge Company, LLC and operates under contract with the National Park Service. Hawai`i Volcanoes Lodge Company, LLC is an affiliate of Aqua Hospitality, a Hawai`i-based management company founded in 2001 and Ortega Family Enterprises, headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
      Parking is available on site and at Kilauea Visitor Center. Park entrance fees apply. 
      For more information about Volcano House visit hawaiivolcanohouse.com or call 1-866-536-7972.
      To comment on or “Like” this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

SCHOOL COMMUNITY COUNCIL for Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary School holds its first meeting Monday, Sept. 16 at 4 p.m. at the SCC room on campus. The officers who will serve during the fall and face elections next spring are June Domondon, Parent Representative; Rory Koi, Parent Representative; Betty Clark, Community Representative; Dennis Elwell, Community Representative (alternate); Joy Hohnstine, Certificated Staff Representative Recorder; Angela Miyashiro, Certificated Staff Representative Chairperson; Josephina Wroblewski, Classified Staff Representative; Terrie Louis, Classified Staff Representative; Toni Beck, Student Representative; Sharon Beck, Principal.
      Parents, teachers, staff, students and community members are invited to become involved with the future of the Pahala campus schools.

Bow hunting is offered at Pohakula Training Area this
weekend. Photo from PTA
ARMY OFFICIALS ARE OPENING SEVERAL TRAINING AREAS for bow hunting within the Pohakuloa Training Area 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday. 
      Training Areas 10 and 11, as well as the northern portion of Training Area 2 (on the Mauna Kea side of new Saddle Road), will be open for bow hunting of mammals only. Hunters are allowed one pig, one goat and one sheep per day, in keeping with state bag limits. Shooting sheep with blue collars is not permitted.
      All hunters must check in and check out at either Kilohana on Saddle Road between mile markers 43 and 44 or Pu`u Huluhulu at the intersection of Mauna Kea Access Road and Saddle Road. Check out no later than 7:30 p.m. each day.
      Hunting passes will be provided at the check-in stations beginning at 5 p.m. today. These passes must be signed and placed on the vehicle’s dashboard.
      For more information, call PTA’s Hunter’s Hotline at 969-3474, visit garrison.hawaii.army.mil/pta and click on the “Hunting” tab, or refer to instructions on the hunting pass.

IN KA`U HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS, Trojans travel this weekend, with girls volleyball team at Hawai`i Preparatory Academy today. Tomorrow, cross country goes to HPA, and air riflery goes to Kamehameha. Bowling against St. Joseph/Kamehameha takes place tomorrow at Hilo Lanes.
      Trojans’ new eight-man football team plays its first game a week from today, against Seabury Hall.

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Ka`u News Briefs, Thursday, August 29, 2013


Ka`u `Ohana Band, under the leadership of Cynthia Decker, is one of many programs offered by Ka`u School of the Arts, which is rolling
 out its fall schedule. Photo by Julia Neal
NO IMMEDIATE SPECIAL SESSION on considering the legalization of gay marriage in Hawai`i is likely at the Hawai`I Legislature, according to a report in this morning’s Honolulu Star Advertiser. The article says that state House Speaker Joseph Souki said yesterday “that Gov. Neil Abercrombie informed him that he was not ready to call a special session on gay marriage. Souki would not say whether the House had the votes for a gay marriage bill after House Democrats met in private caucus to discuss a special session. The governor had been waiting for a House vote count before making his decision on a special session. The state Senate has the votes for a gay marriage bill,” the Advertiser story says. The governor, however, is working on his draft bill to the legislature to legalize gay marriage.

Ha`ao Springs is one of the sources for water being
developed for agriculture. Photo by Elaine Klitgaard
HA`AO SPRINGS & MOUNTAIN HOUSE AGRICULTURAL WATER COOPERATIVE is moving forward, after its meeting yesterday. The cooperative plans to provide ag water to areas in the watershed. Workdays to prepare the pipeline path from the source to areas makai take place this Friday and Saturday. Meet at Wai`ohinu Park at 9 a.m., prepared for three hours of work. Participants should bring a machete, food and water.
     The state Department of Agriculture is providing funding to renovate old plantation tunnels and establish water lines to farms and ranches between Kapapala Ranch, to Wood Valley, above Pahala, to Na`alehu and Wai`ohinu.

