Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015

Palaka cloths draped the veranda at Pahala Plantation Manager's House for Ka`u Plantation Days yesterday, signaling a passage to "before time." Photo by Ron Johnson

THE FIFTH ANNUAL KA`U PLANTATION DAYS saw residents and visitors learning and sharing their experiences of “before time.” Following a pa`u parade led by a decorated cane truck, Ka`u residents and visitors headed to Pahala Plantation Manager’s House. Palaka cloth draped the veranda, where residents shared artifacts and children’s activities from a bygone era. Attendees watched films of the past, including Ka`u Sugar: A Town Remembers, Canefield Songs: Hole Hole Bushi and The Untold Story: Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawai`i.

Traditional Ka`u Plantation Days games, with homemade toys. Photo by Julia Neal

      In the dining room, residents looked through collections of various camp photos, identifying homes of families and friends.
      Food, entertainment and arts and crafts filled the front and side lawns. Attendees could choose from Portuguese, Hawaiian, Chinese and more ethnic foods. Entertainment ranged from hula to country music.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

DELAYS IN CONSTRUCTION of Ka`u Gym & Shelter are examined in today’s issue of West Hawai`i Today. Nancy Cook Lauer noted that a sign on the Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary School campus bears a completion date of Nov. 15, 2014.
      After the county found that the new concrete floor didn’t meet specifications, Summit Construction had it removed. Department of Public Works Director Warren Lee told Cook Lauer that the contractor is paying to replace the floor. “The county does not pay for this. We already paid for it once,” Lee told Cook Lauer.

Darlyne Vierra and Liz Kuluwaimaka hosted Ka`u Plantation Days yesterday,
sponsored by Ka`u Multicultural Society. Photo by Julia Neal

      Summit Construction has, however, been paid an extra $166,069 in a change order that was added to the original contract. The change order was for “unanticipated changes not included in original design,” according to a July communication to Hawai`i County Council.
      Previous delays include additional time needed for State Historic Preservation burial treatment permits, grading, drainage, sidewalk and driveway location changes and rerouting of telephone lines.
      Cook Lauer said the facility should open sometime next year.
      See westhawaiitoday.com.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

HURRICANE OLAF CONTINUES to strengthen as it heads west toward the Central Pacific. After it crosses longitude 140 and out of the Eastern Pacific early Tuesday morning, Olaf is forecast turn north and pass Hawai`i to the east.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

Hannah's Makana `Ohana dance on the grounds of Pahala Plantation House.
Photo by Julia Neal

SCOTT GLENN IS HAWAI`I’S NEW director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control. Glenn will officially take up his duties in November. His appointment by Gov. David Ige is subject to confirmation by the Senate.
      Glenn is leaving his position as an environmental planner that he has held since 2010. He focused on the intersection of planning, asset management and risk analysis in clients’ strategic decision making. He has managed project budgets and held key roles on many multi-million dollar projects for clients in public and private sectors. Recently, his focus has been on integrating climate change adaptation into federal asset decision-making tools.
      As a volunteer, Glenn serves as vice chair and past chair of Sierra Club Hawai`i and holds the same positions on the state Environmental Council. He is also co-founder and president of Better Block Hawai`i, a nonprofit dedicated to exploring collaborative, innovative approaches to improving urban livability.

Clyde Silva emceed the pa`u parade and Ka`u
Plantation Days event. Photo by Julia Neal

