Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016

Keiki and their families lined the Ka`u Coast at Punalu`u yesterday for `O Ka`u Kakou's eighth annual Keiki Fishing Tournament.
Photo by Peter Anderson

RESULTS OF YESTERDAY’S KEIKI Fishing Tournament are in. Ka`u keiki and their families lined the coast at Punalu`u Beach Park for `O Ka`u Kakou’s eighth annual tournament.

Miss Ka`u Coffee Maria Miranda presented award and prizes
to Keenan Toriano, Rylan Equsa and Daystan Resurreccion,
as well as other winners. Photo from Lee McIntosh

      Loea Kaupu won for Most Fish Overall. Zachary Blano-Louis took second place, and Joe Buyuan placed third.
      Largest Po`opa`a was caught by Chelsea Velez. Noa Cambe caught the second largest, and X’avier Alani caught the third largest.
      In the Kupipi category, Keenana Toriano placed first, Rylan Equsa second and Daystan Resurreccion third.
      Lexi Manila-Louis caught the largest Hinale`a, Jyzeiah Garcia hooked the second largest, and Rylan Peralta caught the third largest.
      First place in the Largest Aholehole category went to Harlem Reyes Espejo. Jance Ke took second, and Gabriel Sesson Paaluhi-Young, third.

Ocean View resident Vernon Harvey posted his aerial footage
of the Keiki Fishing Tournament on YouTube.

       After fishing, participants enjoyed free lunch and shaved ice.

       Aerial footage taken by Vernon Harvey, of Ocean View, can be viewed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xx6CVCPu9Q.

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EAST HAWAI`I REGIONAL BOARD of Hawai`i Health Systems Corporation has appointed Marcella Stroh to its 12-member board. The Regional Board is responsible for governing Hilo Medical Center, Hale Ho`ola Hamakua, Ka`u Hospital and the region’s 10 general and specialty clinics.

Marcella Stroh and Wayne Kanemoto Photo from HHSC

      “Our community is indeed fortunate to have the services of Marcella, a talented and experienced leader,” said Kurt Corbin, East Hawai`i Regional Board Chair. “She joins a Board comprised of dedicated physicians, business executives, educators and professionals who are committed to the ideals of providing exceptional health care regardless of ability to pay.”
      “These are very exciting and important times in the healthcare industry in our community, therefore, it is an honor and privilege for me to be nominated to the East Hawai`i Regional Board,” Stroh said. “I look forward to sharing my expertise and long history of collaboration in the business/financial world for the benefit of our community’s healthcare that is very much needed in these crucial times.”

Waiting for a nibble. Photo by Peter Anderson

      Stroh is the Senior Vice President and Commercial Banking Senior Manager for Hawai`i Island at Central Pacific Bank. She is actively involved in the American Heart Association, the Hawai`i County Economic Opportunity Council, the County of Hawai`i’s Salary Commission, the Hilo Medical Center Foundation, the Hawai`i Island Chamber of Commerce and the Japanese Community Association. She earned her Associate’s Degree in Accounting and Secretarial Science from Hawai`i Community College. She also attended ABA School of Bank Management and Marketing in Boulder, Colorado and AIB School of Executive Management in Madison, Wisconsin. She was born and raised on Hawai`i Island where she raised her two daughters, Kimberly and Kasey. She enjoys spending time with her grandsons, Austin and Asher, and doing outdoor activities.

Chelsea Velez, Noa Cambe and X'avier Alani won in the
Largest Po`opa`a category. Photo from Lee McIntosh

      After a three-year term on the East Hawai`i Regional Board, Wayne Kanemoto has been appointed by Gov. David Ige to HHSC’s Corporate Board to represent the interests of the East Hawai`i Region. He is currently with Kanalani Enterprise, LLC. Previously, Kanemoto served for over 30 years in the United States Army and Army Reserve. His 33-year career in education began as a teacher in Biology Sciences on O`ahu and concluded as principal on Hawai`i Island for 18 years at Laupahoehoe High and Elementary School and the Hilo Community School for Adults. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Iowa State University in Zoology, a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Hawai`i in Curriculum, Administration and was a Colonel, U.S. Army in Infantry & Civil Affairs. He has been a member of Hawai`i County Workforce Investment Board, Hawai`i Family Literacy Consortium, Hawai`i Community School Consortium, Hawai`i Government Employees Association (Unit 6) and Summer Youth Academy.
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Largest Aholehole category winners were Harlem Reyes Espejo,
Jance Ke and Gabriel Sesson Paaluhi-Young.
Photo from Lee McIntosh

A BILL TO FUND RESEARCH and mitigation efforts relating to rapid `ohi`a death passed its first reading in the state House of Representatives last week. According to HB 1597, “the `ohi`a makes up about fifty percent of the state's native forest and is a keystone species in native watershed areas.”

