Kaʻū News Briefs Sept. 25, 2024

Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary is now the location of the 44th Peace Pole in the state.
Photo by Jennifer Makuakane

KAʻŪ IS THE LOCATION OF THE FIRST PEACE POLE AT A PUBLIC SCHOOL CAMPUS IN HAWAI'I. A Peace Pole was dedicated Wednesday on the grounds of Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary School.
    Rotary Club of Volcano, Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary, and the County of Hawaiʻi collaborated to install the KHPES Peace Pole. It is the 44th installed in the state.

The new Peace Pole at the entrance to Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary.
Photo by Jennifer Makuakane

    Mayor Mitch Roth and state Rep. Jeanne Kapela were on hand to share messages about peace. Members of the Rotary club also shared the history of the Peace Pole project, and provided a lesson about Sadako's Cranes, a well-known story of hope during the atomic bombing of Japan.
    David Santos, a Kaʻū High School social studies teacher, shared a passage from his high school Rotary Club Oratory about Peace. Santos is known for his students winning the national Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Poem contests.
    During the dedication ceremony, Principal Sharon Beck said, "The Peace Pole at the entrance to our campus is a daily reminder that together we can create a safe and welcoming campus where everyone is included and loved."

Aunty Jesse Ke provided the Hawaiian blessing at the installation
of the Peace Pole on Wednesday. Photo by Jennifer Makuakane

    Aunty Jesse Ke provided the Hawaiian blessing and several staff attended from Kaʻū Hospital, where another Peace Pole was previously installed. Kaʻū High organizers said they would like to thank Aunty Jesse Marques of Kaʻū Rural Health Community Association for helping to spearhead the Peace Pole project.

    The Rotary Club of Volcano sates, "A Peace Pole is an internationally-recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message May Peace Prevail on Earth in different languages on each of its four or six sides. There are estimated over 250,000 Peace Poles in every country in the world," including one outside the Volcano Art Center and one outside Kaʻū Hospital. "Planting a Peace Pole is a way of bringing people together to inspire, awaken and uplift the human consciousness the world over. Take a look at it the next time you are in Pāhala town."

Students and enthusiasts of the Peace Pole installation at Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary on 
Wednesday, including Mayor Mitch Roth and state Rep. Jeanne Kapela. Photo by Jennifer Makuakane

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COUNTY OF HAWAI'I ENCOURAGES CONTINUED DISPOSAL OF TIRES, in the wake of last weekend's successful community effort that took in approximately 5,000 tires from 472 vehicles, filling 23 roll-off containers—all in just five hours. That event took place in Puna and Deputy Director of Department of Environmental Services Brenda Iokepa-Moses said an event could be planned for Kaʻū in the future.

    Until then, "We encourage everyone to utilize existing tire disposal programs. State law requires tire retailers to accept used motor vehicle tires for recycling or disposal when you purchase new tires. This means you should turn in your old tires right at the point of sale, avoiding the need to store them at home. Turning in your tires when you buy new ones is the best way to keep them out of our landfills and our environment," says a statement from the county.

Last weekend's Toss Your Tires event.
Photo from County of Hawai'i

    Regarding last weekend's event, the county announcement stated, "This massive effort is a huge step in keeping our island clean and protecting our environment from potential hazards like mosquito breeding and illegal dumping. The recycled tires are being repurposed into useful products and fuel for energy production outside Hawaiʻi."
    Mayor Mitch Roth said, "Sustainability on our island depends on each of us playing a role in caring for our ʻāina, our community, and our invaluable natural and cultural resources. 

    "We are deeply encouraged by the community members who responsibly disposed of their tires this past weekend. Their actions have contributed to making our island cleaner, healthier, and more resilient."

     Partners in the event were: Department of Environmental Management, Recycling and Solid Waste,  Department of Health, Lex Brodie's Tires, Kea'au Middle School's Greenwaves group, and Big Island Scrap Metal.

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NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY is this Saturday, Sept. 28 with a fee-free day to celebrate at all fee-charging national parks, including Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
    A special Stewardship at the Summit volunteer event will  help restore native rainforest and provide volunteers with a free pass to use at any national park. Wear sturdy hiking shoes and long pants. Bring a hat, rain gear, day pack, snack and water. Gloves and tools are provided. Under 18? Parental or guardian accompaniment or written consent is required. No advance registration is required, but space is limited to the first 25 participants. The volunteer event is from 8:45 am. to noon. Meet Paul and Jane Field at Kīlauea Visitor Center.

A park ranger leads volunteers into the rainforest for a restoration mission. NPS photo by Janice Wei

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September 2024, 5,000 in the mail, 2,500 on the streets.

Kaʻū News Briefs Sept. 24, 2024

Trojan quarterback Adahdiyah Ellis-Reyes in a file photo. He set new records in Honoka'a last Friday.
Photo by Mark Peters

 

QUARTERBACK ADAHDIYAH ELLIS-REYES SET NEW SCHOOL RECORDS when the Kaʻū football team traveled to Honoka'a last Friday night to take on the Dragons. He will receive recognition on statewide KHON Channel 2 television coverage this week called Cover 2.