      Glenn earned a B.A. in philosophy and classical archaeology from the University of Evansville and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Hawai`i. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
      “Scott is passionate about working with diverse stakeholders to plan together for a better shared future,” Ige said. “His education, work experience and volunteer service have prepared him to make a difference in this position.”
      “I am humbled to serve as the director and thankful to the governor for the opportunity,” Glenn said. “The office has a key role in the stewardship of our environment and economy. I look forward to bringing a collaborative approach grounded in technical expertise to the office and working with my fellow board members on the Environmental Council to reach out to the public and all stakeholders.”
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY scientists use geologic mapping to look to the past to reveal the future.
      “Geologic mapping is considered by some to be old school science,” scientists explain in the current issue of Volcano Watch. “By current standards, there’s certainly nothing glitzy or high tech about walking miles across seemingly barren rock or through dense forests to map lava flows.
      “The motivation for mapping ‘old’ lava flows is based on the geologic principle of Uniformitarianism, which fundamentally says that the key to understanding the future is to look at the past. By definition, Uniformitarianism is the theory that natural processes behave more or less the same today as they have throughout the past, and will continue to do so in the future.
      “As an example, if we are assigned the task of figuring out future threats posed by an unknown or poorly understood volcano, we start by examining its eruptive products or deposits. By looking at these old deposits, we can establish if the volcano is predominantly effusive (eruptions characterized by lava flows) or explosive in character. Then, by systematically mapping the spatial distribution of the deposits and age-dating them through various techniques, we can identify the areas affected by volcanic activity and how frequently it takes place.

Collections of photos and memorabilia from ranches, farms, dairies and sugar
camp life filled the carriage house and the old plantation manager's house.
Photo by Julia Neal

      “Our mapping tools are basic: a hand lens, notebook, topographic map, hammer and compass (or handheld GPS for some geologists!). Our ‘computer’ sits on our shoulders: head, brain and eyes. Field geologists must also be in tune with the natural environment in order to derive clues on the character, origin and age of the substrate. These clues can include subtle changes in vegetation, ground surface roughness, rock color and other characteristics.
      “Geologic mapping requires extensive field work in which we walk the contacts between old lava flows to distinguish individual flow units and intraflow boundaries, including gradational transitions between pahoehoe and `a`a flows. This field work relies on aerial imagery and paper topographic maps to plot the flows.
      “Where terrain or jungle obscures the contacts between different lava flows, we create a grid pattern of transects to examine sparse outcrops of rock. The resulting boundaries between distinct lava flows are then extrapolated between transects from aerial photo interpretation and geological and botanical inferences. …
      “Sleuthing out the eruptive history of a volcano is challenging, time consuming, and tedious. But there’s no better way to figure out a volcano’s future behavior than to examine its past – and geologic mapping shows us the way!”

Filipino, Japanese, Portuguese and Hawaiian foods celebrated the multi-ethnic
community of Ka`u. Photo by Julia Neal

      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.
      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

NATIVE DRYLAND PLANTS WORKSHOP is a week from today on Sunday, Oct. 25 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Kahuku Park Pavilion in Ocean View. Sponsored by Ho`omalu Ka`u, a nonprofit working to build a cultural center north of Ocean View, presenters showcase plants well suited to Ka`u’s climate and environment and that can be used to great effect as landscape features. Sign up at hoomalukau@gmail.com or 929-8526.

JAZZ IN THE FOREST CONTINUES with two performances this Saturday, Oct. 24, featuring Keahi Conjugacion with Volcano Art Center’s Jazz Ensemble. The concert series offers an extraordinary opportunity to hear the highest caliber jazz – anywhere – up close and personal.

Hawaiian kupuna Jeanette Howard, of Punalu`u, represented Hawaiian
Civic Club of Ka`u. Photo by Julia Neal

      Conjugacion is a Hoku and Grammy nominated vocalist who has performed throughout the mainland, Asia and Europe. Considered one of Hawai`i’s finest jazz and blues singers, Conjugacion is the eldest sister of the famous musical family (Brother Noland & Tony C). She has played Carnegie Hall in New York, Jazz Alley in Seattle and at jazz festivals in Sicily. She returns by popular demand, as she delivered an emotional and inspiring performance to an SRO audience in her previous appearance at Jazz in the Forest.
      The Wine and Beer Room will be open to enjoy before and after the concert. Also, an area has been set aside for dancing.
      Two shows are offered, with a matinee at 4:30 p.m. and an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the matinee are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members) and for the evening show are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members).