      Hawai`i Department of Agriculture will submit a report detailing the nature of rapid `ohi`a death, including its cause, vectors, transmission and prospects for preventing the disease; status of developing and implementing plans and strategies to eliminate, control or prevent the disease in the state; and necessary funds and appropriate legislation to eliminate, control or prevent it in the state.

A success story at yesterday's Keiki Fishing Tournament.
Photo by Peter Anderson

      “We’re continuing to do new things, like fungicide testing, U.S. DOA researcher Lisa Keith told Colin M. Stewart, of Hawai`i Tribune Herald. “We’ve got six new potential chemicals we’re looking at, and we understand more about the genetics and biology now. But we’re just scratching the surface. (The appropriation) will allow us to do real detailed studies. I think we’ll make more progress in a lot of areas, producing more knowledge and information to lead to better management and control.”
      University of Hawai`i Extension Agent Forester J.B. Friday told Stewart, “Our task now is to keep the momentum going. … We have funds and are in the process of hiring scientists to look at the disease itself, the molecular biology of the disease, insects that may carry the disease, and technicians and outreach staff. Much of the funding we have is only for the year 2016, though, so we really appreciate the legislators introducing a bill to fund ongoing efforts to understand and manage this disease that affects our forests and all of us.”

Loea Kaupu, Zachary Blanco-Louis and Joe Buyuan placed
first, second and third in Most Overall Fish.
Photo from Lee McIntosh

      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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THIRTY METER TELESCOPE OFFICIALS are waiting for the state to tell them how to proceed with plans for the $1.4 billion project planned for the summit of Mauna Kea, Lorin Eleni Gill reported in Pacific Business News.       In December, the Hawai`i Supreme Court invalidated TMT’s conservation use permit, saying the state Board of Land & Natural Resources did not hold a contested case hearing prior to its authorization.
      “We spent eight years now getting the permit, and on Dec. 2 it was invalidated,” TMT International Observatory Executive Director Ed Stone told Gill. “We went through the process, did everything we were asked to do, and it turned out that that was evidently not the right process, so now we’re waiting on what the process needs to be.”

Lexi Manila-Louis, Jyzeiah Garcia and Rylan Peralta caught
the three largest hinale`a. Photo from Lee McIntosh

      Stone said the Land Board has to tell them what they need to do. “It’s their process that had a problem for the court, so the court will instruct them, and they’ll decide what they need to do this time that they didn’t last time. That’s what we need to know before we know we have a way forward,” Stone said.
      “I think all of the partners are concerned because we don’t have a plan right now and we don’t know what it will take to do this job. Only if we have a plan we’ll feel we’re on the right track.”
      See bizjournals.com/pacific.
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SCHOOLS, PUBLIC AGENCIES, AND PRIVATE nonprofit organizations may apply to be U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service Program sponsors.

`O Ka`u Kakou volunteers organized the eighth annual Keiki
Fishing Tournament at Punalu`u. Photo by Peter Anderson

      Children in low-income communities are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. However, the programs end when school lets out for the summer. The SFSP helps fill the hunger gap.
      During the summer months, SFSP provides nutritious meals that help children to learn, play, and grow.
      Sponsoring organizations receive reimbursements for serving healthy meals and snacks at approved sites to children and teenagers (18 years and younger). Sponsors are encouraged to provide educational or recreational activities.
      For more information about SFSP, contact Jennifer Dang, of Hawai`i Child Nutrition Programs, at 587-3600.
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Mauna Loa's 1881 eruption is visible in this drawing
by Joseph Nawahi. Image from USGS/HVO

THE LAVA FLOW THAT CAME TO HILO is the topic at After Dark in the Park Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      Within the last 160 years, five eruptions sent lava flows to within 10 miles of Hilo Bay. The 1880-1881 Mauna Loa eruption came the closest, with a flow that posed an immediate threat to Hilo and its bay. During the eruption, Princess Regent Lili`uokalani and Princess Ruth Ke`elikolani led efforts to save Hilo town. As residents offered both Christian prayers and appeals to Pele, preparations were also made to dig ditches, construct rock barriers and blast dynamite in attempts to divert advancing lava streams. After more than nine months, the lava flow stopped, but less than a mile from the bayfront.
      USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist Jim Kauahikaua and HVO volunteer Ben Gaddis present the story of this Mauna Loa eruption using maps, art and photographs of the lava flow that came to Hilo.

