Kaʻū News Briefs Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016

Taiko Drummers will play for the sixth annual Floating Lantern Ceremony today
at Punaluʻu Beach Park from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Photo by Julia Neal

NOMINEES FOR A WATER SECURITY ADVISORY GROUP are being accepted by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Deadline for accepting applications is Dec. 23. Advisors will serve, without compensation, through June 30, 2018. The Water Security group was established in Act 172, passed by the 2016 state legislature. Act 172 may be viewed and downloaded at: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2016/bills/GM1274_.PDF The chair of the state Board of Land & Natural Resources, Suzanne Case, former executive director of The Nature Conservancy, will review the applications and select individuals deemed qualified.

     Act 172 requires members of the Water Security Advisory Group be comprised of the manager and chief engineer of the board of water supply of each county or their designee, the deputy director for water resource management of the DLNR, and the following individuals who meet qualifications for each type of group member:
• A member with knowledge of agricultural water storage and delivery systems.
• A member of a private landowning entity that actively partners with a watershed partnership.
• A member with knowledge, experience and expertise in the area of Hawaiian cultural practices.
• A member representing a conservation organization.

Hawaiʻi consumes almost double the water as
other states, according to the Helono Moku
report at www.helonomoku.com.

     Interested people are encouraged to submit a resume, cover letter and three letters of reference that outline the applicant’s qualifications to serve on the Water Security Advisory Group. Applications can be sent to:Water Security Advisory Group, Commission on Water Resource Management, 1151 Punchbowl St., Room 227, Honolulu, HI 96813. 

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THE 2016 WORLD CONSERVATION CONGRESS, held in Honolulu in September and attended by Kaʻū residents representing conservation agencies and organizations, helped inspire legislation this summer for the state Water Security Advisory Group for which applicants are sought from throughout Hawaiʻi. The legislation creating the group states the “Hawaiʻi-hosted World Conservation Congress presents an opportunity for Hawaiʻi to demonstrate international leadership in investing in natural capital that supports economic growth and protects the quality of life. The challenge of managing the State's limited natural resources such as watersheds, marine habitat, and fresh water supply while fostering community resilience is too large a task for a single actor or sector to address alone. New and innovative partnerships are needed to catalyze large-scale investment in Hawaiʻi’s sustainable development,” states the new legislation.To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

HAWAIʻI CONSUMES WATER AT ALMOST DOUBLE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, according to a report issued this year by the Hawai‘i Environmental Funders Group. The report called  He Lono Moku: The State of the Environment points to “residents and non-agricultural businesses using an average 144 gallons of water per day, or 4,320 gallons per month, due in part to the impact of seven million tourists a year.” The report was issued in advance of the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress held in Honolulu. To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

AN ALOHA + NATURAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP is set up by new Hawaiʻi state legislation that says, “The Aloha + Natural Capital Investment Partnership is a joint public-private conservation commitment that will demonstrate Hawaiʻi’s commitment to natural resources management with a special focus on climate resilience at the World Conservation Congress and beyond.
     “To provide reliable long-term funding needed to meet the State's Aloha + Challenge conservation targets by 2030, partners from multiple sectors, including county, state, and federal governments as well as private philanthropic and corporate entities, must work together to leverage funds and provide matching opportunities,” states the new legislation. A number of partnerships will be managed by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources.

Water in Kaʻū has been used by ranchers and planters
for many generations. A new state initiative is to
increase water security for agriculture, nature and people.
Photo from state Department of Agriculture

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS TO INCREASE WATER SECURITY will be sought by the new Water Security Advisory Group. The enabling 2016 state legislation aims “to enable public-private partnerships that increase water security by providing matching state funds for projects and programs that increase the recharge of groundwater resources; encourage the reuse of water and reduce the use of potable water for landscaping irrigation; and improve the efficiency of potable and agricultural water use.”
   The legislation also allows the state Department of Land & Natural Resources to establish an account or fund for depositing moneys appropriated by the legislature; gifts, grants, and other private funds; and federal funds. The money is to be used for projects and programs to increase water security recommended by the water security advisory group. provided that state funds are matched for each project. 

The DLNR’s  Division of Forestry & Wildlife manages a little more than one million acres of public land. Approximately 900,000 of those acres fall within a Watershed Partnership boundary.