      Tickets are available at VAC’s Administration Office in Volcano Village, VAC Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and at Basically Books in Hilo. The last day to purchase tickets online, at VAC Gallery, or Basically Books is Friday, Oct. 23. After that, tickets will be sold at the door if they are not sold out.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

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

Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015

After leading the Ka`u Plantation Days parade, the cane truck parked on the side of Maile Street so that field workers riding on front could view pa`u riders and marching community organizations. Photos by Ron Johnson

THE SKIES CLEARED as the cane truck traveled down Maile Street to begin Ka`u Plantation Days this morning. Eli Vierra drove an ATV for Ka`u Multicultural Society, which organizes the event.

Ka`u Pa`u Queen Lorilee Lorenzo led pa`u riders through Pahala
to begin Ka`u Plantation Days.

      Pa`u riders representing the Hawaiian Islands followed, with Pa`u Queen Lorilee Lorenzo and her mother Mahina, father Frank and brothers Frank, Jr. and Jesse leading others.
      Ua and Gavin Galimba represented Ni`ihau; Kehau and Mana Ke, Kaua`i; Merle Becker and John Wacker, Oa`hu; Keana Kuluwaimaka and La`a Ke, Moloka`i; Mikela and Donnell Akana, Lana`i; Teani Souza, Kaho`olawe; Alexa Wacker and Kailee Kahalua-Stacy, Maui; and Samantha Wacker and Kealia Galimba, Hawai`i.
      Others joining the parade were Friends of the Ka`u Libraries, Boys & Girls Club, Miss Ka`u Coffee Maria Miranda, Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative, and Hunny Ke cleaning up after the horses.
      Ka`u Coffee growers also set up displays about the history of the industry that is flourishing almost 20 years after the sugar plantation closed down.
      Residents also are shared stories about camps where they lived and played.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

The Lorenzo family joined Queen Lorilee as her court.

TROPICAL STORM OLAF will be a major hurricane when it crosses into the Central Pacific Tuesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Once Olaf gains enough northern latitude, a drier environment with an increase in southerly or south-southwesterly shear should result in weakening.
      Olaf follows thunderstorms from remnants of Tropical Depression Nora that battered Ka`u last night. Many residents reported lightning and thunder that appeared to be directly overhead. Lightning struck a transformer in Pahala, causing power outages to several residents.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

GOV. DAVID IGE SIGNED an emergency proclamation that enables the state to quickly funnel money toward the facilitation of rapid construction of a temporary shelter for homeless families, the immediate extension of existing contracts for homeless services and an immediate increase in funding for programs that promote immediate housing.

Friends of the Ka`u Libraries marched in the parade before manning
their booth to raise funds to support their cause.

      State funds of more than $1.3 million were identified this month, paving the way for the emergency proclamation. The monies will serve an additional 1,000 homeless individuals between now and July 31, 2016, providing increased funding for homeless services and programs that promote permanent housing for families and the chronically homeless.
      The emergency proclamation will also facilitate construction of a transitional housing facility for homeless families. The facility will be temporary and have a clear sunset date.
      State, city, federal governments and various service providers have worked together to place 158 individuals and 25 families from Kaka`ako on O`ahu into shelters since the effort began in early August. That’s 54 percent of homeless individuals surveyed in Kaka`ako in early August and more than 80 percent of the families surveyed.
      “The lesson learned is that great things can be accomplished when we all work together,” Ige said. “Despite the recent success of enforcement efforts in the Kaka`ako Makai area, homelessness remains a serious issue in every county throughout the state. We plan to replicate the Kaka`ako model as we work to address homelessness in communities across the state.”

Pa`u riders honored their ancestors.

