Author Archives: Devin Hogan

The 2006 Crowning of Miss Molokai

Friday, December 15th, 2006

The first competition category was swimwear/sportswear. First runner-up in the Ms. division, Natasha Kamake`eaina-Tom, won the category with an elegant but simple white two-piece. The Ms. Outstanding Teen group, which is an under 17 category, first featured Kylee Dudoit-English in full dirtbike gear, complete with jumpsuit, helmet and boots. Terina Naki came next, ready for volleyball practice, and first runner up Desiree Cavalar posed in her best golf gear.

Between the events, organizer Le`a Tupola presented a sash to Chelsea Simon as Ms. Molokai Junior Teen. Simon takes the pageantry and life coaching classes that Tupola offers free to local residents.

Each of the five contestants danced hula in the talent contest and the eveningwear category finished off the presentation part of the competition. Afterwards, special guests Ms. Kona Coffee and Ms. Hawaii sang and danced respectively. Last year’s winner, Leimana Ritte-Camara, performed a hula to a chant.

At the end of the night, the five ladies gathered for the final question. Ms. Hawaii asked each contestant about hobbies or their platforms. The platform is the subject contests want to educate the public about. Tupola said winning the pageant gives you a “year of service to promote your platform.”

Kamake`eaina-Tom, first runner-up in the Ms. Division, chose teen pregnancy as her platform. Conley, the winner, chose dental health, which fits in with her career goal to become a dental hygienist.
The crowning ceremony that evening brought tears of joy and applause from the audience.

Event organizer, Tupola, grew up with an auntie in the pageantry business and it became a hobby his first year at Kamehameha Schools. He knew a few girls in the Ms. Hawaii pageant and helped them prepare. Last year he decided to bring back the Ms. Molokai pageant after a 22-year hiatus. “Next year will be even bigger and better,” he said.

Tupola offers free classes in pageantry and life and business skills every Saturday at 11:00 at Molokai Outdoor Activities. For more information visit his website at www.kuponoui.com.

Las Vegas Challenge offers extra incentives to stay healthy

Monday, December 4th, 2006

The hospital measured patients’ Hemoglobin A1c lab values in November and compared the results to initial readings from August. A Hemoglobin A1c blood test averages the blood glucose level over several months. The closer patients stay to average (six percent), the less of a risk of diabetes-related complications. For each tenth of a percent lost, patients were awarded points. The group with the most combined points won the contest.

The second place group of Lita Lin Kee, Sylvia Pabalan and Beatrice Moran also lowered their hemoglobin A1c values to normal levels and won gift certificates to the Kualapu`u Cookhouse. Alice Smith won a certificate for acquiring the most points in the contest.

Besides offering another incentive to stay healthy, Molokai General Hospital used the contest to increase awareness and enrollment in its Diabetes Care Management Program, said Jeanette Bince, the Diabetes Nurse Educator and director of the Challenge.

The program, certified by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), provides education and ongoing work with physicians to help patients maintain their diabetes. The hospital funded the contest with a grant from the University of Hawaii Department of Native Hawaiian Health. “The grant is for two years, so we’re going to do another one next year,” Bince said.

Native Hawaiians are twice as likely to have diabetes as whites, according to the ADA. The Hawaii Diabetes Association reports Native Hawaiians have higher mortality rates than any other ethnic group in the state. Diabetes rates on Molokai are average with Maui County and the state.

Almost 21 million children and adults in the United States – about seven percent of the population – have diabetes.

Grandparents Day

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Bennett’s back with many Molokai Mugs

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

“I like a pot that shows where it came from,” says Dan Bennett. The Molokai potter makes sure his stoneware shows its sculpting by human hands – doing so gives the glaze a texture.

Bennett will also show where his pottery came from at an exhibition and sale on Dec. 9. For those that make the trek to his home and studio in Kalae, Bennett will give a demonstration “if people ask for one.”

Bennett used to have a sale at least once annually since 1974, the year he came to Molokai to teach math at the high school. However, in 1999 he was evicted from his house and studio in Kipu. He built a new house in Kalae, but did not have a place to work or put his kiln until a recent addition of a studio and bedroom.

The new workspace holds two wheels to build the pots as well as shelves to display the work. It’s a step up from his studio in Kipu, which was little more than a shack that let in the elements.

Now that Bennett is retired he spends quite a bit of time on his hobby. Finished pots and dishes line an entire wall of the studio. Shelves on the other side hold work waiting to be fired in the kiln or to be glazed.

“I try to make honest pots,” he says. “Things you can use.”

One honest pot Bennett has perfected is the Molokai mug. Costing around $10, the bluish mugs have MOLOKAI emblazoned across the front. On either side is a kukui leaf design.

Bennett says that sometimes he’ll make a set of four to six dishes, but when it comes to mugs he may produce up to 20 at a time. “When I run out of things to do I know I can always make more mugs,” he says.

Besides the annual sale from his house in Kipu, Bennett’s pottery has been sold at Big Wind Kite Factory, Hotel Molokai and the R.W. Meyer Sugar Mill among other places. But, Bennett says, “Selling pots direct is best. You get to build a relationship with the customer. Plus there’s no markup.”

The show and sale take place Saturday, Dec. 9 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bennett’s house in Kalae. Take the Kalae Highway and turn down Kalama Road (Mile 4). Take the second right on Analu Place. For more information call Dan at 567-6585.

Aka`ula School Theft

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006

Aka`ula School teacher Vicky Newberry noticed something wrong as she sat down to use her computer last Tuesday morning. “I went, ‘Oh my gosh,’ and I had that feeling where your heart sinks to bottom of the stomach,” she said. Her month old Macintosh laptop was missing.

Newberry surveyed the situation and found that over the night of Monday, Nov. 20 someone forced open the door to the charter school in Kaunakakai and took two cameras, 21 blank DVDs, two brand new Macintosh laptops, a portable flash hard drive and a plastic jar with a $51 donation to the school.

“It was very specific,” she said. “It’s almost as if they had been in the building before.”

Thanks to help from parents, police recovered Newberry’s laptop on Friday. The other laptop has been located is awaiting identification. “The parents have been so great in helping us out,” said Newberry.

Healthy Baby Contest

Sunday, November 19th, 2006