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Letters

No Joke

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

One of the first things I learned about the publishing business is that you can’t please everyone. We have tried hard to abide by an important set of values – one of which is to not cause harm within our community.

Our intention for last week’s April Fools cover was to have a good time – to create a harmless diversion from an otherwise normal workweek. Our apologies to those affected by last week’s April Fools cover stories. To those who were hurt, please accept my sincerest apology – it was never our intention to cause anyone harm.

Sincerely,
Todd Yamashita – Editor in Chief

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National History Day

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

Molokai High School News Release

Please congratulate the following students for all their hardwork on their National History Day projects. Students who are finalists will represent Molokai High at the state competition held at the Windward Community College on Saturday April 17 along with their respective social studies teacher (Pali, Ross, Buller, Peterson, Friel). Winners from the state competition will represent Hawai'i at the national competition held at the University of Maryland at College Park, near Washington, D.C. that is scheduled from June 11-19, 2010.

Semifinalists:

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Big Keiki Turnout

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

Big Keiki Turnout


What a great day was had at our 6th Annual Moloka’i Keiki Expo, held on Saturday, February 7 at the Mitchell Pauole Center.  A set of four books were gladly given to each family surrounding our theme, “Keeping Our Keiki Healthy”.  The titles of the books were “Wash ‘um”, “Brush ‘um”, “Eat ‘um”, and “Move ‘um”.  These books included beautifully illustrated pictures with a local twist, featuring island keiki and a true gift for each family that attended.

Oodles of educational prizes and books were given out and tons of fun activities were made as the crowd rolled in through out the morning.  It was enlightening to watch the little one’s enjoy the hands on activities as well as take on the challenge of the obstacle course while their parents gathered information about the different services/programs they were interested in. 

Congratulations to Azaelah Lavoie-Kahalewai, daughter to Malia & Marlin Lavoie, who was our Diaper Dash winner, taking home a keiki push buggy.  Thank you to all the contestants who participated.

It is our hope that through our efforts we can continue to showcase all of our on island services (early childhood/health/family support/parenting support), to promote literacy, to bring awareness on the importance of early childhood education & services, and to provide a venue for our families to access the many services and programs we have here on our island all at this “one stop shop” annual event.

On behalf of The Moloka’i Keiki Group, we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude and extend our warmest Mahalo to all those who made our event a huge success.  Big Mahalo to our very generous sponsors who made this event possible: Punana Leo o Moloka’i, The County of Maui-Parks & Rec and staff, Kamehameha Schools, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Queen Lili’uokalani Children’s Center and Rawlins Chevron Service. A Special Mahalo to The Moloka’i Health Foundation who sponsored the set of four books (valued at $16 each set), which every single family who attended received.  It was a huge hit and if you missed the event and wish to order this awesome health book series set at $4 each book, please contact Dana Gorecki at Oahu Head Start www.oahuheadstart.org or you may call 808-847-2400 for more information.

Mahalo to Matthew Helm (our great MC), to our entertainers: Halau Hula o Kilohana, Punana Leo o Moloka’i Preschool, and Becky Takashima & Debs Mapel for the skits, Lohea Audio/Sherman Napoleon, Kawika Crivello, Kanoho Helm, Ron Kimball, Claire Iveson, Kai Sawyer, Kathy Bennett, Miki’ala/Poema/Keoki Pescaia, Michelle/Francis Nae’ole & ‘Ohana (Keiki Jumper), Moloka’i High School Leo Club, Moloka’i High School Teens Who Read Book Club, Kamehameha Schools ATP, Kime Kala Girls Volleyball Club, Sarah Kawa’a and Students, Edrian Apo, Melani Rawlins, Lynn Decoite, Hula Halau o Kilohana, and Punana Leo o Moloka’i for all your kokua.

