Author Archives: Leo Azambuja

Maunaloa Loses Emergency Siren

Friday, August 10th, 2007

The bottom of the fallen siren was covered with rust. Arce blamed the rust on the salty breeze. At the Ranch’s office, O’Keefe thought the weather contributed to the accident. “We’ve been having some heavy rains lately,” she said.

The pole appeared to remain in good shape. But snapped wires were hanging from the top, and an antenna was bent, probably from being hit during the siren’s fall.

It took Arce and another MCPW worker less than 10 minutes to remove the fallen siren. A backhoe easily picked up the massive siren and loaded it in the back of a dump truck. It will be up to the Hawaii State Civil Defense now to replace the siren.

Judging by the last incident, Maunaloa might have to wait a while for a new siren. The East End pole that fell over last February hasn’t been replaced yet. Arce said HSCD would normally hire an independent contractor, but no one on Molokai is qualified for the job.

Norman Ogasawara, the HSCD Assistant Telecommunications Officer, said he will be coming from Oahu on Wednesday, August 15 to assess the situation. “We’ll try to get it (the siren) up as soon as possible,” he said. However, the East End siren replacement is ahead of the Maunaloa siren on the HSCD list of priorities on Molokai. “We are working on that one (East End siren) first before we do anything,” Ogasawara said.

Molokai Landfill Under Fire

Friday, August 10th, 2007

By Léo Azambuja

Molokai Landfill shut down last week Monday after an independent contractor came across more than100 pieces of unexploded military ordnance while removing scrap metal from the landfill.

On Wednesday an army Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit from Oahu cleared the artillery from the landfill and exploded it in a private quarry. The landfill reopened Thursday.

The State Department of Health (DOH) Deputy Director for the Environmental Health Administration, Laurence Lau, said “the landfill should not be receiving ordnance or other hazardous materials.” Molokai Landfill does not “have a permit to treat or dispose hazardous waste,” he said. 

Even before the ordnance was discovered, Molokai Landfill administration ran into trouble. Maui County and the landfill have been under scrutiny because of alleged mismanagement. Issues include improper disposal of heavy metal and old car batteries.

DOH Communications Director Janice Okubo said Maui County was having difficulties in finding a contractor that could clear the scrap metal in the landfill.

Schnitzer Steel Hawaii, the company in charge of clearing the scrap metal, won a county bid last February to remove and recycle scrap metal from the landfill.

“We were happy that they (Schnitzer Steel) are taking this action to clear away all that metal,” Okubo said. “But I guess that one of the results was that they found that ordnance there.”

Environmental watchdog Carroll Cox said that in 2004, American Technological Institute (ATC) was hired by the army to clean up the ordnance from the Papohaku Ranchland Bombing Target, on West Molokai.

Cox provided copies of a document showing ATC hired Boswell Trucking to remove “scrap and/or explosive contaminated metal” from Papohaku. The document states the ordnance was “removed and properly disposed of at the Molokai Landfill on February 27, 2004.”

Gordon Naoele, who owns Makoa Trucking, said he bought Boswell Trucking in 2002. He said he changed his company’s name in 2004.

Naoele said ATC was responsible for the clean up. He said he was hired to pick up the cargo, transport it to the landfill and dump it there. Naoele said ATC assured him they “were going to take care of everything, make sure it was not explosive, everything was going to be scrap metal.”

A receipt, also provided by Cox, showed signatures from a Papohaku Bombing Target senior supervisor and from a quality control specialist certifying that 19,000 lbs of metal scrap residue were properly inspected, and  were inert and/or free of explosives or related materials.

Cox said Maui County is “littered” with solid waste mismanagement. He said Molokai Landfill is operating without a permit for at least ten years. When the old landfill closed down it was also running improperly, according to him.

Okubo denied that the landfill was operating without a permit. She said the landfill is operating under the old landfill permit while a new application is being processed. Meanwhile, the landfill has to comply with all of the old permit requirements, Okubo said. She wasn’t able to say how long the application process would take.

Okubo said the DOH had been focusing on Maui, where the county built the Phase IV landfill without a permit. She said the DOH took enforcement action and required Maui County to pay a fine. “They now have an active permit,” Okubo said.

Okubo said since most of the problems on Maui have been solved, “the focus has been on Molokai Landfill and clearing away all the scrap metal piles.”