      “There’s still much work to do,” said Scott Morishige, Governor’s Coordinator on Homelessness. “Hawai`i has the highest rate of homelessness per capita among the 50 states, with an estimated 465 homeless individuals per 100,000. The alarming increase in unsheltered individuals and families over the past two years is particularly significant on O`ahu. This proclamation will expedite the state’s plans to help these individuals and families to more quickly transition to permanent housing.”
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

PAUL GIBSON, OF OCEAN VIEW, is spending five years in prison, John Burnett reported in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. Gibson was charged with second-degree assault and first-degree terroristic threatening as the result of an altercation on May 10, 2014. David Coombes was stabbed 12 times, and Hilo Circuit Court Judge Greg Nakamura yesterday ordered Gibson to also reimburse Coombes for his medical expenses.
      “We’re looking at a mutual affray gone wrong … and Mr. Gibson has responsibility in his role in that,” Gibson’s attorney Michael Zola told the judge. “And what happened after that is that Mr. Coombes, who is a trained fighter at BJ Penn’s gym and is a much heavier guy, got the better of him and he got him on the ground. … The underlying premise here is that Mr. Gibson was being choked out and decided, whether rightly or wrongly, that he needed to pull out his pocketknife and stop (Coombes) from killing him.”
      Burnett said Gibson’s lawyer asked the judge to consider probation and intermittent jail stays or to delay Gibson’s imprisonment so he could finish contracted work “and provide for his family,” but Nakamura ordered immediate incarceration, noting “the seriousness of the offenses.”

Keiki rode in the cane truck with driver Derrick Andrade.

      “You do have a prior criminal history,” Nakamura said. “The court believes that prison terms are appropriate for the purpose of punishment and the deterrence of others. And I think these considerations would override any concerns that one would have for provision for your family.”
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

KA`U RURAL HEALTH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION continues pre-registration for its fifth annual Floating Lantern Celebration. The deadline is Sunday, Nov. 15 for the event on Saturday, Nov. 28. The celebration at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach Park’s Medicine Pond from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. honors and remembers love ones, friends, families and caregivers.
      For more information, call 928-0101 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. See krhcai.com for photos of past celebrations.

PEOPLE AND LANDS OF KAHUKU, tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., is a moderate two-mile, three-hour guided hike that loops through varied landscapes to explore the human history of Kahuku. 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 Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Participants learn about the powerful natural forces at work here and how people have adapted to, shaped and restored this land.
      Call 985-6011 for more information.

Pa`u riders and their lei-bedecked horses ride down Maile Street in Pahala. 

SOCIAL SECURITY WORKSHOPS COME to Ka`u and Volcano next week: Wednesday, Oct. 21 at Na`alehu Community Center; Thursday, Oct. 22 at Cooper Center in Volcano Village; and Friday, Oct. 23 at Ocean View Community Center. Times for all workshops are 6:30 p.m. 8 p.m.

      Topics include what baby boomers need to know, how divorce affects benefits, how spousal benefits are calculated, how benefits are taxed, effects of employment income, how disability benefits work, how retirement benefits are calculated and more.
      See ad below for more topics. Reserve at 327-5410.

THE ART EXPRESS is scheduled for a week from today on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Discovery Harbour Community Hall. At the painting workshop, participants can learn something new or work on forgotten projects. Instructions will be on oil, acrylic or watercolor.
      Sign up with and receive instructions from Meliha at himeliha@yahoo.com.

Ka`u Multicultural Society organizes the annual
Ka`u Plantation Days.

HAWAI`I ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY’S Arbor Day Tree Giveaway will be held on Saturday, Nov. 7 at its office at 1200 Kilauea Ave. in Hilo. Trees will be distributed from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or while supplies last.
      Trees to be given away this year include ko`oko`olau, kokio keokeo, kou, kukui, mamaki, milo and niu.
      The annual event is a partnership with Kua O Ka La Public Charter School, Ho`oulu Lahui, Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program and HELCO. To help perpetuate native species, a variety of organizations across the state routinely organize educational events to distribute native trees and shrubs to the community.
      Information on how to properly plant, site and care for the tree also is distributed. Students and instructors will be available to educate the public on how to care for their trees and explain the cultural significance of the native plants.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

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

 

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, Oct. 16, 2015

Honu `ea hatchlings head to the ocean yesterday as Ka`u residents and visitors watch them leave the nest at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach. See story below. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY will partner with a family and community to build at least one home in Ocean View, probably breaking ground next June, according to West Hawai`i Executive Director Patrick Hurney. The house lot is secure and family, who will contribute their own sweat equity in order to own the home, has been chosen, he said.