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Tulsi Gabbard

A THANKSGIVING WEEKEND MESSAGE FROM CONGRESSWOMAN TULSI GABBARD urged people to “enjoy some down times together.” She thanked the military for their service.
   For the people of Hawaiʻi, she said, “Mahalo for the privilege of serving you and working for you. There’s no question that this year has had its shares of ups and downs. We’ve had debates about whether or not to take military action in Syria and we went through a government shutdown which negatively affected hundreds and thousands of people costing our country tremendously. Through these tremendous challenges I want you to know how much I have valued your feedback, your guidance and your encouragement as we work together towards a stronger, more sustainable future.

     “I know that as long as we stand together, in the spirit of aloha and service we will bring people together to bridge divides and find constructive ways to work together,” said Gabbard.

 To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Mandala Forest Bird Platter stoneware pottery by
Emily Herb, one of Volcano Village Artists Hui
opening her studio today and tomorrow.
Photo from Emily Herb

30TH ANNUAL VOLCANO VILLAGE ARTISTS HUI STUDIOS TOUR, SHOW & SALE wraps up today and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Volcano Village. Art explorers are invited to meet the artists in their studios to see and purchase pottery, raku, hand-blown art glass, sculpture, jewelry, and fiber art as well as photographs, paintings, drawings, metal work, quilts, and block prints.

    The annual event started 30 years ago when a small group of Volcano Village artists offered an informal studio sale of artworks on Thanksgiving weekend. Today, the Hui has 14 artists and craftspeople with six open studios and galleries. On display and for sale are classic pieces and new works inspired by Hawaiʻi island.
    A special drawing for pieces contributed by each of the artists will be held on the final day of the tour.

     For more information, call 987-3472 or 985-7487. Maps to the artists’ studios are available at local businesses and galleries in the Volcano and at: www.VolcanoVillageArtistsHui.com. 987-3472

VOLCANO ART  CENTER PROGRAMS PREVIEW EXHIBIT ends today, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Discover what the New Year has to offer. VAC will be on Volcano Artist Hui’s tour, and Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will sell poinsettias. 967-8222

The sixth annual Floating Lantern Ceremony 

at Punaluʻu is today. Photo from KRHCAI

TODAY IS THE SIXTH ANNUAL FLOATING LANTERN CEREMONY at Punaluʻu Beach Park’s Medicine Pond, from 3 p.m. to  7 p.m. In addition to participants building, decorating and launching tiny boats to carry lights honoring late friends and family, the gathering features community potluck, Taiko drummers, Gi Gon demonstration, hula dancers and local music, followed by a special photo powerpoint presentation of loved ones, caregivers and previous celebrations. The theme is “Honoring the Past, Present and Future Generations.”
     To donate to the scholarship fund for health careers, call 928-0101. See more at Kaʻū Rural Health Community Association’s website https://krhcai.com and its Facebook page.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY holiday exhibit daily through Jan. 1 from  9 a.m. – 5 p.m., at  Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Featured at Christmas in the Country is the 17th Annual Invitational Wreath Exhibit, with prizes awarded for the best wreaths. To participate, contact Emily Weiss at 967-8222 or gallery@volcanoartcenter.org. Free; park entrance fees apply.

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

Kaʻū News Briefs Friday Nov. 25 2016

The Volcano went to New York this week and became a float in yesterday’s
90th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

THE ERUPTING VOLCANO, WATERFALLS, HAWAIIAN AGRICULTURE AND LOCAL CULTURE were main features representing Hawaiʻi Island on the float in the 90th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City yesterday. Macy’s partnered with King’s Hawaiian sweetbread company to build the float. It showed coco palms, sugar, pineapple, plumeria and other flowers, along with a waterfall, a volcano spewing confetti, and a rural shack, picnic table and garden.    Two hundred hula dancers and the Hawaiʻi all-state marching band of 500 musicians, from public and private schools around the state, joined the parade seen by about 50 million people on television and the Internet, and three million people on the streets of New York City.       Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Executive Director Amy Kule said, “Hawaiʻi is a land of absolute wonder. The agriculture, the culture itself, the sheer beauty of this island is going to be shared with a brighter and bigger audience.” To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. Tahiti-based London Missionary Society missionary William Ellis and American missionaries observed and recorded activity at Kīlauea Volcano in the summer of 1823 during a walk around the coastline of Hawaiʻi Island.  Wikipedia image  VOLCANO WATCH: “AN ASSUMPTION ABOUT KĪLAUEA VOLANO is proven wrong,” is the headline of this week’s report from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists. “Everyone extrapolates facts and makes assumptions based on those facts. Sometimes, such an assumption is repeated so often that it takes on the aura of a ‘fact’ itself. This is the story of how one such assumption about Kīlauea’s recent past was proven wrong – and only in the past couple of months!”