Cox was skeptical that all the ordnance would be cleared from the landfill. He said that when the ordnance was delivered to the landfill, an attendant told the truckers where to dump it. A bulldozer then spread the ordnance and covered it, according to Cox. “There’s a great potential that there will be other unexploded ordnance there,” he said.

Apparently, the ordnance disposal was old news to some Molokai residents. Building contractor Lloyd Inouye said he visited the dump with his son only a few days after the ordnance was dumped there. “There was a big container there, the doors were open and there was stuff (military ordnance) all over the place,” he said.

Inouye described the pieces pouring out of the container as old artillery looking like World War II ammunition.

Inouye said it’s common to see garbage in Molokai waters from Army training. He said he has been to some spots in the ocean, in chest-high waters, and found disposed pieces of artillery.  

Paddling to glory, Molokai style

Friday, August 10th, 2007

By Léo Azambuja

Molokai outrigger canoe paddlers came back from the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship Regatta, held on Kauai this past weekend, steeped in glory. Three Molokai clubs competed in 17 different races, placing well overall.

Molokai clubs competed in age divisions ranging from 12 to 55 years old. Everyone did excellent. On the Women 55 race, Wa’akapaemua Club nearly won, taking the silver. The 16-year-old boys from Kukui O Molokai Club pulled their weight, bringing home the third place.  

But Molokai’s pride and joy in the tournament were the Wa’akapaemua Girls 13. Last year they took first place in the Girls 12 race. This year the teenagers bumped up an age division and were still the team to beat.

“I was scared before my race,” Kiani Dudoit said. She and her team stayed at Hanalei Canoe Club hale, where they were able to meet some opponents before the race. “This one girl had massive arms,” she said. “I asked her how old she was, and she said 13.”

After the race, Kiani and the girl with the “massive arms” cried, but for different reasons. Kiani has been paddling for four years. On her first state championship three years ago, her team nailed the 6^th place. The following year, she came home as the champion. Last week she and her team successfully defended their title.

Jasmine Borden paddled with Kiani in the winning crew. She was also part of last year’s winning crew. She said all the girls were crying after the race.

Jasmine said she didn’t even know that she had won the race, until she looked at the Molokai supporters and saw them running and screaming. The 2^nd place team came only one second behind Jasmine’s team.

Twin sisters Lynn and Leigh Dudoit competed in the Girls 12 race. Leigh steered her team to an excellent 4^th place. The twins have been paddling for 3 years, but it was their first time competing in States.

Paddling for the fourth time in a state championship, Kevin Dudoit raced twice in this year’s championship. He placed 7^th in the Boys 14, and 9^th and Boys 15.  It’s also the fourth year he has been paddling outrigger canoes.

Kevin’s teammate in the Boys 14 race, Ryan Dudoit, started paddling less than a year ago.

The large amount of Dudoit family members involved in paddling is family tradition. Mervin Dudoit, 65, started paddling over 40 years ago. He said he competed in the Molokai-Oahu race for the first time in 1963, when only 10 or 11 canoes competed. He competed in the race six more times after that.

Perhaps one of the most amazing things about Uncle Merv is the way he and his team used to practice. They used heavy paddles, which were the standard type at his time. They also had to improvise. “We never had enough paddles,” he said. Some of the team members had to use small shovels to paddle with.

The old boats were also something for the record books. “When we were paddling … we had a plywood canoe, flat bottom,” Uncle Merv said. “I no kid you, plywood.” 

Many say Uncle Merv’s son, Mervin Jr., is among the best steersmen in Hawaii. But Uncle Merv’s daughter, Tanya Koholoa, also deserve praise. She is the coach who brought the winning team to victory this and last year.

Next year, Auntie Tanya expects her girls to come on top again. “They are very dedicated and disciplined,” she said.

If Kiani’s life goes as she plans, she will keep the Dudoit family tradition alive. “I’m going to coach one day,” she said.

Most of the children who competed in the States have never been to Kauai. They were amazed by the beauty of the island. They said the water was beautiful. They jumped from Hanalei Pier, paddled up the river, and just hang around the water. “The whole time we were there we just swam,” Kiani said.