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

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Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard met with Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island members and representatives yesterday. Zavi Brees-Saunders, the club's chief professional officer, is third from left. See more below. Photos from Office of Rep. Gabbard

KA`U’S STATE SEN. JOSH GREEN has introduced legislation that would appropriate $500,000 for additional response capacity against dengue fever on Hawai`i Island to provide traps, vector control and support. SB2465 would also fund a management audit to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of Department of Health’s response during the outbreak.

Sen. Josh Green, M.D.

      “We deserve more answers than we have been given as a community,” Green said. “The reports released to date tell a very incomplete story.”
      Green said he also will fight for full restoration of public health positions on Hawai`i Island that went away over the years.
      “This work, in addition to getting DOH more concerned about rat-lungworm disease on Big Island, is a top priority,” Green said. “We need to have a success because future outbreaks of equally devastating infection diseases could potentially come to Hawai`i.
      Track progress of this and other legislation at capitol.hawaii.gov.
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SINCE ITS PREVIOUS UPDATE on Wednesday, Hawai`i Department of Health yesterday identified three new cases of dengue fever. Currently, as many as three of the confirmed cases to date are potentially infectious to mosquitoes. All others are no longer infectious.
      As of yesterday, a total of 977 reported potential cases have been excluded based on test results and/or not meeting case criteria.

      Hawai`i Civil defense reminds residents that to be successful in controlling and ending this outbreak, everyone’s help is needed to Fight The Bite. Prevent mosquito bites by wearing light-colored clothing that minimizes exposed skin, use mosquito repellent, and avoid activities in areas of high mosquito concentration during the early morning and late afternoon periods when mosquito activity is greatest. Those who suspect they may have dengue should contact their health care providers and remain indoors to prevent the possibility of being bitten and infecting mosquitoes.
      Help reduce potential mosquito breeding areas around homes and businesses by:

• removing or eliminating standing water that provides sources for mosquito breeding such as buckets or puddles;
• fixing leaky faucets and outdoor hoses that are dripping water;
• treating bromeliads and other plants that hold water with a larvacide or chlorine bleach solution;
• cleaning gutters to allow water to drain freely;
• repairing screens and windows to help keep mosquitoes out; and
• disposing of old tires at no charge at county transfer stations islandwide.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Dengue fever was the topic of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's meeting
with county officials yesterday.

U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD met with Hawai`i Island residents, business owners, kupuna, county officials and the Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island yesterday.

      Gabbard met with Mayor Billy Kenoi and Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira to discuss the dengue fever situation, what actions are currently being taken and what more must be done with short-term and long-term mosquito abatement efforts to stop the spread of the disease.

      Boys & Girls Club members took Gabbard on a tour of their Hilo Clubhouse, which includes a brand new certified kitchen that will provide meals to hungry keiki members. The congresswoman also met with the club’s staff and board members to hear about programs offered, federal community development block grants and how they are serving the needs of children on Hawai`i Island at all of their clubs, including Pahala.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS addresses its concern over stewardship of Mauna Kea in bills submitted to the state Legislature, which reconvened this week. The bills seek to ensure transparency, consistency and accountability in the disposition of Mauna Kea lands leased to the University of Hawai`i.