ELECTIONS ARE COMING UP for Community School Council leaders at Na`alehu School. The first meeting of the Na`alehu SCC is Thursday, Sept. 5 at 3 p.m. in Room 35. Two candidates have launched campaigns and submitted statements to The Ka`u Calendar newspaper:
      Kathryn Tydlacka is running for Student Community Council parent representative. Her statement says: “Kathryn Tydlacka has been a highly effective teacher for the past 15 years. She holds a masters degree in education administration and specializes in classroom turnaround focusing on helping traditionally low-achieving children. Her success in dramatically increasing students' academic achievement has been well documented for over a decade. She has received high praise from numerous principals,
Kathryn Tydlacka
superintendents, and most importantly--students. 
As the SCC parent representative, Kathryn will assist with developing the academic/financial plan by introducing proven strategies that will greatly increase academic achievement as proven by her students' unprecedented performance in the 2012-2013 school year. 
Voting for Kathryn will put in place a highly-qualified, passionate educator who is not afraid to advocate for the children and families of Ka'u. 
Thank you for your vote!”
Vanessa Ott
   Vanessa Ott is running for Student Community Council community representative. Her statement says:  “I have lived in Na‘alehu since 2006, and was a teacher at Na‘alehu Elementary School for four and a half years. Prior to becoming a school teacher for high need schools, I had a long career in audio/video technology, publishing, computer technical support and training.
      “I am the product of a public education system that matured in only 21 years from a simple, country school system with no indoor plumbing, to one of the best in my childhood home state in 1972. Research has shown that successful schools are those with high parent and community involvement. The elders in my family were actively involved in the local School Board and PTA, and I had the opportunity to see firsthand how an active school community can make a school great.
      “I would like the opportunity, as the Na‘alehu SCC Community Representative, to try to create the kind of school community that fosters success for all its students. The first step will be to provide greater information sharing to parents by improving the school web site. Wouldn’t you like to have access to the weekly newsletter online? I’d also like to explore the possibility of local fund raising to finance more interpreters as well as Gifted and Talented programs for our students.
      “Having worked at NES (Na`alehu Elementary School), and attended SCC meetings for many years, I am intimately aware of the obstacles parents and community members face in building a strong and involved school community. Therefore I ask for your support and your vote. If you have any questions, contact me at: msvott@gmail.com.” 

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS introduces a Hawaiian Kahiko Program at Discovery Harbour Community Hall and a year round Ka'ū Community Chorus program at Pahala Plantation House, Old Pahala Clubhouse and Discovery Harbour Hall this fall. Ka`u School of the Arts President Bradley Grohs said, “Our programs are all about 'Ohana and are open to people of all ages and abilities. We aim to provide comprehensive programs and learning opportunities for beginners and challenging content for advanced students.”
    More than learning Hula Kahiko, the new program, led by Kumu Hula Marcia Laimana Bulosan, offers an opportunity to learn more about Hawaiian culture, dance, chant, and spiritual beliefs, through preparing costumes, making hula implements and spiritual practices, Grohs said. “It can be said in order to create the art you need to understand the culture.” The program takes place on Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Discovery Harbour Community Hall.
     Ka'ū Community Chorus, led by Bradley Grohs, will prepare music for Christmas performances as well as learn about vocal music production, reading music, sight singing, and ear training. ‘We are taking a holistic approach to singing,” Gross said. “We will be learning all genres of music from classical to current pop tunes. The chorus meets on Mondays at 6:30-8:30pm, Discovery Harbour Community Hall and on Wednesdays at 6 p.m., starting Sept. 4 at Pahala Plantation House, with the alternative location at Old Pahala Clubhouse.
      Ka`u School of the Arts’ Creative Exploration Program plans a Creativity Day later this fall. “We hope that our vendors from our past Spring and Fall Fling events will participate and use Creative Day as an opportunity to recruit people into their business or inspire others to start their own businesses. Economic growth and development is essential to Ka'u's future,” said Grohs.
     Country Line Dancing, led by Suzanne Brady, continues in November, meeting Thursdays at 6:30pm, Discovery Harbour Community Hall.
     Ka'ū Ohana Band, led by Cynthia Decker, practices twice a week on Wednesday and Thursdays at 4 p.m., Ocean View Community Center.
     Ka`u School of the Art’s Hawaiian Language Program, led by Zachary DeBernardi is on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m at St. Judes Episcopal Church in Ocean View.
      Those interested in these programs can call 854-1540, email info@kauarts.org, or visit www.kauarts.org.