    Ellis-Reyes and the Trojans played very hard throughout the game but ended up losing 64-32, reports Assistant Coach Mark Peters. Even with the loss, Ellis-Reyes achieved another epic career best performance to lead the Trojan team. He carried the ball 40 times for a total of 351 yards and 4 touchdowns. The 40 carries in a game ties the school record held by Zach Kai. The 351 yards sets a new school record in 11 man football (Bobby Pilanca-Emmsley had 400 yards or more 3 different times in 8 man football).

Adahdiya Ellis-Reyes nabs a catch in a game against
 Hawai'i Preparatory Academy. File photo by Mark Peters

The 351 yards rushing was found to be the 4th best ever in Hawai'i state high school history for 11 man football. Peters notes that "Diyah also completed 10 passes for 216 yards and one touchdown. Diyah's 567 yards of total offense sets a new school record for 11 man football. On defense, Ellis-Reyes also led the team with 6 tackles including creating a fumble by ripping the ball from a Honokaa ball carrier."
Peters comments, "What an amazing performance by Diyah. He is such a great player who represents our community every week on the field and is one of the best players on the Island. But, he did not accomplish this by himself. A lot of players helped him achieve this success with their blocking and catching. We have a great mix of some experienced players and some young players getting exposed to football for the first time."
Head coach Conner Norton states, "While this was not the outcome we were looking for, I was very proud of the way our team played hard for the whole game and continued to improve." This week, the Trojan football team will travel to Kea'au to play the Pahoa Daggers on Thursday night.

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KAʻŪ BEAT KEA'AU IN GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL on Tuesday on the road, in three sets. The scores were  25-22, 25-22, and 25-22. JV lost 20-25 and 15-25.

    Kaʻū travels to Christian Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 28 and again to LCPCS/SIS on Monday, Sept. 30. Ka 'Umeke comes to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kaʻū travels to Hilo on Saturday, Oct. 12 and again to

Pahoa on Monday, Oct. 13. Kamehameha comes to Kaʻū on Wednesday, Oct. 16, followed by Big Island Interscholastic Federation playoffs.

    Coach is Josh Ortega, Assistant Coach and JV Coach is Sarah Ortega, Trainer is Moses Whitcomb and Athletic Director is Jaime Guerpo.
    The varsity team is comprised of Mckenzie Decoito, Leahi Kaupu, Jezerie Rose Nurial-Dacalio, Kiara Ortega-Oliveira, Jazmyn Navarro, Aubrey Delos Santos-Graig, Alajshae Barrios, CaLiya Silva-Kamei and Zia Rae Wroblewski.
    The JV team is comprised of Deijah Cabanilla-Nogales, Lily Dacalio, Christy Girl Grohs, Megan Pierpont, Kalesha Hashimoto, Alazae Forcum, Wailea Kainoa Haili-Barawis and Dhaylee Cabreros.

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PROMISING CONTINUED SERVICE TO REMOTE AREAS, HAWAIIAN AIRLINES' NEW CEO Joe Sprague notes that he comes from Alaska, which like Hawai'i has both islands surrounded by water and remote inland islands of people who live in the wilderness and depend on air travel. He told Hawai'i Public Radio that serving both Alaska and Hawai'i isolated communities "gives both companies, I think, a very special sense of purpose, and that's a positive and really powerful, I think, uniting factor for the two carriers."

Sprague is already familiar with Hawai'i, having run Alaska Airlines Hawai'i division. Alaska Airlines completed the purchase of Hawaiian Airlines last week. It is taking on $900 million of Hawaiian Airlines debt and paying an additional $1 billion to own the company. It is acquiring wide body jets and international flights. More wide body jets are under construction at Boeing in Seattle where Alaska Airlines is headquartered.

Alaska also promises to keep most of Hawaiian's 6,000 union employees, and many of the 1,400 non-union employees. For those Hawaiian Airline employees whose jobs are duplicates of some of those held by Alaska Airlines employees, there will be some eventual layoffs, but all employees will be retained until at least the end of this year and there will be severance packages and efforts for retraining for jobs both inside and outside the newly merged airline, according to statements by Alaska Airlines.

    Alaska Airlines also announced it will keep the Hawaiian name and free distribution of pineapple orange juice to passengers. Its CEO Bin Minicuci called the merger "pro consumer and pro competitive." He noted that Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines are both more than 90 years old and each have good name identities expressing the history and culture of the special places they serve. He said both names mean a lot to the residents of Alaska and Hawai'i.

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September 2024, 5,000 in the mail, 2,500 on the streets.

