Community

General news which affects the Molokai community in one way or another.

UH Molokai Fall Festivities

Wednesday, October 20th, 2021

UHMCM News Release

If you’re a current UH Maui College, Molokai (UHMCM) student, we’re so excited to invite you to participate in the upcoming Fall Festivities Campaign for your chance to win a tuition waiver to UH Maui College next semester. From FAFSA workshops, campus activities, academic advising, to spring registration, we hope to provide you with a wealth of information to prepare you for the upcoming semesters.

We’ll be kicking off festivities in early October through Dec. 17. When you participate in six or more activities, you will earn a chance to win a tuition waiver at UH Maui College for Spring 2022.…

Life at Aka’ula School

Thursday, October 14th, 2021

Community Contributed

By Aka’ula School Students

Editor’s note: These stories are written by students and published in Aka’ula School’s newsletter, reprinted with permission.

Rugby in the Water
By Crystal Hoffman, Freshman

Akaʻula School and their swim program has incorporated water polo, considered by some the most ruthless and competitive water related sport ever. Water polo is a full contact sport. Swimming, wrestling, shooting, passing and dribbling are all aspects of this sport. On top of that, players are treading water the entire time to keep afloat for long periods. To participate, students should have swimming experience for a safer game; meaning, endurance, speed, and agility.…

Don’t Forget to Dial 808

Thursday, October 14th, 2021

Don’t Forget to Dial 808

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Starting Oct. 24, Molokai residents will need to dial 808 before all numbers, even if you’re calling someone down the road. 

Though it may take some getting used to, to add the “808” before the “553” or the “336,” it’s for a good cause. The 10-digit dialing is part of a national requirement mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that will enable “988” as a new three-digit number to be used nationwide to reach the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline, starting July 16, 2022. The new area code requirement applies to both landlines and cell phones. …

MHS Farmers Get Back to Sports

Thursday, October 14th, 2021

MHS Farmers Get Back to Sports

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

After not being able to compete for more than a year and a half because of COVID-19, Molokai High athletes are excited to be back to practicing for a season of competition. It’s been a bumpy road of hurdles, false starts and frustrations but “things are going in the right direction.”

“I’m very proud of our coaches and our kids doing their best to get out on the fields doing what they need to do,” said MHS Athletic Director Lee DeRouin. “I’m really proud of their attitudes. That’s what sports teaches us… there’s ups and downs and we’re getting through it and moving in the right direction.”…

Join a County Board or Commission

Thursday, October 14th, 2021

County of Maui News Release

The County of Maui is seeking applicants to fill multiple vacancies on county boards, commissions, councils and committees. There are currently two vacancies on the Molokai Planning Commission, among dozens of other opportunities to make an impact on local policy. 

There is one vacancy on each of the following: Affirmative Action Advisory Council, Civil Service Commission, Maui County Cultural Resources Commission, Real Property Tax Review Board, and Salary Commission. 

There are two vacancies on each of the following: Animal Control Board, Board of Ethics, Board of Variances and Appeals, Board of Water Supply, Fire & Public Safety Commission, Hana Advisory Committee to the Maui Planning Commission, Liquor Control Adjudication Board, Liquor Control Commission, Maui Planning Commission, Molokai Planning Commission, Paia-Haiku Advisory Committee to the Maui Planning Commission, Police Commission, Public Works Commission, South Maui Advisory Committee to the Maui Planning Commission, Kula Agricultural Park Committee, Commission on Healing Solutions for Homelessness, Maui County Arborist Committee, and Maui Redevelopment Agency. …

Peace and Quiet

Thursday, October 14th, 2021

Don’t you see everyone and me
down here planting mango trees
trying to find peace of mind and god
forbid, some quiet time
I can’t seem to find the reason you must rhyme
the past with the present
but your noise is unpleasant to say the least
as you rumble too close for comfort
in that death breathing beast
half helicopter, half dragon, half man, and half plane
your noise hurts more than just my ears
because I know why it is you train
and I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen the pain
that you rain down from your perch in the sky
from way up on high where you can’t see
their eyes, so you don’t see
the humanity of those you make die
and I hope at least you wonder why it is you fly
way too close behind an aging lie
as you train to kill by filling the sky
above places like here in Kaunakakai
with a rumbling, a thunder, a chop, chop, chop,
constantly cutting through the peace and quiet
and it never seems to stop
like a water drop dripping and dripping and dripping
and a scratched 45 record skipping and skipping and skipping
and they keep on shipping and shipping and shipping you
from here to where the west has already been through
at least a time or two or three or four
left,
right,
left,
right,
it’s always war that you’re preparing for
in these otherwise quiet and peaceful skies
where you always fly too close behind
American lies

Jayson R.…

Visitors Bureau Seeking Nonprofit Partners

Thursday, October 14th, 2021

The Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau (MVCB) is seeking nonprofit organizations on Maui Nui to take part in the statewide Malama Hawaii program, an initiative to inspire mindful travel, while encouraging visitors to give back to the destination. Through this initiative, industry partners and volunteer organizations across the state have come together to build the Malama Hawaii initiative.

“There are currently nearly 80 hotel partners and more than 30 nonprofit partners statewide that have joined the program,” said Meagan DeGaia, destination manager of the Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau. “We are extremely proud that of those partners, 28 hotel partners and 10 nonprofit partners are based in Maui… With such tremendous support and success from our industry and nonprofit partners on Maui since the inception of the program, we are hopeful that other nonprofits not only on Maui, but on Molokai and Lanai would be interested in partnering with us as we continue to grow the Malama Hawaii program to the greater Maui Nui.”…

What’s the News at MHS?

Thursday, October 14th, 2021

Community Contributed

By Clare Albino, MHS Newsletter Team

COVID has had its toll on the Molokai High School (MHS) students with missing out on so many fun activities. With the start of a new school year, MHS is proud to announce the new Molokai High School Executive Board. The students on this board are earnest to ensure that the high school is a safe learning environment.  They plan to bring some fun activities to make up for much of the student isolation of the last school year.  These chosen students want to make a difference for the 2021/22 school year and are keen to hear from the students’ voices and opinions on making the school a better place.  …

PALS Keiki Kare Winter Program

Thursday, October 14th, 2021

County of Maui News Release

Online registration will begin Monday, Nov. 1, for the 2021 PALS Keiki Kare Winter Program, the Department of Parks and Recreation announced.

This modified program aims to provide working families with essential child care during the winter break and help to strengthen their family and community connections.

The PALS Keiki Kare Program will begin Tuesday, Dec. 21, and continue through Thursday, Dec. 30, excluding holidays.

The Molokai program will be located at the Mitchell Pauole Center. 

Registration for the program will need to be completed online only between Monday, Nov. 1 and Monday, Nov. 15, and is open to children ages 5 to 12 years old.…

Putting a Stop to Domestic Violence

Wednesday, October 6th, 2021

Putting a Stop to Domestic Violence

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and since the pandemic began, the number of incidents in Hawaii has been on the rise, especially among Native Hawaiian populations. Molokai Community Service Council will be holding sign-wavings this month. 

“We will be sign-waving each Friday to remind our community that no one should hurt the ones they love,” said Karen Holt of MCSC.

According to the Secretary General of the United Nations, a global increase in incidents of domestic and intimate partner violence is one consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home mandates. The Domestic Violence Action Center’s (DVAC) Helpline, which serves Hawaii, reported a 46 percent increase in contacts, from late March to October 2, 2020.…