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Author Archives: Catherine Cluett Pactol

Teachers Speak Out for a Fair Contract

Sunday, November 25th, 2012

Teachers Speak Out for a Fair Contract

Molokai teachers are joining public school educators around Hawaii to raise awareness for their efforts of negotiating a fair contract with the state. Since July 2011, teachers have been working under a contract imposed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, which included wage cuts and higher healthcare premiums. The Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) union has been unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a contract with the state for the past year and a half, and teachers are frustrated with the lack of movement on a new labor agreement.

“We are trying to go through the proper protocols but the governor would prefer to mandate rather than negotiate,” said Tania Manaba-Will, the Kaunakakai Elementary School HSTA representative.…

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Molokai Robotics Bring Home the Gold

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

Molokai Robotics Bring Home the Gold

Molokai robotics students were rewarded for their hard work with a first place finish at the First Lego League district tournament on Maui, Nov. 10. The Molokai Middle School team, the Molokai Golden Eyes — Noah Keanini, Erik Svetin, Caele Manley, Kaitlin DeRouin, Lily Jenkins, and Katy Domingo — were named the Maui County Grand Champions in the competition, pictured here. This year’s theme for competitors was

“Senior Solutions,” and students were challenged to invent technological innovations to improve the quality of life for the elderly. The Molokai Golden Eyes, coached by Kawika Gonzales and Jenn Whitted, will compete in the state championship on Dec.…

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The American Sugar Company and its Kaunakakai Wells

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

The American Sugar Company and its Kaunakakai Wells

Community Contributed

By Arleone Dibben-Young

Eager to begin a sugar plantation after the Feb. 2, 1898 sale of the Molokai Ranch to the new Molokai Ranch Company, director Alfred W. Carter hired the McCandless Brothers partnership to drill test wells in Kaunakakai. Arriving on the Wilder steamer Helene in Kaunakakai with a crew of men and a complete artesian well drilling boring outfit on April 22, 1898, “Kimo” J. S. McCandless immediately commenced setting up the equipment three-quarters of a mile up Kaunakakai Gulch from the ocean.

Two wells were drilled 40 feet apart and 80 to 90 feet deep with an 8-inch casing and were completed by July, then used to irrigate 80 acres of cane planted on the flats below where Manilla Camp stands today.…

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Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa Gets OHA Grant for Outreach

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa Gets OHA Grant for Outreach

Community Contributed

By Valerie Monson, Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa

For many families with ties to Kalaupapa, finding their ancestors who lived in the settlement is like piecing together a puzzle, and many youth today are left in the dark about Kalaupapa’s history. Thanks to a $53,665 grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs awarded to organization Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa, school outreach and the restoration of family ties programs will become possible.

“The ‘Ohana thanks OHA for having confidence in us to help teachers include the history of Kalaupapa in their classrooms and to continue our efforts to assist descendants of the people of Kalaupapa obtain information about their kupuna,” said Clarence “Boogie” Kahilihiwa, President of the `Ohana and a resident of Kalaupapa for more than 50 years.…

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Molokai Elects a New Honorary Mayor

Sunday, November 18th, 2012

Molokai Elects a New Honorary Mayor

Molokai residents put in their two cents for who they felt should become the new Honorary Mayor of Kaunakakai last Saturday, and elected Glenn Davis. Community members voted for kupuna nominees by placing pennies in the bucket of their favorite kupuna at a festival called Ho`olokahi e Mahalo Molokai, organized to celebrate the aloha spirit and service of individuals and nonprofits.

“It’s a great privilege, and I’ll continue to be a nice and helpful guy,” said Davis. He is known on Molokai for helping elderly residents with their groceries, volunteering to pump gas at Hayaku Gas N Go for tourists and locals alike and delivering Molokai Dispatch newspapers around town every week.…

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Honoring Veterans’ Sacrifice

Sunday, November 18th, 2012

Honoring Veterans’ Sacrifice

Molokai veterans and community members gathered last Monday at the new Veterans Center to honor and remember those who have served. The Veterans Day event, held for the first time at the soon-to-be-completed facility, featured a variety of speakers, food and music, and walk-throughs of the center.

Veterans Caring for Veterans Commander Larry Helm said the new center, which will include a museum, office and meeting spaces and a commercial kitchen, is scheduled to be finished early next year.

“This building is for us, but mainly for young vets coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Helm. “Today we honor those who have passed — they’re going to be with us when we open [the center.]…

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Kanemitsu Bakery Permit Reinstated, Open Tonight

Friday, November 16th, 2012

Kanemitsu Bakery Permit Reinstated, Open Tonight

Kanemitsu Bakery, after having been closed for five months, will be open in time for Thanksgiving this year. The bakery’s permit was reinstated today after the facility passed a Department of Health (DOH) inspection this morning.

Bakery manager Blossom Poepoe said staff will begin baking immediately, with the famed hot bread opening tonight starting at 8:30 p.m.

Inspectors visited the bakery Wednesday and found a few minor sanitation deficiencies, which contractors worked yesterday to correct.

“The improvement is tremendous [since the permit was suspended],” said Peter Oshiro, DOH environmental health program manager, who flew in for the Wednesday inspection.

While most of the violations had been corrected, DOH inspector Dean Kagawa said today he would reinstate the permit based on the understanding that several aspects of the facility, including the floors and some areas of the ceiling, would continue to be repaired.…

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Honorary Mayors of Kaunakakai

Wednesday, November 14th, 2012

Honorary Mayors of Kaunakakai

Honoring kupuna is one of the age-old traditions that’s part of Molokai’s cultural DNA. One way residents have recognized the service of kupuna is through the election of an Honorary Mayor of Kaunakakai. The tradition has evolved over the past century –it’s been hosted by a variety of organizations, passed down in many versions of oral history and has even been memorialized in a nationally-known song.

Probably the best-known Honorary Mayor was Mitchell “Papa” Pauole in the mid-1900s, a well-loved Molokai resident who embodied the aloha spirit, greeted visitors at the airport, and served the community in many capacities. But the tradition of Honorary Mayor began long before Papa Pauole, according to Halawa resident and cultural practitioner Pilipo Solatorio.…

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Aha Kiole Community Findings Revisited

Wednesday, November 14th, 2012

Community Contributed

(printed in two parts)

By the Aha Kiole o Molokai

American Safari Cruises (ASC) will begin visiting Molokai again beginning this month. In the March 14, 2012 issue of the Dispatch, the Aha Kiole presented its findings from a public survey and moku meetings on ASC and the cruise tour industry on Molokai. The results indicated that the community was interested both in protecting Molokai’s ocean resources and small town character, as well as allowing for some commerce for our island vendors. Residents indicated a desire for management to bring a satisfactory outcome for both vendors and local ocean users.…

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Tobacco Documentary to Screen on Molokai Saturday

Friday, November 9th, 2012

Adrienne Jules Foundation News Release

Tobacco education in Hawaii is getting added inspiration with special screenings of the documentary film “Addiction Incorporated,” a lauded documentary about the duplicity of the tobacco industry. The film is showing around Hawaii this week, including at Kulana Oiwi on Saturday, Nov. 10. The showings are in preparation for the nation-wide anti-smoking campaign on Nov. 15, the Great American Smokeout, when smokers are asked to stop smoking for at least one day.

The documentary film has won critical acclaim for its riveting, true story of the tobacco industry’s lies and its attempt to silence the scientist who blew the whistle on them and testified at the Congressional hearing.…

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