      “As one of our state’s most sacred sites, Mauna Kea should be managed in a way that respects its value and significance, and in a manner that instills public confidence,” OHA said. “Over the years, observatory subleases presented the university with numerous opportunities to charge sufficient rent to care for Mauna Kea. However, even the most recently approved sublease for the $1.3 billion Thirty Meter Telescope – the only sublease to charge more than a nominal $1 rent – would provide just a portion of the funds needed for management activities. Accordingly, the university uses an unknown amount of taxpayer funds, research dollars and grant funds to supplement operations and stewardship of Mauna Kea.
      “While not taking a position for or against future subleases, this bill would require a ‘fair rate of return’ for any subleases, observatory and otherwise, taking into account the costs of management and mitigation actions, through an open public process established through administrative rules.”
      Full content of companion bills SB2127 and HB1658 is available at capitol.hawaii.gov.
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Keli`i Akina

THE U.S. SUPREME COURT LAST WEEK denied a motion for civil contempt filed by Grassroot Institute of Hawai`i when Na`i Aupuni chose to seat all Native Hawaiian convention delegates in their disputed election. The case is currently before the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
      “The Supreme Court has only denied a temporary remedy related to our case,” said Keli`i Akina, President of the Grassroot Institute and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “We remain confident that when the full case is argued before the Ninth Circuit Court or Supreme Court, it will prevail on its merits. In the end, we expect the U.S. Constitution to be upheld for the benefit of Native Hawaiians and all people of Hawai`i.”
      For background documents, see new.grassrootinstitute.org/2015/10/akina-v-hawaii-the-documents.
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COLLEGE STUDENTS JOINED U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz as he addressed the increasing cost of higher education yesterday.
      “The cost of college is spiraling out of control, and it’s really one of the biggest issues that confront families today,” Schatz said. According to Schatz, the cost of college is growing faster than the cost of all consumer goods and twice as fast as health care costs. College debt has surpassed credit card debt and is second only to mortgage debt across the country. Over a third of borrowers are delinquent on their loans by 90 days or more, Schatz said.

Sen. Brian Schatz supports reducing the cost of higher education.
Image from Office of Sen. Schatz

      “We have decided as a country that higher education is a national goal, but we’re leaving students in the red by the time that they graduate,” Schatz said. “We need to give students a path to graduate debt-free. This is a key middle-class issue, and it doesn’t just affect the students. It affects their parents, and it affects their grandparents. And it affects some of us on both ends – those of us who are planning for our children’s education and still paying off our own education.”
      Schatz said the federal government spends more than $140 billion in grants and financial aid on higher education, “but we’re not doing enough to hold colleges and universities accountable” to making college more affordable.
      “And so we’re here today as part of a campaign. … This is a movement, a long-term effort on behalf of students, to get us on the right path and hold colleges accountable for the cost of college. We need to reduce the student debt burden.”
      Schatz said he wants the federal government to boost Pell Grants and provide two years of free community college as part of the path to debt-free higher education.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Best of Show went to Wai`ohinu resident Marcus
Castaing's Cruisin' in Style.

TWO KA`U RESIDENTS RECEIVED awards at the 30th Hawai`i Wood Guild annual show. Marcus Castaing, a resident of Wai`ohinu who is the guild president, won Best of Show for his chair Cruisin’ in Style. Mats Fogelvik, a resident of Ocean View and vice president, won Honorary Mention in Joinery for Demi Lune table. He collaborated with Henry Pomfret, an ironworker, who made the legs.
      The show continues through Friday, Feb. 26 at Isaacs Art Center in Waimea, open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

IN KA`U HIGH SPORTS, girls basketball teams finished regular-season play at Kamehameha on Thursday. Both Ka`u teams fell to Kamehameha by 20 points, with JV’s score 15-35 and Varsity’s 34-54.
      Yesterday, Trojan boys played St. Joseph. Junior Varsity racked up an impressive 52 points and kept St. Joseph’s team to 17.

      Ka`u Varsity was not able to withstand St. Joseph’s push and ended the game 43-64. The boys are at Wai`akea today for games beginning at 12 p.m.
      Hawai`i Prep’s soccer team travels to Ka`u today for a match beginning at 3:30 p.m. instead of 3 p.m., as originally scheduled.
      Ka`u’s wrestlers and swimmers are on the road today. Coach Greg Rush took the wrestling team to Hilo, and Coach Bruce Simmerman traveled to Kamehameha with his swim team.

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK offers a free guided hike tomorrow. People and Lands of Kahuku is a moderate two-mile, three-hour hike beginning at 9:30 a.m. The trail loops through varied landscapes to explore the area's human history. Participants learn about the powerful natural forces at work here and how people have adapted to, shaped and restored this land.
      See nps.gov/havo.

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

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_January2016.pdf.