Last year's Trojan volleyball star Marley
Strand-Nicholaisen and rising star Toni Beck.

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS volleyball team won the Trojan’s season opener against Laupahoehoe on Tuesday at Laupahoehoe gym. Ka`u defeated Laupahoehoe 25-21, 25-11, 25-13. The next match will be played tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 30, at Hawai`I Prepatory Academy at 6 p.m.
    Meanwhile last year’s Trojan girls volleyball star, Marley Strand-Nicholaisen is working out in her new position on the UH-Hilo Vulcans women’s volleyball team.


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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Yellowfin tuna are subject to increasing contamination from mercury spewed into the air by Asian factories and landing in
Hawaiian waters. Photo from Wikipedia
FRESH FISH are the pride of Ka`u kitchens and fishermen, but contamination by mercury could be a growing concern, according to new research by University of Hawai`i scientist Brian Popp. Popp is a professor at U.H.-Manoa, specializing in geophysics and geology. His study, in collaboration with University of Michigan, was published this week by Nature Geosicences Journal.
          It states that much of the mercury in Pacific Ocean going fish, like ahi, ono and opah, apparently comes from air pollution from coal-fired factories in China, India and other Asian countries where industrialization is rapid. As industrialization increases, the mercury is expected to continue rising in the Pacific. The trend is counter to mercury in the Atlantic, which is declining with stricter emissions standards in Europe and the U.S. Other mercury sources from such events as big wildfires may be more frequent with global warming.
Opah, also called Moon Fishn is susceptible to a mercury buildup.
Photo from Wikipedia
       How does the mercury get into the fish? The mercury rises from the factories and fires and is carried by the wind until it falls onto the ocean surface or comes down during rain. In the water the mercury is consumed by plankton, which are eaten by small sea creatures, small fish and larger fish, up the food chain. By the time they are caught by fishermen, the concentrations can be so significant that health departments recommend eating ahi, ono and opah only once in every two weeks. Health departments also recommend limiting the consumption of mahimahi, skipjack tuna, grouper cod and canned tuna to no more than once a week. Shark, marlin and swordfish are also on the warning list, particularly for pregnant women who are warned not to consume them at all.
        It was a 2005 University of Hawai`i research project that showed island women with three times more mercury in their umbilical cord blood after delivering babies than women giving birth on the mainland.
         The U.H. study of the mercury in local fish measured mercury isotopes in nine species caught in Hawaiian waters— swordfish, mahimahi, opah, and skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin tuna. It also examined two kinds of lanternfish and flying fish. The readings linked mercury in the fish to the air.
      A story in the Los Angeles Times this morning reported: “That doesn't mean people should avoid fish, which is also one of the more healthful meal options a person can choose, health officials said. ‘Everybody's going to get exposed to it,’ Alfred E. Asato, a chemical response laboratory coordinator with the state Department of Health, said Tuesday of mercury.”
      “Over decades ‘it's almost impossible to isolate a single toxic element with all the diseases,’ he said. ‘There are so many potential causal effects, causations for the various symptoms of diseases.’" 
Pollution clouds coming from India contain mercury
that floats over the Pacific and drops into the
food chain in the Hawaiian waters
Photo from Wikipedia
      Another aspect of the study found a higher concentration of mercury in fish living in deeper water than surface fish. It concluded that sunlight destroys 80 percent of mercury near the surface, leaving the mercury that sinks below the surface for the deeper living fish to consume.
    The scientists concluded that the way to control mercury in the Pacific is to call for industrializing countries to enact and enforce stricter air pollution laws. See more research at www.nature.com/nego.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS have led a salary commissioner for Hawai`i County to resign, according to a story yesterday's Honolulu Star Advertiser. Gloria Wong told the reporter that “she’d never before been required to disclose information about her income, stock ownership or other financials,” the newspaper reported.
      The story said she served on boards on O`ahu that did not require such disclosures. Star Advertiser reported her saying, “You see a lot of vacancies on these boards. Why do people not sit on these boards and commissions? Maybe that’s one of the questions that should be asked.”
      The story pointed out that Hawa`i County has 35 active boards and commissions and that several of them “often cancel meetings for lack of a quorum, and Mayor Billy Kenoi finds himself recycling members from board to board to fill holes.” Kenoi, however, “ has seated more than 220 people during is term,”  the story reported. See more at www.staradvertiser.com