To all of the services who participated, Mahalo nui!!  Punana Leo o Moloka’i preschool, MEO Headstart, Na Kamali’i Hoaloha preschool, All God’s Children preschool, Keiki Steps, Tutu & Me Traveling preschool, Kamehameha School’s, Kualapu’u School, Maunaloa School, Kaunakakai School, State DOH-Moloka’i Public Health Nurse, Na Pu’uwai: Asthma / WIC, Moloka’i Dental Health Coalition, Moloka’i Community Health Center, Chevron Hawai’i-Keiki ID’s, Moloka’i Early Headstart, IKAIKA Program (MCHC), PATCH, Moloka’i Fathering Initiatives, Na Lei Mamo, Queen Lili’uokalani Children’s Center, Alu Like-Native Hawaiian Library, Read to me, and MHS Business Class. 

If we had missed anyone, e kala mai…and Mahalo nui!!

Mahalo nui once again and see you all at next year’s event!
Lori-Lei Rawlins-Crivello & Becky Takashima

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Molokai Is a State of Mind

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Molokai is a place of exceptional beauty with spectacular sunrises and sunsets and ever changing ocean views.
Molokai has trash along the roadsides and abandoned falling down buildings.
Molokai has students graduating high school and going on to outstanding universities.
Molokai has students dropping out of high school.
Molokai has people living in large, expensive homes.
Molokai has people who have no homes.
Molokai is a place for leisure beach walks and mountain hikes.
Molokai is a place of barstool regulars.
Molokai is an island with a rich heritage and a culture to be shared with those eager to learn.
Molokai is a place people like to visit but want to change.
Molokai is a place with efficient and compassionate medical care.

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Full Throttle Basketball

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Full Throttle Basketball

The 2010 molokai menehune basketball champs, ‘we goin full throttle,” went to Maui on March 4-7 to play in the menehune tournament and played four awesome games.
Coach Ron Rapanot Sr. and assistant coach Scot Rapanot Sr. took only seven players: David Rapanot, Noah Caparida, Kilo Gonzales, Rayden McCutcheon, Likehe Shonley, Jarvin Namauu and Kamekona Pelekani. Several comments were made in Maui that they would call themselves the Super 7 Kids, because of the way they played.

We were the only team that had seven players while the rest of the teams that they played against had 12-15 players. Their first game played against Kahului Bays, and lost 29-31, because the referees called 18 fouls to Molokai and Kahului only had four. Our boys left robbed and really disappointed, but they lifted their spirits and surly did not let those officials keep them down for like their team shirts says, “we goin’ full throttle” and believe me, they did exactly that.

The second game was played against Kihei I, and again they played hard with seven of our boys against 12. This time we came on top with 41 points and Kihei 38. David had 22 points, Noah 13, Kalei two, Keke had two and Brayden had two points.

Even at this point, our boys had more speed and condition, out ran and surely out smarted a lot of plays with determination to win and show them what Molokai is made of.
The third game was played against Kihei II, and Molokai came on top with 35 points and Kihei 31. The final fourth game against Pukalani, molokai won 36 to Pukalani 27.

Special clinics should be set up for referee training, especially for the younger and 13-14 year group tournaments. It should be fun and exciting for the teenagers to participate and not have to wonder if the referees are going to call the games again. All in all, the team enjoyed themselves, took the consolation bracket and represented Molokai proudly.

So the Maui County, Molokai district superiors Mike Salas, recreation technician Gerard Starkey, and Ryoko Victorino thank you for making it possible for us to participate in Maui. To the county of Maui – a special thanks to Aunty Jackie for seeing that we were comfortable and allowing us to stay in the wrestling room and using the facilities.
Mahalo! Last but not least, we would like to send a special thanks to Catlin Kaahanui for helping us with transportation and lunch.

Gladys Rapanot

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And the Dear Friends Have to Part

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

Community Contributed

By Marie Yamashita

Sunday, Feb. 28, at 1:00 p.m. The weather was foul.  All morning the heavy rains and piercing cold winds continued.  It was not a time to be outdoors.  Still one hoped that there would be a break in the weather because there was a farewell party at the Molokai Museum that one really wanted to attend.  It was for David and Dorothe Curtis who were moving to Maui, and how could one miss this last opportunity to get together with them and bid them aloha.