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Friday, Jan. 22, 2016

A guided hike at Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park on Sunday explores the area's human history. See more below. NPS Photo by Julia Espaniola

AN ENTOMOLOGY TEAM from the Dengue Branch of the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has returned to Hawai`i to continue their consultation and surveillance work with Hawai`i Department of Health on mosquitoes. The team will use all available historic and current data to map, trap and identify mosquitoes that may be carrying the dengue virus.

Six more cases of dengue fever have been confirmed since
Department of Health's latest map updated Tuesday.

      DOH is seeking additional entomology and vector control support on Hawai`i Island to increase local staffing resources. To date, DOH Vector Control, augmented by county staff, has conducted 281 site surveys and 578 mosquito abatement sprayings since the beginning of the outbreak.
      A donation of 3,000 mosquito traps was received from Springstar, Inc. The traps are being used in selected areas of concern, including Miloli`i. The traps are being considered as a potential mosquito abatement alternative for organic farmers.
      Yesterday, DOH reported six additional confirmed cases of dengue fever, and the total number of confirmed cases since the beginning of the outbreak stands at 230. These cases include 208 residents and 22 visitors. Three of these cases are potentially infectious or in the stage of their illness in which they can infect mosquitoes.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

HAWAI`I PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION today announced that a public meeting will be held at Ocean View Community Center on Presidents’ Day, Monday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. to hear comment on an application by Hawai`i Electric Light Co. for approval to construct a high-voltage overhead transmission line from a proposed substation and across Hwy 11.

      HELCO’s application is expected to be very hotly contested by Ocean View residents who oppose the massive solar project planned for housing lots there. The developer, SPI Solar, an international company based in Shanghai, China, and its subsidiary, Calwai`i, based in California, plan to put 250 kilowatt installations on 16 housing lots throughout Ranchos and one in Kula Kai.             The developer also has permits to build eight installations on the 500-acre subdivision called Kona South, which is west of Ranchos. Kona South has no roads but a lot of very mature `ohi`a trees.

Mats Fogelvik Photo from Volcano Art Center

       Mats Fogelvik, President of Hawai`i Ranchos Road Maintenance Corporation, is one of the project’s critics and is urging neighbors to write emails to the PUC referencing docket number 2015-0229.
      “The purpose of the substation is to up-transform the produced electricity from the solar farms to 69kilovolt and feed it into the 69kV transmission line along Hwy11, where it can be absorbed and fed to daytime loads in Kona or Hilo,” Fogelvik said. “Without the substation, the solar farms cannot operate. Without the 69 kV connection to the transmission line, the substation cannot operate.
      “In my mind, the 69kV transmission line is the Achilles Heel of the whole project. We need to convince the PUC that this is not wanted or needed by the community. It is being put in just for the solar project. The project needs to be stopped.”
      Sandra Shelton, secretary of Hawaiian Ranchos Community Association, has been actively opposing the solar project since the June 18 public meeting was called by HELCO to announce that a substation and overhead high voltage lines would be constructed for the solar farms. She has lead a petition drive that collected over 600 signatures in Ocean View from people opposed to the project.
      “Locating a substation at the entrance to Ranchos is insane,” she said. “This is like the front door to the subdivision. There are homes and a restaurant nearby, and a large commercial project is planned for the lot that would look straight down onto this industrial eyesore. All the homes in Ocean View that can see the Kohala entrance to Ranchos near King Kam will have a very large and ugly substation as well as very tall and massive poles to look at.
      “We cannot allow the industrialization of Ranchos. We live here. We enjoy our views, and we don’t want them taken away.”

      Brian Lampron, a resident of Ranchos, agreed with Shelton. “We all need to send emails to the PUC,” he said. “This is a boondoggle project. The power from this project may not be needed, as there is a surplus of daytime power on the island, which is why the PUC ended the popular Net Energy Metering program. NEM customers with rooftop solar could earn daytime credits for nighttime usage. The grid is full of solar power, which, because it is unstable, can only be used to a limited extent. That extent has been reached.

