Announcements

Kawela Automobile Accident Ends in Tragedy

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

A 16-year-old Ho`olehua boy has passed away, after being critically injured in a single car crash in Kawela, Molokai. Nakai`imoku Acasio died at Queen's Medical Center from injuries he sustained in the crash.

The accident happened around 4:50 a.m. Saturday.

A resident in the area was awoken by the sound of the crash and called the police.
According to Maui Police report, the vehicle involved was a stolen Pontiac convertible from the Kualapu`u Business Center. The owner has been notified.

Police Captain Jody Singsank said speed may have been a factor in the crash. However, the cause of accident is has not been determined yet, as the investigation is still pending

Three other boys, ages, 14, 15 and 16, from Kualapu`u and Ho`olehua, were passengers in the vehicle. They were taken to Molokai General Hospital in stable condition. They were treated and released.

Clean Up Molokai!

Friday, March 21st, 2008

Recycle program for excess plastic bags.

Friendly Market, Misaki's and Kualapuu Market will be collecting any used/unwanted plastic bags (including ziploc type, soft packaging, dryclean covers, pallet wrap) on Saturday and Monday to ship to recyclers via Walmart.  Walmart will kokua by shipping it out for recycling into lumber, etc. 

PLEASE no "hauna" bags and try to remove any paper labels or tags stuck on.

Upcoming Community Meetings

Saturday, March 8th, 2008

The Governor’s Molokai Community Advisory Council will meet on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 3:00 p.m. at the Kulana O‘iwi, DHHL / OHA Conference Room, 600 Maunaloa Highway, in Kaunakakai. The public is invited.

Michael Formby, deputy director – harbors, Department of Transportation, will update the council on the state’s six-year, $842 million system-wide Harbors Modernization Plan and other issues relating to Hawaii’s harbors and maritime industry.

Anyone requiring special assistance or accommodations to participate at this meeting may call (808) 586-0034. For additional information on Neighbor Island Community Advisory Councils, including meeting minutes and agendas, visit the Governor’s Web site at www.hawaii.gov/gov.

Confirmation Hearing on Molokai

Wednesday, February 27th, 2008

Senators travel to Friendly Isle to receive testimony concerning the appointment of Abbey Mayer to the position of Director of the Office of Planning.

Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008, 11 a.m. at Kulana ‘Oiwi Halau - Molokai

Persons wishing to testify at the Feb. 27 hearing on Molokai should submit testimony no later than 11:00 AM on Tuesday, Feb. 26 via one of the following formats described below.

Late testimony – testifiers should bring 12 copies to the hearing and hand them to the Committee Clerk prior to hearing.  Late testimony will be posted on the legislature's website after the hearing.

·         In person:  1 copy of their testimony to the committee clerk, Room 228, State Capitol.

·         By fax:  Testimony may be faxed if less than 5 pages in length, to the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Office at 586-6659 or 1-800-586-6659 (toll free for neighbor islands), at least 24 hours prior to the hearing.  When faxing, please indicate to which committee the testimony is being submitted and the date and time of the hearing.

·         By Email:  Testimony may be emailed if less than 5 pages in length, to testimony@capitol.hawaii.gov.  Please indicate to which committee the testimony is being submitted and the date and time of the hearing. Email sent to individual offices or any other Senate office will not be accepted. 

If you require special assistance or auxiliary aids or services to participate in the public hearing process (i.e., sign or foreign language interpreter or wheelchair accessibility), please contact the committee clerk 24 hours prior to the hearing so arrangements can be made.

Please note:  Documents made available through the Testimony hyperlink(s) above may not be posted until the start of the hearing.

Public Folder.  A folder labeled “Public Folder” containing the measures and testimonies for the hearing will be available for shared use by members of the public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE COMMITTEE CLERK AT 586-7330. 

Brighter Smiles

Monday, February 18th, 2008

New dentist sets practice in Kaunakakai.

By Léo Azambuja.

Dr. Ron Bloy, DDS, moved to Molokai last January and started practicing last week out of Molokai Community Health Clinic.

It has been an abrupt change for Dr. Bloy. For 19 years he practiced at O’Neill, Nebraska, a small rural community of 3,500 inhabitants. Little less than a year ago Pele’s rage reached Dr. Bloy’s clinic, burning it down in the middle of the night.

In a strange twist of fate, a day before his clinic burned down Dr. Bloy and his wife received in the mail the tickets to a Hawaiian vacation they had been planning. Some of their friends told them that their vacation had gone down the drain. The spirited dentist said otherwise. “We needed a vacation before, and now we really need one.”

Before losing his clinic to a fire, Dr. Bloy said he thought he was going to retire in O’neill. “I began to examine other options,” he said, noting that in the meantime he slowly phased out practice by attending his last clients out of a friend’s clinic.

In October Dr. Bloy saw an ad at the Christian Medical Dental Society, offering a job opportunity on Molokai. The following month he came to the island for an interview, and in December he got offered a job here. “We started packing up two weeks later.”

Dr. Bloy is still adjusting to the island. He rented a place in Kalae, and his wife is joining him in March, bringing their pets, which will have to meet quarantine requirements. Only then he says his place will feel more like home.

The new dentist has been here for only a short period, but the friendly spirit of residents has already got to him. “Everyone has been wonderful,” Dr. Bloy said. “I’m looking forward to become part of the community.” Dr. Bloy, who said he likes to live in small communities, is also interested in getting to know the people and culture of Molokai.