Proceeds from Habitat for Humanity's ReStore support the organization's
efforts to eliminate poverty housing.

      Donations of money and supplies are being taken. Habitat, founded by Pres. Jimmy Carter, is a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating, and preserving homes. It advocates for fair and just housing policies and provides training and access to resources in order to improve lives of families and help them get back on their feet. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety.
      Habitat operates a ReStore in Kona at 73-4161 Ulu Wini Place. Residents can support Habitat by donating gently used home improvement products or purchasing items previously donated.
      For more information and photos and to donate, see habitatwesthawaii.org.

HAWAI`I BIGEYE TUNA FISHERY has reopened. National Marine Fisheries Service had closed the fishery two months ago because fishermen had caught the annual quota. According to an Associated Press story in Honolulu Star-Advertiser, NMFS instituted a rule that allows fishermen to report some of their catch as from the Northern Mariana Islands. 

      “Arbitrary quotas not linked to conservation objectives kept our boats tied at the docks,” said Kitty Simonds, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council executive director. “The struggling vessels and small businesses they support accumulated millions of dollars in debt each month, causing untold anxiety for our local fishing community and consumers.”
      David Henkin, an attorney for Earthjustice, said, “What the fisheries service has been doing in response to industry pressure is absolutely the wrong thing for consumers who want to have sustainable food and food to put on the table for their children and their children’s children. And really, ultimately it’s not the right thing to do for longliners themselves if they want to continue that tradition in their families.”

      See staradvertiser.com.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

Keiki got a close encounter with honu `ea before Hawksbill
Turtle Recovery Project personnel released the hatchlings.
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie 

HAWAI`I ISLAND HAWKSBILL Turtle Recovery Project successfully opened a nest at Punalu`u yesterday. Keiki from local schools, other Ka`u residents and visitors looked on as project manager Lauren Kurpita and others helped the honu `ea escape their shells and deep nest. Students examined the hatchlings up close in containers before setting them off on their journey to the Pacific, where they will live out the rest of their lives munching on sponges and other treats.

      Honu `ea come ashore only to nest, with confirmed sites from Ka`u into Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park at Awili Point, Pohue Bay, Kawa, Punalu`u, Kamehame, Halape and `Apua Point. More than 90 percent of the nests statewide are found on this island.
      Volunteers who would like to help monitor and protect nests can contact Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park at 985-6090 or email HAVO_Turtle_Project@nps.gov. Report people harming sea turtles to 974-6208 and dead, sick or injured sea turtles to 327-7780.

      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

“MAUNA LOA IS NOT ERUPTING,” Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported in its current update on the status of the world’s largest active volcano. HVO is providing weekly updates following its elevation of Mauna Loa’s Volcano Alert Level from Normal to Advisory on Thursday, Sept. 17. Scientists based the level on long-term trends in both earthquake and deformation monitoring data.

HVO is keeping a close watch on Mauna Loa after raising
its alert level one month ago. Photo from USGS

      The seismicity rate is elevated above background but at a lower weekly rate than reported in mid- to late-summer. Earthquakes occurred beneath Mauna Loa’s upper Southwest Rift Zone at depths less than eight miles. Deformation data are still consistent with inflation of magma reservoirs beneath Mauna Loa’s summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone.
      Mauna Loa rises gradually to 13,681 feet above sea level. Its long submarine flanks descend an additional three miles below sea level to the ocean floor. The ocean floor directly beneath Mauna Loa is, in turn, depressed by the volcano’s great mass another five miles. This places Mauna Loa’s summit about 56,000 feet above its base.
      Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since its first well documented historical eruption in 1843. Its most recent eruption was in 1984.
      For more information on Mauna Loa and its hazards, see the USGS Fact sheet available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3104/fs2012-3104.pdf.

      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

Gov. and Mrs. Ige celebrated Hawai`i's thirty-year sister-city relationship
with Quangdong Province, China. Photo from Office of the Governor

GOV. DAVID IGE and First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige returned from a trip to Japan and China on Wednesday, Oct. 14. They traveled with a delegation from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism to promote economic development, renewable energy cooperation and international student exchange. 