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Winter Wonderland

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

Winter Wonderland

Community Contributed

By Kevin Tensfeldt

As summer turned to fall, the landscape painted itself with rich colors of crimson and scarlet. The cool breeze and shortening of days reminded us that winter would soon be here.  Those of us who have had to endure winters working on the aircraft out on the flight line know of the impending hardships.

Every passing day the temperature drops is a reminder that frost is just around the corner.  It’s all leading up to the scraping of car windows and de-icing of the aircrafts.  To our surprise, the first day of December brought the first frost of winter, unlike previous years where it came much earlier.  The week prior to Christmas brought snow with the power to transform flight lines into huge frozen blocks of ice due to the constant melting and re-freezing.  Every step was taken with the utmost caution. 

With planes flying nearly every morning, there was a continuous battle with the de-icing truck; always breaking, hardly ever being properly serviced and with qualified operators nowhere to be found.  As always, we push though the struggles and come out on top.  Finally, one more day of work before we have a few days off to enjoy the holidays, we come in to stand by for a gunship returning to the states as a precaution (if it needed to be de-iced).  Somehow a three-hour work day turned into 10 due to an unseen fuel leak on one of the other aircraft.  The few days we have off for the holidays are much deserved and needed.  There are days that an eight-hour shift will be completely spent out on the flight line in the cold, rain, snow, wind; yet work never seems to end.  Through everything, rain or shine, I love doing my job. 

As we gear up for our trip to Norway for training in the below- freezing temperatures, I take pride in everything I do because I know what I do differentiates me from my peers that I grew up with.  It is my defining factor; the one thing that, ironically, makes me special.  As soon as winter comes, it melts, and there is always the first rain of spring to look forward to.

Senior Airman Tensfeldt is on RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom.

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A Time for Nobiles

Friday, March 26th, 2010

A Time for Nobiles

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

For everything, there is a season, and this is definitely the case with Dendrobium nobile, which signals the coming of spring. The Dendrobium orchids form the largest group in the Orchid family. Although Dendrobium nobile is a one of the most prolific bloomers, one problem has been that most nobile need colder weather than we can give them on Molokai to bloom fully. As a result, they only bloom reliably in Kalae.

If you do things right, the plants will reward you with massive blooms from the top to the bottom of the cane. If you don’t get too many flowers because you didn’t follow the recipe, there’s a consolation. You can cut the cane that didn’t bloom and lay it down, pressing it halfway into some potting mix. Keiki will form on the nodes which didn’t bloom. When the roots are strong, you can remove them from the cane and pot them, or you can attach it with staples onto a chunk of hapuu. I recently brought in about 100 of these warm bloomers from the Big Island and made them available through Kualapuu Market so the Hoolehua, Kualapuu, and Kalae hobbiest would have these plants to grow. They include Spring Dream ‘Apollon’ and ‘Kumiko’, Yellow Song ‘Canary’, Himezakura ‘Sanokku’, Sea Mary ‘Snow King’, Angel Smile ‘Kibi’, Fancy Angel ‘Lycee’ and Love Memory ‘Fizz’. Most are patented varieties and also have a light fragrance. With honohono orchids running late this year, the nobiles are an early treat telling us that hopefully, springtime has arrived.

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To My Fellow Retirees

Friday, March 19th, 2010

To my fellow retirees, hardworking Americans and future retirees,

I am sending this important message to you to let you know of the great uncertainty over our Social Security benefits and Medicare. The government is going to slowly take away what belongs to you by putting its dirty hands on our Social Security retirement benefits and steamrolling cuts on your Medicare, in order to help pay for our huge deficits. Medicare and Social Security have been the basic financial support for our retirees. If President Obama cares about health care coverage for everyone, he most certainly does not care bout our retirees.

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To Be Indigenous or Not

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

The Congress debate on the Akaka Bill showed how spin doctor politicians can interject their talking points, for instance the race card to muddy the truth. 
Fact—there are three indigenous groups in America—Native American Indian, Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian.  The US gave legal recognition to the American Indians and the Native Alaskans as indigenous people to inherit rights to land and culture.  Why not Native Hawaiians?  Are Native Hawaiians less indigenous?  Many don’t want to validate the existence of Native Hawaiians and history of the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani.  They pick and choose the history and justice.
 

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