For the time-being Dr. Bloy is only attending to Medicare and self-paying patients. After receiving appropriate licenses he said he will be able to expand his care to patients carrying other types of dental insurance.

Kamehameha Students Teach Molokai Keiki

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

Kamehameha Schools Hawaii Middle School students visited Molokai last week, to participate in an exciting and rewarding service learning project at three of the island’s elementary schools.

“The students learn about giving back to the community, through the legacy of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop,” Kamehameha middle school teacher, Jerelyn Makanui-Yoshida said. “They also realize how important education is, while interacting and engaging the younger students.”

More than 90 eighth graders traveled to Molokai to teach keiki. Divided into three groups, the Kamehameha students created a diverse mix of lessons, with classes in science, reading, and music. They provided instruction at Kilohana Elementary School, Kaunakakai Elementary School, and Kualapu`u Elementary School.

The student mentors and keiki immediately connected with each other in the classroom.

“The kids are so friendly on both sides,” said Kamalu Poepoe, Hawaiian immersion curriculum coordinator at Kualapu`u Elementary School. “It has a great impact on us as teachers. We see the students come in and offer fresh lessons, and we step outside of the box for a little while. There’s a strong feeling of ohana.”

This project has evolved into an annual tradition for Kamehameha Schools Hawaii Middle School and the Molokai community. In addition to the teaching, students also spend time sprucing up area churches and cleaning historical sites, such as the Keawa Nui fishpond. 

“It’s good to let them know that other people care about them,” said Jordan Lacsina, an eighth grade student at Kamehameha Schools Hawaii. “It feels wonderful to share our aloha with the keiki and our ohana on Molokai.”

Kamehameha Schools is a private, educational, charitable trust founded and endowed by the legacy of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.  Kamehameha Schools operates a statewide educational system enrolling more than 6,700 students of Hawaiian ancestry at K-12 campuses on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii and 31 preschool sites statewide.  Thousands of additional Hawaiian learners are served each year through a range of other Kamehameha Schools’ outreach programs, community collaborations and financial aid opportunities in Hawaii and across the continental United States.  

Farewell to Dr. Thomas

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Veterinarian leaving Molokai after 5 weeks serving the community.

It has been said that all that is good doesn’t last; and confirming this, Molokai’s only veterinarian is leaving the island.

Molokai residents – and their pets – have suffered long enough without a permanent veterinarian established on the island, until Dr. Sterling Thomas decided to come over and help out. And that he did with his heart, staying here for five weeks, attending to pets and performing around 50 spay or neuter procedures on cats and dogs island-wide.

But time has come for Dr. Thomas to be with his family in Oregon. He is leaving Feb. 14, just in time to celebrate Valentine’s Day with his wife. He said his experience on Molokai has been nothing short of wonderful, the people here have been very nice and really took the time to make him feel welcome.

Dr. Thomas said he might come back for a couple more weeks, but that will probably be by the end of April or beginning of May.

However, not all is lost for Molokai’s pets in need of tender care, and spay and neutering – Dr. Eileen, who has been coming here from Maui for years may resume practice on Molokai. Dr. Thomas also said that a veterinarian from Oahu, Dr. Tom, may start a practice on Molokai every Sunday.

Other short-term alternative includes a woman veterinarian from Oregon who has volunteered to come to Molokai for one week in March and one week in May, according to Dr. Thomas.

Dr. Thomas said the facility in which he has been working is well equipped and kept, despite not being set for full-scale surgeries. He praised the hard work of Molokai Humane Society board members, which resulted in acquiring the land lease and the facility. With continued proper care, the facility will be able to accommodate the practice of visiting veterinarians, he said.

The need for a permanent veterinarian on Molokai is still dire. Dr. Thomas said he wishes he could have done more. “I haven’t had a slow day,” he said, noting that he even worked on a few weekends.

“There is a six-page-long list of people that I can’t get to,” he said, explaining that those people won’t be able to get their pets spayed or neutered by him.

Perhaps the biggest downside of Dr. Thomas stay on Molokai was the number of puppies he diagnosed as infected with the often-lethal parvovirus. Sadly, he said he saw 15 puppies in four days that were either dead or dying from parvo infection. Since treating infected animals requires hospitalization, and Molokai has no facilities capable of that, “once a dog here gets it, it’s pretty much a death sentence,” Dr. Thomas said.

Parvo is a relatively new disease. It comes from a mutating virus, and was first discovered in Australia in 1979. It has since spread to all four corners of the world. Symptoms often include diarrhea and vomiting.

The parvovirus is transmitted through feces of infected dogs, and humans do not get the disease. The virus can remain dormant for years before hosting itself in an animal. Puppies are the most susceptible to the disease, since they are still building their immune system.

Dr. Thomas said he was sad to witness so many infected animals in such a short period of time. When he worked in the mainland, he would see one or two animals a month that tested positive for the disease. He said the disease can be prevented with proper vaccination, and educating the population about dos and don’ts.

Although it’s sad to see Dr. Thomas leaving, he brought some light to pets and pet owners on Molokai. He continues to serve the community by actively looking for solutions to the island’s shortcomings regarding a lack of proper veterinarian care.

With good planning, he said it is financially possible to make a living as veterinarian here. He said he is also trying to figure out how to minimize the spread of parvovirus on the island.