Hanalei Canoe Club made sure the children had a great time. They stayed at the club’s hale, which is by Hanalei River. Club members even cooked for young Molokai paddlers. “A lot of food!” Lynn said.

Wa’akapaemua Club participated in 11 races, and came home with the 5^th place overall in the AA division.

Kukui O Molokai Club competed in four races and took 7^th place overall in the A division. Its best result was 3^rd place in the Boys16 race.

Molokai Club competed in two races, tying for 19^th place overall in the A division. But Molokai Club had a stronger showing than its overall placement suggests. They took 8^th place in Girls 18 race and 13^th place in the Men 50 race. 

With the confidence of a veteran, the young Kiani said she plans to win again next year. She said she wouldn’t do anything different. “We already train super hard,” she said.

Auntie Tanya thanks Waikiki Surf Club and Keahiakahoe Club for letting Molokai’s clubs use their koa canoes. “That is really nice, because those boats cost up to $60,000,” she said. Clubs competing in State regatta races must use koa canoes. No team on Molokai has one of those canoes.

The children thank Auntie Tanya, Mikiala Pescaia and Tiana Levi for their coaching and support throughout their practices and competitions. They also thank Hanalei Canoe Club members for their extended aloha.

Sharper Vision for Molokai Residents

Friday, August 3rd, 2007

Digging up the future through the past

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Hawaiians used to cultivate clams in fishponds, but this tradition faded a long time ago. A young Molokai wahine is trying to revive this old subsistence practice by doing scientific research in one of the island’s fishponds.

Nicole Tachibana was “born and raised on Molokai.” She left the island years ago to attend University of Hawaii at Hilo, but her heart never left. When an internship opportunity came up, the marine science major chose a program that would benefit her home-island.

The Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES) offered her a chance to research the viability of bivalve cultivation in Molokai’s fishponds. PIPES, a program at the Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center (PACRC) at UH Hilo, sent Tachibana to Molokai, where she has done extensive research on clams and oysters in the Keawanui Fishpond.

Tachibana researched books about Molokai’s fishponds, surveyed a few spots, and interviewed some people. “Most people I interviewed said there were a lot (of clams), but not too much anymore,” she said.

But the bulk of her work was physical labor. Armed with a shovel and a plastic basket, she spent several days digging up the mud in the Keawanui Fishpond. “It’s kinda hard,” she said. “I’m by myself everyday.”

While there were lots of shells, she found a species of clam and a species of oyster still alive in the fishpond. She said the clams were possibly of Japanese origin; and the oysters were native, but found elsewhere.

The results of Tachibana’s research can be beneficial for many on Molokai. She said PACRC plans to follow through by attempting to start a bivalve aquaculture on Molokai based on Tachibana’s findings. She is focusing her research on the bivalves in the fishponds, and at the same time assessing native Hawaiian methods of aquaculture.

The PIPES program concentrates in programs related to the study of natural resources of Hawaii and the Pacific region. The program benefits mostly local students, especially those of Hawaiian ancestry.

Walter Ritte, from the Hawaiian Learning Center, and Maria Haws, from PACRC, are Tachibana’s mentors in the project.

Volleyball Tournament a Success for All

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

“This is so much fun,” Auntie Judy said after watching an extended play full of bloopers. Her daughter’s team ended up losing the point, but the whole team laughed like children, recomposed themselves and kept on playing.

In the end the string of games may have taken a toll on Soljah, as they lost the final game to Us. After the game, still smiling, Caparida-Schnakenberg joked saying she could already tell her body would be sore the next day.

Each participant in the tournament paid a $10 entry fee that goes toward the MHS girls varsity program. Although attendance was free, the public also chipped in money by purchasing raffle tickets. Prizes included gas, supermarket vouchers and, in true Molokai style, a few watermelons.

Besides raising money for the team’s travels statewide, the event gave the girls an opportunity to gain experience. “Six of the girls have never competed in a live tournament,” said MHS girls volleyball head coach Matthew Helm.

Helm is still choosing the girls who will travel to Kauai to play in the Kauai Challenge tournament August 8-12. The next stop after Kauai will be the Iolani Classic Invitational held August 16-19, on Oahu. After these two pre-season tournaments, the season will kick off at the end of August. Helm asked the public to support the team whenever possible by attending the games.

Ualapu`e Fishpond restoration efforts stall

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

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