     Going back in the history of western arrival in Hawaiʻi, the scientists write that “William Ellis, leader of the first missionaries to visit Kīlauea, described numerous pieces of windblown pumice (‘spumous lava...as light as a sponge’) in hollows on the ground as he approached the summit from the southwest on August 1, 1823. This must be the golden pumice. How long before his visit did the pumice fall?”
    The scientists explain that, “Scattered remnants of a once-extensive pumice deposit occur on the ground surface west of Kīlauea Volcano’s summit caldera. The pumice, known as the golden pumice, records a large lava fountain in the southwest part of the caldera.

Golden pumice is seen here along with many other kinds
of offerings from the volcano. USGS photo

     “In a study of the golden pumice published in 1987, three celebrated geologists – Bob Sharp (CalTech), Dan Dzurisin (USGS), and Mike Malin (Arizona State) – suggested an eruption date ‘possibly around 1820.’ The only rocks that fell later onto the pumice were, in their interpretation, erupted in 1924. They observed other thin deposits locally overlying (hence, younger than) the golden pumice but ascribed them to remobilization of older deposits by water, rather than to younger eruptions.
     “These observations and interpretations led to the assumption – challenged in this Volcano Watch – that the golden pumice represents the youngest explosive eruption from the caldera until 1924.
     “Several years ago, another pumice bed, called the eastern pumice, was discovered in the southern part of Kīlauea’s caldera. It underlies, and therefore is older than, explosion deposits consisting largely of rock fragments, not pumice.
     “Work on the eastern pumice – see Volcano Watch for August 8, 2013 (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/view.php?id=188) – tracked it westward into golden pumice
country. Nowhere, however, could we find the two deposits in the same outcrop, so we could not determine if the golden pumice was truly younger than the eastern pumice, as was assumed.

A past assumption about pumice deposits on Kīlauea Volcano 

has recently been proven wrong. In this photo, the eastern 

pumice can be seen above the golden pumice, with 

stream deposits between the two. 

Photo by Sebastien Biasse, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

     “We looked in just the right place and found clear physical evidence of  two pumice layers, one on top of the other. The older, lower pumice has the golden pumice composition. A chemical analysis of the younger, upper pumice, which looks physically like eastern pumice, was completed in late October, and it is indeed eastern pumice. The outcrop was examined once more in November with neutral observers, just to be sure, and the field relations were confirmed.

     “This discovery upsets the apple cart. The assumption is wrong that the golden pumice records the last 19th-century explosion.

     “Instead, the eastern pumice and at least four other explosions occurred later. The fallout from these explosions was directed mainly southward, rather than westward, so there is little overlap with the golden pumice. But there is just enough, as shown by that one outcrop, to prove the case and falsify the long-held assumption.
     “Now we are challenged to determine better the ages of these eruptions. Had they all taken place before Ellis arrived, or were some explosions in the later 1820s overlooked because of infrequent visitation to Kīlauea? Do some of the rocks overlying the golden pumice, interpreted as reworked older deposits by Sharp and colleagues, instead record younger explosions? Could some of the rocks thought to be of 1924 vintage really be from the early 19th century? These
and other questions await answers. A geologist’s work is never done.” To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Puʻu ʻŌʻō breakout flow on east flank as seen on Nov. 22
Photo from USGS

VOLCANO ACTIVITY UPDATES: Kīlauea continues to erupt at its summit and East Rift Zone. This past week, the summit lava lake level varied between about 7.5 and 20 m (25-66 ft) below the vent rim. The 61g lava flow continued to enter the ocean near Kamokuna. On Nov. 21, a new breakout from the upper part of the 61g tube on the flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō sent surface flows to the east and south. These flows remained active as of Nov. 23. The 61g lava flows do not pose an immediate threat to nearby communities. 
     Mauna Loa is not erupting. During the past week, small (less than magnitude-3) earthquakes occurred primarily beneath the upper Southwest Rift Zone and summit caldera at depths less than 5 km (3 mi). Deformation related to inflation of a magma reservoir beneath the summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone continues, with inflation occurring mainly in the southwestern part of the magma storage complex. No earthquakes were reported felt on the Island of Hawaiʻi this past week.

    Visit (http://hvo.usgs.gov) for past Volcano Watch articles, Kīlauea daily eruption updates, Mauna Loa weekly updates, volcano photos, recent earthquakes info, and more; call for summary updates at 808-967-8862 (Kīlauea) or 808-967-8866 (Mauna Loa); email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

    Volcano Watch (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/) is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survery Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

30TH ANNUAL VOLCANO VILLAGE ARTISTS HUI SHOW & SALE is today and on  Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Volcano Village. Gallerygoers are invited to meet the artists in their studios located in Volcano. Artworks will be on display and available for purchase in a variety of media including pottery, raku, hand-blown art glass, sculpture, jewelry, and fiber art as well as photographs, paintings, drawings, metal work, quilts, and block prints.          A special drawing for pieces contributed by each of the artists will be held on the final day of the tour.

