Author Archives: Jessica Ahles

Chinese New Year with the Chungs

Friday, February 7th, 2014

Chinese New Year with the Chungs

“Kung Hee Fat Choy,” meaning “congratulate you with prosperity,” is how you say Happy New Year, said Mrs. Chung with outstretched arms, cheerfully handing festive treats and gifts to visitors.

“It is a very inspiring saying,” she said. “It reminds us how lucky we are to be Chinese and to have this tradition to observe.”

For Mrs. Chung and her husband Mel, this time of the season means good food, good company and a time to celebrate their heritage. Red and gold lanterns, banners and decorative firecrackers adorned their business, Shop 2 & Beauty Salon. Guests were welcomed with Chinese music and lucky candies, and left with knowledge in rifle history and best wishes, starting the New Year off with a bang.…

Caring for Kalaupapa’s Cats

Friday, February 7th, 2014

Caring for Kalaupapa’s Cats

Feral cats living on the isolated Kalaupapa peninsula have become an attribute of the settlement, welcoming visitors and providing companionship for residents by lingering around homes and community buildings. But as the numbers of ferals continue to rise, gathering in colonies of 20 to 30 cats, it creates an environmental hazard to the settlement, according to National Park Service workers.

“In the last few months, a couple people have moved out and the cat colonies [they were feeding] have been abandoned,” said Paul Hosten, a terrestrial ecologist for the National Park Service.“…The health of those cats deteriorates and so they pick up diseases, they fight, they spread illnesses like cat leukemia and the problem becomes a health concern.”…

Kualapu`u School 5K Race Series

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

Kualapu`u School 5K Race Series

Kualapu`u School News Release

Kualapu`u Charter School announces the first of six 5K fun-raising races to be held this Saturday, Feb. 8.  All interested runners, joggers and walkers are invited to come to Coffees of Hawaii this Saturday to race.  Registration begins at 8 a.m.  Event start time is 8:30 a.m. The $10 adult registration fee will be used to send a team of Kualapu`u School runners to Oahu for the Honolulu 5K for Kids, slated for April 27.  There is no entry fee for students.

The six races in the series will be used as qualifying races for Kualapu`u School’s six member team that competes on Oahu.…

`Aha Ho`okuku `Olelo

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

Hui Hoʻola ʻOlelo News Release

Welina e ko Molokai, e na makamaka o ia `aina momona nei.

In celebration of Mahina Aloha `Olelo (Hawaiian Language Month), February, we will be hosting our first `Aha Ho`okuku `Olelo (Hawaiian Language Competition) on Molokai. This event will be held on Friday, Feb. 28 at Kulana `Oiwi Halau. It is open to all levels of Hawaiian Language speakers. There will be two categories: Ho`opa`ana`au (Memorized Verse) and Uluwale (Impromptu). You may choose to enter in just one category or both. Levels will be separated by grades for youth and by skill for adult entries.

Our theme, “He ali`i ka `aina, he kauwa ke kanaka,” honors our ali`i as well as our `aina of Molokai.…

Zachary Helm: A Career of Building Services

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

Zachary Helm: A Career of Building Services

After spending more than 30 years building dozens of programs and facilities while serving as the island’s first Department of Parks and Recreation District Supervisor, Zachary Helm has retired. From Kilohana to Maunaloa, softball leagues to youth programs, community centers to playgrounds, Helm has left a huge mark on Molokai during his career.

Among his biggest accomplishments, Helm counts the building of a $1.4 million baseyard for the Molokai Department of Parks and Rec at Duke Maliu Park, which now houses a maintenance shop, vehicle and equipment storage, office space and a staff area. Before its completion in 2010, the department has no centralized headquarters and lacked adequate storage.…

Veterans Corner

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

Veterans Corner

Community Contributed

By Jesse Church

Aloha my fellow veterans and residents of Molokai, old Jesse here with the veterans news. All of you football fans know that the NFL just played the Pro Bowl in Honolulu on Sunday, Jan. 26. A good friend Scotty Schaefer and his wife Lynette decided to go to the game, along with their son Masi, who lives on Oahu, and myself.

We began to plan the details, and I called the NFL offices in New York City and spoke with Terry Wooten in the special events department. He was great, and set us up with four tickets in the handicapped section.…

Hundreds Testify on GMO and Pesticide Bill

Wednesday, February 5th, 2014

More than 100 Molokai residents sat all day outside Molokai’s county offices last Tuesday, waiting to testify on a proposed Maui County bill aimed at regulating pesticide use and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

As currently written, the bill would establish mandatory disclosure requirements for commercial agricultural companies using certain quantities of pesticides, create buffer zones around schools, other public areas and bodies of water, and require public notification before pesticide applications. It also calls for the county to complete studies on the possible environmental and health impacts of large-scale agricultural companies that use pesticides and GMOs.

Introduced by Maui Council Member Elle Cochran, the bill resembles one passed into law on Kauai in November.…

Molokai Farmers’ Half-Court Shot for $10,000

Wednesday, February 5th, 2014

Rawlins Chevron and Molokai Drugs News Release

Some lucky fan will win $10,000 if s/he can make a shot from the half-court at Molokai High School’s Barn.

The “Molokai Farmers’ half-court shot at $10,000” is a fundraiser for the Molokai High athletics department. One randomly chosen ticket owner (age 18 or older) will attempt the shot on Friday, Feb. 7, at halftime of the boys’ varsity game against St. Anthony School. The fundraiser is sponsored by Shirley Rawlins of Rawlins Chevron and David Mikami of Molokai Drugs.

Tickets are currently being sold at $5 each at Molokai General Store and Rawlins Chevron.…

Bill to Address Radiation Concerns

Wednesday, February 5th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Jade Bruhjell

Hawaii, a close neighbor of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, sits poised to be further enveloped by radioactive elements brought by air and Pacific Ocean currents from Japan. Being a new sort of disaster, we find ourselves stunned and confused with conflicting reports, and after over two years, still unable to fathom how to cope with a continuing and escalating catastrophe here in our Island chain. Sea life and drinking water are two of the most affected aspects, and on Molokai, fishing is such a part of daily life that we need to think seriously about current levels of radiation.…

Power Outages Unexplainable

Wednesday, February 5th, 2014

Maui Electric Company representatives visited Molokai last week to discuss a series of power outages on the island over the last year and explain their cause — or rather, to call them unexplainable.

There were 16 major outages on Molokai between Jan. 6 and Dec. 22, 2013, according to Joe Kentz, manager of Maui Electric’s transmission and distribution department. Three of those, not including a fourth in January of this year, have no identifiable cause.

“We really can’t explain what’s going on,” said Kentz. “I’ve been in this industry for 43 years and I’ve always been able to find the cause of a problem… We will find cause.…