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Author Archives: Dan Murphy

Restaurant to Set Sail in September

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Restaurant to Set Sail in September

has a really great attitude about the community,” Johnson said. “I think he’ll give the place the food product it needs to succeed.”

What’s cooking?
Abell’s commitment to the community doesn’t stop with the decor. He plans to get as much food from Molokai vendors as possible, including shrimp, fish, herbs and fresh produce.

The menu will feature a mix of local favorites, burgers and dishes from Abell’s own background. Growing up in central California, Abell said he has always been around Mexican food and plans to create a Mexican menu to serve once a week.

“I want to keep the prices down so that people can afford to eat here a couple of times a week without having to break the bank,” Abell said.

Meet the Owner
While Abell may be new to Molokai, he is a veteran in the restaurant business. He owned four restaurants in central California and has been a consultant for many others during his career. He won a handful of awards on the mainland, including Best New Bistro and the Modesto Bee’s Favorite Outdoor Dining in California’s central valley. Most of the places he has worked have been more upscale, but Abell said he is excited about the laid back atmosphere at Paddler’s.

The life-long Californian arrived in Molokai in June, just as Paddler’s was closing. He originally came to the island to work as an assistant general manager at Hotel Molokai. Before he even arrived on the island, Abell heard about the restaurant closing and his interest started to grow.

“I heard in May that it was going to shut down,” he said. “Ever since, I have been working on trying to get my hands on it.”

Three months later, he now has the keys in his hand. Abell said he is still getting used to his new home, but plans on sticking around for a long time. So far, Abell said, his biggest challenge has been getting used to saying pupus instead of appetizers.

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Farmers bounce back after tough start

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Molokai High goes 2-7 at Ann Kang Invitational
By Dan Murphy

The Molokai High girls’ volleyball team got off to a rocky start last weekend, going 2-7 at the Ann Kang Invitational Tournament on Oahu. The Farmers dropped their first six matches before regrouping and finishing with some success.

“We really beat ourselves,” Molokai head coach Matt Helm said. “We made a lot of errors the first couple days. It was just preseason; it was them learning how to play with each other and getting used to playing against top competition.”

The Ann Kang Invitational featured some of the best teams in the state as well as powerhouse schools from the mainland. The Farmers jumped in head first with matches against Mater Dei School from California and Punahou from Oahu. Punahou ended up going 8-1 and finishing second overall in the tournament.

After two quick losses, Molokai seemed to be turning things around late in the first day against Kaiser High School from Honolulu in their final match of the day. The Farmers were leading late in both games, but could not close out either and fell to 0-3.

“That was just a game where the girls learned they had to finish. We had that game and let it get away,” Helm said.

The team lost three more in the next two days of the tournament before Helm sat everyone down for a meeting.

“I told them in a very stern way that while we want to gain experience, we can play with these teams. We came all the way here to win and they need to stop playing so tentatively,” Helm said.

Afterwards, the girls held a team meeting of their own. Whatever they said, it worked. Later that afternoon, the Farmers cruised to a win over Mid-Pacific and were placed in the bronze bracket.

The Farmers won once more before falling to Maunaloa with scores of 25-14 and 25-18 in the finals of the bronze bracket.

Helm said the team learned a lot during the tournament and now has a better idea of what they need to work on to improve. The team will now have two weeks to make adjustments before the regular season gets started. Helm said they will be ironing out their playbook while continuing to work on individual skills during that time.

“There was a lot of confusion on the court at times, so we need to take care of that,” he said.

The Farmers open up their regular season on Sept. 3 when they travel to Maui for the weekend to take on Maui Prep, Seabury and Ka’ahumanu.

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Farmers open season with high hopes

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Girl's Volleyball travels to Ann Kang Tournament on Oahu

By Dan Murphy

The Molokai High School girl’s volleyball team will officially kick off their 2009 season this week at the Ann Kang Invitational Tournament on Oahu.