     For more information, call 987-3472 or 985-7487. Maps to the artists’ studios are available at local businesses and galleries in the Volcano and at: www.VolcanoVillageArtistsHui.com. 987-3472.

VOLCANO ART CENTER PROGRAMS PREVIEW EXHIBIT, Friday, Saturday Nov. 25/26, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Discover what the New Year has to offer. VAC will be on Volcano Artist Hui’s tour, and Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will sell poinsettias. 967-8222

Lights, lanterns and messages
honor loved ones at Punaluʻu
this Saturday. Photo by Julia Neal

TOMORROW IS THE SIXTH ANNUAL FLOATING LANTERN CEREMONY at Punaluʻu Beach Park’s Medicine Pond. In addition to participants building, decorating and launching tiny boats to carry lights honoring late friends and family, the gathering features community potluck, Taiko drummers, Gi Gon demonstration, hula dancers and local music, followed by a special photo powerpoint presentation of loved ones, caregivers and previous celebrations. The theme is “Honoring the Past, Present and Future Generations.” 

     To donate to the scholarship fund for health careers, call 928-0101. See more at Kaʻū Rural Health Community Association’s website https://krhcai.com and its Facebook page. To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY holiday exhibit daily through Jan. 1 from  9 a.m. – 5 p.m., at  Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Featured at Christmas in the Country is the 17th Annual Invitational Wreath Exhibit, with prizes awarded for the best wreaths. To participate, contact Emily Weiss at 967-8222 or gallery@volcanoartcenter.org. Free; park entrance fees apply.

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

Kaʻū News Briefs for Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016

Zero-interest loans can be for safe access, re-roofing and other repairs to keep low-income homeowners living
safely in their houses. Photo from Habitat for Humanity

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IS OFFERING ZERO INTEREST LOANS FOR HOME REPAIRS in Kaʻū. The Habitat Rural Housing Repair Funding is available to low-income homeowners, through its Hilo division, for such repairs as fixing roof leaks, termite problems, wood rot, leaking plumbing and to build ramps and safe stairs for access.

      The Hale Aloha ʻO Hilo chapter of Habitat won a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant to preserve rural homes that need fixing up, as new homes are expensive and hard to find,  and with the understanding that staying in one’s own home may be the best option. Homes in the countryside and in all of  Kaʻū’s towns and villages are located in the area of eligibility.

     To apply, applicant must have income and assets not exceeding program guidelines, have owned and occupied the home for at least a year before applying, be an owner-occupant with clear fee simple title, have sufficient equity to cover required repairs and be able to repay the no-interest loan over 20 years.

     The dwelling must be a legal structure located in a rural area and have defects that pose a health and safety hazard to occupants or be in need of improvements to make the dwelling accessible for a handicapped occupants.

      Repairs are performed by a licensed general contractor hired by the homeowner. Loan is secured by a mortgage and promissory note with 20 years to repay. To apply, call Mary Finley at 967-7230.

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Jeffrey Kekoa is a graduate of the leadership training and President 

of Hawaiian Home Lands Association of Kaʻū. Photo by Julia Neal

KAʻŪ LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM, sponsored by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Community Development Initiative, is recruiting for applicants through Friday, Dec. 16.
     The training will be held in the new  Kaʻū District Gym multi-purpose room. Among the  Kaʻū community leaders who have taken the training are Jeff and Donna Kekoa. Jeff is the president of the local Hawaiian Home Lands Association. Donna is known for her work at  Kaʻū Hospital Rural Health Clinic,  Kaʻū Rural Health Community Association and other community organizations.

     The training is not only open to Hawaiian Home Lands Trust beneficiaries. It is open to other residents. An ideal class, says the announcement, will have a mix of participants: high school to kupuna; emerging beginner to experienced leader; representatives of community nonprofits, the public sector, private sector and government. Farmers, ranchers, artists, cultural practitioners, educators, environmentalists, health and human service workers and those with faith-based jobs and avocations are invited. Maximum class size is 30.

     The training is at no cost to participants and is valued at up to $2000 per person. It is designed to be a fun, dynamic and highly-interactive training program to build leadership skills that may be used in community service, on the job and in personal life.