      While there, the governor and Mrs. Ige participated in celebrations of the 30th anniversary of sister-relations with Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Guangdong Province, China and expressed Hawai`i’s commitment to further strengthen these relationships through educational, cultural and economic exchanges in the years ahead.
      “Hawai`i and Okinawa share many similar characteristics, and I was able to observe how Okinawa’s energy companies and educational institutions are developing programs and initiatives that have global impact,” Gov. Ige said. “The Prefectural Government is also committed to developing a workforce skilled in international relations. Our similarities will continue to unite us as we strive to achieve new models of economic development priorities.”

      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

Hawai`i's Larger Game Birds. Illustration
by H. Douglas Pratt

THE 2015-2016 GAME BIRD HUNTING season opens on Saturday, Nov. 7. With lingering drought impacts in many parts of the state, Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife biologists are predicting a below average season of bird hunting.
      The fall game bird hunting season will run through Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. A valid hunting license and a game bird stamp are required for all game bird hunting on public and private lands.
      Kapapala Ranch Cooperative Game Management Area and Kapapala Forest Reserve will be open on Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays for the entire game bird season.
      Kipuka ‘Ainahou will be open on weekends and state holidays throughout the game bird hunting season. Special permits are required and available from the DOFAW offices in Hilo. Hunters are to avoid nene geese that are in the area. Mammal hunting in this area is closed from Nov. 1 through February.
      Pohakuloa Training Area will be at the direction of the Department of Defense, subject to training schedule. Hunters can call the Pohakuloa hunter’s hotline at 969-3474 for information on hunting days, open areas and access routes.
      Further information may be obtained by contacting DOFAW’s Hilo office at 974-4221.
      Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

TOMORROW IS KA`U PLANTATION DAYS. The fifth annual event takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. The 2015 theme is For the Good Times. 

      The events begins with the arrival of the sugar cane truck and pa`u parade of horses and riders bedecked in lei, colors and costumes representing each island.

A cane haul truck opens festivities tomorrow at Ka`u Plantation Days.
Photo by Julia Neal

     The parade starts at 9 a.m. at Pahala Community Center and travels down Maile Street to Old Pahala Clubhouse, with emcee Clyde Silva. Derrick Andrade will drive a decorated sugar cane truck that hauled sugar from the fields to the mill in Pahala until the plantation closing in 1996.
      A mounted pa`u court with Queen Lorilee Lorenzo will follow. Walkers and riders will include representatives of the many ethnic groups who built the agricultural community of Ka`u, which has evolved from sugar plantations to ranching, macadamia and coffee orchards and food and tea farms. Educational groups such as Friends of Ka`u Libraries and Ka`u Rural Health Community Association will participate.

KAHUKU UNIT OF HAWAI`I Volcanoes National Park offers free programs this weekend.
      Participants explore Kahuku’s rich geologic history, traverse the vast 1868 lava flow and see different volcano features and formations tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on a guided, easy-to-moderate hike. They will also learn to identify many parts of Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone.
      People and Lands of Kahuku, Sunday at 9:30 a.m., is a moderate two-mile, three-hour guided hike that loops through varied landscapes to explore the human history of Kahuku. 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 Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Participants learn about the powerful natural forces at work here and how people have adapted to, shaped and restored this land.

      Call 985-6011 for more information.

Information for homeowners with septic systems is available
later this month. Image from HDOH

HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Wastewater Branch and Safe Drinking Water Branch’s Groundwater Protection Program are joining together to provide free onsite disposal system information. Homeowners with septic systems are invited to attend. Participants learn how to determine if they have a septic system, how to locate the system and provide proper operation and maintenance. 

      Hawai`i Island sessions are in Kona on Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Kealakehe School Library and in Hilo on Thursday, Oct. 29 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Aupuni Center.
      Maximum enrollment is 50 per session. Registration information is provided at health.hawaii.gov/wastewater/home/training.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

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