By Sage Yamashita, Intern Reporter
The Farmers Football team kicked off the 2022 season with a Green and White scrimmage last Saturday. Players and coaches put on a competitive game, while the Cheer and Dance team led the spirit, with lively community support.
Both teams’ first official game will be this Saturday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m. at home, hosting the Lanai Pine Lads. …
By The Molokai Dispatch Staff
At last week’s Society of Professional Journalism Hawaii Chapter Excellence in Journalism Awards, The Molokai Dispatch was honored with five Excellence in Journalism awards for coverage in 2021. The statewide awards are presented annually in newspaper, TV, radio and magazine categories and this year, recipients were announced via Zoom conference on Aug. 17.
In the non-daily newspaper category for feature writing, The Molokai Dispatch Editor Catherine Cluett Pactol won first place for “Molokai’s Kakawahie: A Lost Species.”
“Really nice story about a bird species that has gone from endangered to extinct,” the judges commented. “Engaging and well-written.”…
By Sage Yamashita, Intern Reporter
A new bus has arrived to safely transport student athletes on Maui when they travel there for competitions.
Molokai High’s athletes travel to Maui to compete in several sports during each season. MHS Athletic Director Lee DeRouin said the school already had a bus on Maui that was purchased in 2016 and is still in use. But with the increase of student athlete participation and new sports added in recent years, the athletic department needed another bus to safely transport the students and coaches.
Both students and coaches are grateful for the new ride. Coach Kabbie Juario-Bicoy has traveled to Maui with her teams multiple times and knows the importance of getting from point A to B safe and smooth. …
HDOA News Release
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) is now accepting applications for the second year of the Micro-Grants for Food Security Program (MGFSP), which provides support for small-scale gardening, herding and livestock operations to help produce food in areas that are food insecure.
A total of $3 million will be available in this program, which includes $2 million for this year’s grant funds combined with $1 million that was carried over from the previous year. Last year, a total of 177 grants were awarded statewide. Funding for this grant program is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the 2018 Farm Bill.…
Community Contributed
By Richard Ornellas
Molokai High School (MHS) is meeting the emerging opportunities of 21st century life for their students in a bold move to College and Career Academies: instruction based on career pathways rather than English, math, science, social studies and electives. Mirroring the trend in Hawaii for public high schools to become more relevant for post-high school life, such as the successful Waipahu High School academies model, initiated by former principal, Keith Hayashi, now DOE Superintendent, MHS has begun their transition.
The academies are Community Service and Sustainability (CSS) with Team Lead Lisa Takata, and Innovation Business and Technology (IBT) with Team Lead Kai Ward, and O Hina I Ka Malama, the Hawaiian Immersion Language Academy, Lead Mahinahou Ross.…
Bayer Fund News Release
Eligible student robotics teams on Oahu, Maui and Molokai are invited to apply for The Bayer Fund’s 2022 FIRST Robotics Grant program. Open to FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), FIRST Lego League Challenge, and FIRST Lego League Explore teams, the program offers grants ranging from $500 to $3,000 per team to inspire and nurture students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math.
The grant application period closes on Sept. 30, at 6:59 p.m. For more information and to apply, visit fund.bayer.us/grant/2016/8/15/first-robotics-program; use the invitation code 22FIRST. For questions, contact GrantQuestions@Bayer.com.
Established in 2015, the Bayer Fund’s FIRST Robotics Grant program has benefitted Hawaii students in elementary through high school grade levels.…
Mahalo nui, Molokai! I am honored to have been chosen by our voters as the Democratic Candidate for House District 13 advancing to the General Election. Please know that each and every one of your votes made a difference. Molokai showed up at the polls, and it showed in the results. The love, support and encouragement I’ve received from our community and communities across our district fuels my determination to solidify this win for our people and ‘aina. I am excited to hit the ground running and look forward to engaging with residents across our district to bring forward place-based, community driven solutions that address our most pressing issues in ways that make sense for us and our way of life. …
By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor
For years, homesteaders and other community members, planners and others have been discussing the best approach to bring life to an important and currently neglected area of Kaunakakai – Malama Cultural Park. In 2011, the Dept. of Hawaiian Homelands acquired a portion of the lands comprising the park from the State of Hawaii, and just released a Special Area Plan for its management.
“The Malama Cultural Park is a treasured wahi pana (ancestral land), not only for the people of Kaunakakai, but also for residents throughout the island of Molokai,” states the plan. “The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) seeks to preserve this wahi pana and to support the continuing practice of ocean recreational use in a manner that protects and respects the historical legacy of this place.…
By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor
Saturday’s Primary Election will bring some experienced candidates to November’s General Election, as well as some new faces to politics for Molokai representation.
In a highly anticipated race for Democratic District 7 State Senator, an office currently held by Molokai’s Lynn DeCoite, she successfully defended her seat against Molokai’s Walter Ritte. DeCoite earned 55.1 percent of votes statewide, while Ritte garnered 30.6 percent. DeCoite will appear on the general election ballot along with Republican candidate Tamara McKay, who won 65.9 percent of her party’s votes, according to the Hawaii Office of Election’s results report as of 1 pm Sunday.…
By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor
Last week there were six new COVID cases reported on Molokai between Aug. 3 and Aug. 10, according to the Dept. of Health as of Aug. 15. New cases have leveled off over the past month, ranging between about six and 15 per week reported. This number represents those cases officially reported and does not include results obtained through home tests.
Statewide, there has been a slow decline in cases reported over the past couple of months, after a spike in cases at the end of May.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidelines for COVID-19 to “help people better understand their risk, how to protect themselves and others, what actions to take if exposed to COVID-19, and what actions to take if they are sick or test positive for the virus.”…
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