      Orientation will be Jan. 7 and class sessions are one weekend per month for four months in 2017: Jan. 28-29, Feb. 15-16, March 18-19 and April 8-9. In addition to class work, participants are expected to volunteer 20 t0 40 hours to complete a class project within six to nine months after the last class session.

     To sign up, call Gigi Cairel at 808-620-9461 Hawaiian Home Lands. Email Gigi.O.Cairel@hawaii.gov. Locally, call Jeffrey Kekoa at 928-0320.

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The new Kaʻū Gym will be the site of a Winter Jam for
community basketball for all ages and a UH Vulcan
volleyball clinic for youth. Photo by Ron Johnson

THE ALYSHA & PETE 3-ON-3  BASKETBALL WINTER JAM has announced a Dec. 2 deadline to sign up. The tournament will be held at the new  Kaʻū District Gym, Dec. 9-11 with opportunities for adults and youth of all ages. Age groups are ten and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, boys, girls and co-ed. Men and women are also invited to compete. Cost is $10 per person with strand-nicolsen_marley.jpgfive players maximum per team. The tournament helps raise money help fund Trojan Senior basketball players Pete Dacalio and Alysha Gustafson to travel to the mainland with coach Jen Makuakane to look at colleges who may provide them with sports scholarships. To sign up or donate, call Summer Dacalio at 498-7336, Pete Dacalio at 498-3518 or Alysha Gustafson at 339-0858.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Vulcans volleyball team, which includes
Kaʻū’s Marley Strand-Nicholaisan
comes to the new gym Dec. 1.
Photo from Vulcans

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I VULCAN VOLLEYBALL CLINIC will be held next Thursday, Dec. 1 at the new  Kaʻū District Gym from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for youth five to 14 years of age. The tournament is expected to feature Vulcan and Trojan volleyball star Marley Strand-Nicholaisen and other Vulcan players who just finished their season.

     All participants must have a parent sign the Dept. of Parks & Recreation release of claims form and the HI-PAL permission Release Form.

    Court shoes or rubber sold shoes are required. To register, call Pāhala Community Center at 928-3102 or 854-7316. Community police Officer Blaine Morishita is also helping through the Hawaiʻi Isle Police Activities League and can be reached at 936-7192.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

THANKSGIVING DINNER AT OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER will be from noon to 3 p.m. The free meal is an annual gift to the community by the Ocean View Community Association.

THANKSGIVING DAY BUFFET, is today, Nov. 24, from 2 p.m.– 6 p.m. at Kīlauea Military Camp’s Crater Rim Café in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The buffet features roast turkey, pineapple honey-glazed ham, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rice, pumpkin squares, apple crisp, ice cream sundae bar and beverage. $21.95 adults, $11.95 child (6-11 years). No reservations required. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. 967-8356 

VOLCANO ARTS CENTER PROGRAMS PREVIEW EXHIBIT, Friday, Saturday Nov. 25/26, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Discover what the New Year has to offer. VAC will be on Volcano Artist Hui’s tour, and Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will sell poinsettias. 967-8222

30TH ANNUAL VOLCANO VILLAGE ARTISTS HUI SHOW & SALE, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Nov. 25-27, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Volcano Village. Gallerygoers are invited to meet the artists in their studios located in Volcano. Artworks will be on display and available for purchase in a variety of media including pottery, raku, hand-blown art glass, sculpture, jewelry, and fiber art as well as photographs, paintings, drawings, metal work, quilts, and block prints. Maps to studios available at local businesses & galleries. 987-3472

SATURDAY IS THE SIXTH ANNUAL FLOATING LANTERN CEREMONY at Punaluʻu Beach Park’s Medicine Pond. In addition to participants building, decorating and launching tiny boats to carry lights honoring late friends and family, the gathering features community potluck, Taiko drummers, Gi Gon demonstration, hula dancers and local music, followed by a special photo powerpoint presentation of loved ones, caregivers and previous celebrations. The theme is “Honoring the Past, Present and Future Generations.” 

Floating Lantern ceremony at Punaluʻu this Saturday
honors loved ones. Photo by Julia Neal

To donate to the scholarship fund for health careers, call 928-0101. See more at Kaʻū Rural Health Community Association’s website https://krhcai.com and its Facebook page.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY holiday exhibit daily through Jan. 1 from  9 a.m. – 5 p.m., at  Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Featured at Christmas in the Country is the 17th Annual Invitational Wreath Exhibit, with prizes awarded for the best wreaths. To participate, contact Emily Weiss at 967-8222 or gallery@volcanoartcenter.org. Free; park entrance fees apply.

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