      “This project was permitted back in 2011. In the last four years, the amount of solar power that can be used has changed considerably. The reason why this project can be built but no more NEM permits can be issued is that HELCO can turn off, or ‘curtail’ power coming from the project if there is no need for it on the grid.
      “This would be like saying ‘I can light this room with six lamps, but I will install 20 lamps and turn off the 14 I don’t need.’ Should we be ruining a neighborhood like Ranchos just so that an unneeded project can be built? I am a businessman, and I say that if it’s not needed, don’t build it. I can only think that the developer does not understand ‘curtailment’ or thinks it won’t happen. Should Ranchos be sacrificed as a learning lesson for an overseas developer?”
      Contents of the docket are available at dms.puc.hawaii.gov/dms. Docket number is 2015-0229.
      Public comments for docket matters can be submitted to the commission at puc.comments@hawaii.gov.
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AS A SALUTE OF HONOR AND RESPECT for the 12 U.S. Marines who went missing after their two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters impacted the water off the coast of O`ahu’s Waimea Bay along the North Shore on the evening of January 14, Gov. David Ige has ordered the flags of the United States and State of Hawai`i be flown at half-staff. For five days, flags will be flown at half-staff at all state offices and agencies, as well as the Hawai`i National Guard, from sunrise today to sunset on Tuesday, Jan. 26th.

      “These 12 brave U.S. Marines paid the ultimate price in protecting our freedom of democracy,” Ige said. “We mourn their loss and honor their sacrifice and commitment to serving our great state and nation, as our national and state symbols fly at half-staff in their memory. —Never forgotten.”
      Sen. Mazie Hirono said, “My thoughts, prayers and aloha are with the families of the twelve U.S. Marines lost in last week’s tragedy. Each Marine served our country bravely and with distinction. Our military `ohana is a vital part of our island community, closely involved with virtually every aspect of our lifestyle and culture. I join the people of Hawai`i in mourning their loss.”
      Sen. Brian Schatz said, “This is a tragic loss of 12 Marines from all over our great country and whose lives were filled with promise. In service to their country, they called Hawai`i home, and so the loss we feel today is like the loss of family. Their loss is also a reminder of the dangers faced by American armed service men and women throughout the world, and in honoring these 12 Marines, we honor all.”
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Support Lorilee Lorenzo's bid for Pana`ewa Stampede
Rodeo Queen at gofundme.com/3jkc4wu4.

TO HELP IN HER EFFORT TO BECOME 2016 Pana`ewa Stampede Rodeo Queen, Lorilee Lorenzo has set up a gofundme account. The winner is the girl who sells the most rodeo tickets, $6 each, to help pay for the rodeo expenses.

      “I live out in the country, so I am at a great disadvantage to the city girls who can sell in town every day. I hope this website helps,” Lorenzo said.
      Lorenzo plans to donate the tickets she sells on the site to the senior citizens of Ka`u, so that they can attend the rodeo. Any leftover tickets will go to the Boys and Girls Club.
      “I am very grateful for your support! I know that the people who receive these tickets will be very grateful too!” Lorenzo said.
      The rodeo is on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 13 and 14. Donations are due by Monday, Feb. 1.               See gofundme.com/3jkc4wu4.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

A fishing pond is an option at tomorrow's Keiki Fishing
Tournament at Punalu`u. Photo from Fred & Mary Ramsdell

`O KA`U KAKOU’S EIGHTH ANNUAL Keiki Fishing Tournament begins at 8 a.m. tomorrow at Punalu`u Beach Park. Fishing takes place from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., followed by free lunch and shaved ice. Every participant takes home a prize, catch or no catch.

      For more information, call Wayne Kawachi at 937-4773 or Guy Enriques at 217-2253.

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK offers free guided hikes this weekend. Centennial Hike Into the Volcano takes place at the park’s Kilauea summit area tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Park Ranger Dean Gallagher leads this moderately difficult 2.7-mile roundtrip hike to the floor of Kilauea Caldera. Meet at Kilauea Visitor Center. Park entrance fees apply.

      Tomorrow at the Kahuku Unit from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., participants learn about the vital role of `ohi`a lehua in native Hawaiian forests, the many forms of the `ohi`a tree and the lehua flower on an easy, one-mile or less walk.

      People and Lands of Kahuku is a moderate two-mile, three-hour guided hike Sunday beginning at 9:30 a.m. The trail loops through varied landscapes to explore the area's human history. Emerging native forest, pastures, lava fields and other sites hold clues about ways people have lived and worked on the vast Kahuku lands - from the earliest Hawaiians, through generations of ranching families, to the current staff and volunteers of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Participants learn about the powerful natural forces at work here and how people have adapted to, shaped and restored this land.
      See nps.gov/havo.

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

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_January2016.pdf.