“It’s a pretty big tournament. We were pretty lucky to get invited,” head coach Matt Helm said. “I’m very optimistic about our chances. I think we can compete with anybody right now.”

The Ann Kang Invite attracts some of the top high school volleyball teams in the country. This year the tournament features 16 teams – four from California and the rest from Hawaii. This is the third time Molokai has been invited to play.

The Farmers will face off against Mater Dei High School from Santa Ana, Cali. and Punahou High School. Punahou went undefeated in the regular season in 2008 and lost in the state championship game.

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Fruitful Grant Money

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Molokai High receives $5,000 for hydroponic farming

By Dan Murphy

Molokai High School students enrolled in the Natural Resources Academy will be bringing a new fruit to the island this year. Last spring, the school applied for and won a $5,000 grant from Ke Alahele Funds that will allow them to grow strawberries hydroponically.

The 12 students in the program will use the money to build a hydroponic system designed to grow strawberries using water instead of soil. The project will give the group experience in the process of growing and selling crops. They will do market research, as well as build, grow and eventually sell their strawberries.

“We decided on strawberries because no one currently grows them here, so we thought it would be good to have a new product,” Karen Harada said. Harada teaches the languages arts branch of the Natural Resources Academy (NRA).

The NRA program was started at Molokai High School six years ago to help provide a good background for students looking to make a career using natural resources. Along with language arts, the three other branches of the NRA are business/technology, science and agriculture. The students will be working on various aspects of the project in all four classes.

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New Kilohana Principal Living His Dream

Friday, August 14th, 2009

By Dan Murphy

When Richard Stevens first came to Hawaii to teach in 1989, he dreamed that he would one day live on Molokai. After 20 long years, Stevens’ dream finally came true when he was named the new principal of Kilohana Elementary School this summer.

Kilohana was also his dream school. Ten years ago, Stevens met former Kilohana principal Stephen Petro at a conference and immediately knew that was the place for him.

“I was just so impressed by all the teachers, by the idea of a school of 100 [students] where everybody knew everybody,” he said. “I always just thought it was a fantasy, I never really thought I’d get a chance to do it.”

The school has gone through a string of principals since Petro. The most recent, Denise Kelly, was hired as the new principal for Molokai High School this summer. When the Kilohana position opened up, Stevens jumped at the opportunity.

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Paddler’s Inn Changes Hands

Friday, August 14th, 2009

By Dan Murphy
 
After abruptly closing earlier this summer, Paddler’s Inn is preparing to reopen its doors to Molokai under new management.

The restaurant’s previous owners, Robert and Sharon Spruiell, decided to close the restaurant and bar in early June because they were struggling to run it from their home in Arizona. According to Paddler’s property owner Jerry Johnson, the Spruiells officially turned over the building’s lease and keys to Darrin Abell on Aug. 5.

Abell comes to Molokai from Modesto, Cali where he previously worked in the restaurant business. He hopes to have the restaurant open for business by Sept. 1, Johnson said.

“I think he’ll be really good. I think he’ll give the place the food product it needs to succeed,” Johnson said. “He also has a really great attitude about the community, which is what I was looking for.”
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A Walk to Remember

Friday, August 14th, 2009

A Walk to Remember

Community gathers for cancer awareness.



Photo and caption by Dan Murphy

Molokai cancer survivors present an American Cancer Society banner at the opening ceremony of Friday night’s Relay For Life. This is the second year that the relay to raise money and awareness for cancer has been held on Molokai. Debbie Davis, who organized the event, said over 25 teams and 300 people were signed up for the 12-hour walkathon that lasted until 6 a.m. Last year the event raised over $25,000 and even more walkers signed up this time around.

Several groups came out for the event, including the Molokai Boy Scouts troop and activists fighting against tobacco and underage drinking. There were also many walkers who participated to honor the memory of family members who have lost their battle with cancer. Henry Paleka and his sister, Lulu Linker, planned to have over 50 members of their extended family walking during the night to remember their brother.

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