Kaʻū News Briefs Sept. 23, 2024

The eruption between Sept. 15 and 20 produced some night skies with red glows on on the horizon reflecting off of clouds, as
 seen from Chain of Craters Road. USGS photo by K. Mulliken

THE ERUPTION THAT STOPPED on Friday at Kīlauea volcano in and near Nāpau Crater showed only a couple of intermittent small spots of residual glow on Sunday night, according to reports from USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. "Weak degassing from the vent continues with the gas plume moving to the southwest," said the Monday morning update. "Geophysical signatures of eruptive activity have all returned to background levels. The Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code was lowered from WATCH/ORANGE to ADVISORY/YELLOW Monday morning. No changes have been detected in the lower East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. "
    The middle East Rift Zone eruption near Nāpau Crater lived through four eruptive phases between Sept.

15 and Sept. 20. Lava flows from this eruption covered about 2/3 (500,000 square meters or 125 acres) of the floor of Nāpau Crater. Approximate effusion rates of roughly 5-15 cubic meters per second (6-16 cubic yards) were estimated during the most active part of the fissure eruption on Sept. 19.  A webpage with eruption-related resources is available at: Eruption on Kīlauea middle East Rift Zone | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov) 
    USGS cautions that near the recent middle East Rift Zone eruption site, minor to severe ground fractures and subsidence features may continue to widen and offset, may have unstable overhanging edges, and should be avoided. Hazards associated with the recent lava flows include glassy (sharp) surfaces that can cause serious abrasions, and lacerations upon contact with unprotected or exposed skin; uneven and rough terrain that can lead to falls and other injuries; or, locally elevated levels of volcanic gases that can lead to breathing difficulty.
    Hazards remain around Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes within the area closed to the public. This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of the rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since early 2008.  
    For discussion of Kīlauea hazards, see: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hawaiian-volcano-observatory/hazards.  

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Some electric lines will be replaced, their locations changed, according to a plan by Hawai'i Volcanoes
National Park and Hawaiian Electric. The public is welcome to comment on the EA. HVNP photo

MAKING THE ELECTRICAL LINE SYSTEM MORE RESILIENT TO EXTREME WEATHER within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is a plan that welcomes public input. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, in coordination with Hawaiian Electric, seeks the public input on their environmental assessment of the proposed electrical line relocation project.

    The project will relocate the sub-transmission electric utility poles and power lines and improve reliability and resilience in the area between Piʻi Mauna Drive and the Hilo-side park boundary near Old Volcano Road, says the announcement from the partners. The project is Phase 3 of HECO's efforts to upgrade its transmission line that spans from Puna to just outside the park's Kaʻū boundary.
    Comments received during public scoping for Phase 3 were considered for the environmental assessment. Phase 1 and 2, completed in 2020, included the area between the Kīlauea Switching Station outside the Kaʻū-side boundary to Piʻi Mauna Drive within the park.
    Existing poles and lines are located along a corridor within hazardous terrain, including earth cracks and lava tubes. Maintenance and repairs are currently difficult and unsafe. Relocating the line along the highway will also help reduce potential impacts to forested areas in the park.
    HVNP worked with HECO and Tetra Tech, Inc. to develop and analyze alternatives, develop mitigation measures, and conduct consultations. Two main actions are proposed:

    1. Relocate the existing power line by installing new poles and transmission and distribution lines along 2.6 miles of Highway 11; and
    2. Remove and/or decommission approximately 2.6 miles of existing poles and transmission and distribution lines within the current power line alignment in HVNP.
    The park encourages the community to provide input during the 30-day comment period which started Sept. 23, 2024. There are three ways to provide input:
    Online: Visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/Phase3 for project information to submit comments online.
    Email: Send comments to havo_planning@nps.gov. Hard copy: Mail written comments to:
    Attention: 3400 Phase 3 Power Line Relocation
    Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
    P.O. Box 52
    Hawai'i National Park, HI 96718-0052
    Comments must be submitted online, via email, or postmarked by Oct. 23, 2024 to be considered.

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Isaiah "Hano" Manila-Louis gets lined up as the offense gets ready to run another play. Photo by Mark Peters

Senior Vladimir Fedoruk takes on a Honoka'a 
blocker during Friday night's game. 
Photo by Mark Peters

   Kaʻū Trojan Football Highlight
     In these Mark Peters photos, Kaʻū Trojans are on the road last Friday in Honoka'a  where they left 64 points and brought home 34.
   Trojans travel to Pahoa this Thursday, Sept. 26.             Kohala comes to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 5. 

   Kaʻū goes to Hawai'i Preparatory Academy on Saturday, Oct. 12.

   Kamehameha comes to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 19.       Honoka'a travels to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 26, followed by BIIF Division Championships.
    Athletic Director is Jaime Guerpo. 

    Head coach is Connor Norton. Assistant Coachis Mark Peters.                

    Coaching staff includes Greg Rush, Ray Mayzack, Duane Pua, Time Drafaul, Ted Blanco and Walter Parada. Athletic Trainer is Moses Whitcomb.

Freshman Haku Hashimoto lines up for a snap against the Honoka'a defense. Photo by Mark Peters

Quarterback Adahdiyah Ellis-Reyes takes a snap. Photo by Mark Peters

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September 2024, 5,000 in the mail, 2,500 on the streets.