HOLDING JUVENILE OFFENDERS accountable for their actions, while reducing costs to Hawai`I taxpapers is a new public safety effort by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, Hawai`i Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, state Sen. President Donna Mercado Kim, and state Rep. Mele Carroll.
      They formed a bipartisan, inter-branch working group to analyze the state’s juvenile justice system and develop data-driven policy recommendations for the 2014 Legislature.
     “It costs a tremendous amount of money to put juvenile offenders into state custody,” Abercrombie said. “We need to take a hard look at our data, find better outcomes, and identify more cost effective ways to handle our juvenile offenders.”
      Many of the youth suffer from substance abuse addiction, mental health issues and family dysfunction. A significant number are in custody due to the lack of accessible treatment services and programs, especially on the neighbor islands, said a joint statement from the group. 
     Each commitment placement costs taxpayers more than $190,000 per year, per youth (averaging 60 youth per year). Despite this substantial cost, the majority juvenile offenders who exit the state’s correctional facilities reoffend and return within three years, the statement reports.
      “With the amount of money we spend locking up each juvenile offender and the high recidivism rates, it is clear we are not getting an adequate public safety return on our juvenile justice investment,” said Carroll, chair of the House Human Services committee. “We must focus our correctional resources on serious offenders who pose a public safety risk and we must stop the cycle of recidivism for youth who want to turn their lives around. We must also do a better job for our youth on the neighbor islands who are being sent to Honolulu due to a lack of resources in the other counties.”
      Last year, Hawai`i enacted comprehensive criminal justice legislation with the goal of improving public safety while keeping costs in check. Act 139 (SB2776) and Act 140 (HB2515) were designed to lower recidivism, increase efficiency in the adult criminal justice system, and hold offenders accountable to victims for their crimes.
      According to the statement, the new laws have shown encouraging results, with a 5 percent drop in prison population. “Building on the success of this effort, known as the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, Hawai`i will use the same data-driven and evidence-based process to analyze the juvenile justice system and further maximize its public safety investments,” the statement promises.
Coach Kainoa Ke cooks for eight-man football
Photo by Julia Neal
 The working group will receive technical assistance from The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Public Safety Performance Project. Pew and its partners have provided similar assistance to more than two dozen states, including Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Oregon, Texas and Vermont.  

FUNDRAISING FOR EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL at Ka`u High School continues with the sale of tickets for combo plate lunches with Korean Chicken/Teri Beef with a side of rice, mac salad, cake and water for $10. tickets are available from the players, coaches and parents. The chef is the coach, Kainoa Ke, known for his excellent cooking. Beef was provided by Kahua Ranch.
     Pick up is this Saturday, Aug. 31 from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. at Na`alehu Ace Hardware. Donna Masaniai is taking phone orders at 238-0505. The team is raising $11,000 to travel to Moloka`i to play the Farmers on Oct. 5. Ka`u's first game is Friday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. against Seaberry Hall from Maui. On Sept. 20, Kealakehe Waveriders come to Ka`u wiht a 6 p.m. kickoff. On Saturday, Sept. 28 Kamehameha Warriors host Ka`u. On Friday, Oct. 25, Trojans travel to Kealakehe and on Friday, Nov. 8, Moloka`i Farmers come to Ka`u for  the Trojans' Homecoming and Senior Game night.

KA`U HIGH TROJANS CROSS COUNTRY team begins its season this Saturday, Aug. 31 at Kamehameha School in Kea`au, under the leadership of Coach Erin Cole. Competition continues on Saturdays - first  at Hawai`i Preparatory Academy, Sept. 7; Waiakea, Sept. 14; Konawaena, Sept. 21; Hawai`i Preparatory Academy, Sept. 28; Kamehameha, Oct. 5; and Kea`au High School, Oct. 12, followed by Big Island Interscholastic tournament and state tournament finals.

HA`AO SPRINGS AND MOUNTAIN HOUSE Agriculture Water Cooperative meets at 4 p.m. today at Wai`ohinu Park.

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