Community

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

Molokai Pesticide Disposal Event

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture News Release

The Pesticides Branch of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) will hold a free pesticide disposal program on Molokai in June. Molokai farmers and other commercial users of pesticides may safely dispose of canceled, suspended, unwanted or unlabeled pesticides, but pre-registration is required.

This statewide Pesticides Disposal Program (PDP) is only for commercial operations such as farms, licensed pest control operators and certified applicators as well as state and county agencies. There are some restrictions. Household pesticides will not be accepted under this program.

Participants must register in advance. The registration deadline is Wednesday, May 22 at 4:30 p.m.…

Annual Board of Trustees Community Meeting

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

OHA News Release

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is pleased to announce its annual Board of Trustees Island Community Meeting, scheduled to take place on Molokai. The meeting will be held at the Lanikeha Community Center in Ho`olehua on Wednesday, May 15, at 6:30 p.m. The event will commence with a light dinner for all attendees at 5 p.m. followed by the meeting starting promptly at 6:30 p.m. In a historic first, MEO will provide transportation to and from the meeting for registered attendees, with bus pickup points at the Kilohana Recreation Center in Mana`e and the Mitchell Pauole Center in Kaunakakai.…

Middle School Soccer Up and Running

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

Middle School Soccer Up and Running

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

Soccer players from Molokai Middle School had a chance to test their skills in a season opener scrimmage. The soccer team will hold another scrimmage on May 8 at Molokai High School before traveling to Maui on May 18 to compete in a tournament.…

FFA Alumnus Meets with Molokai Students

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

FFA Alumnus Meets with Molokai Students

Molokai Drugs Inc News Release

Owen Petrich, CPhT, has been the spring 2024 pharmacy intern at Molokai Drugs, Inc. for the past three months. Raised outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Owen was very involved with Future Farmers of America (FFA). The Molokai High School (MHS) staff and students enjoyed hearing Owen talk about his experiences in FFA, which included his state championship project in chicken production and representing the state of Wisconsin at the national FFA convention. At the same time, the MHS FFA students were able to share their successes and how much the Molokai Farmers chapter has grown in the past year.…

MHS Library Receives National Grant

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

MHS News Release

Molokai High School (MHS) Library has been selected as one of 310 libraries to participate in round two of the Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities, American Library Association (ALA) initiative. This provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities.
The competitive award comes with a $20,000 grant that will initiate the MHS Library’s new A’o Project – A’o meaning to learn, teach, counsel – for students needing improved reading comprehension and focused real-life skills practice. The A’o Project supports the MHS third-transitioning year to full academy school status.…

Softball Wins MIL Championship

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

Softball Wins MIL Championship

Lady Farmers Softball took on Lanai to determine the Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) champion this past weekend. The number one ranked Lady Farmers contested the final at home. Friday’s game went into the 6th inning tied, 22-22, when it was delayed due to darkness. The 7th inning began Saturday morning at 10 a.m. The Lady Farmers held the Pine Lasses scoreless, before putting up the walk-off run in the bottom of the 7th, resulting in a 23-22 win for Molokai. With the win, the Lady Farmers claimed the regular season and tournament championship for the MIL Division II, as well as the number one seed for the upcoming state tournament.…

Kruze Cruises to National Finals

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

Kruze Cruises to National Finals

A freshman at Molokai High School (MHS) is headed to the International Science and Engineering Fair. Kruze Lani earned a spot in the finals, which will be held in Los Angeles, by securing second place at last month’s Hawaii state competition.

Kruze’s project is a “comparative analysis on water conservation and plant growth efficacy,” he explained. The project examined differences between traditional watering methods and a wicking bed.

“The main thing I was researching was which one would grow the plants better and save water, especially because we live on Molokai,” said Kruze.

He was inspired by a workshop he took at the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Molokai extension office, which experimented with wicking beds.…

Ross Selected for Deep Sea Exploration Voyage

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

Ross Selected for Deep Sea Exploration Voyage

“All my life, I grew up in and around the ocean, but not really in the deep ocean,” said Molokai’s Gandharva Mahina Hou Ross.
This summer, the Hawaiian language immersion teacher at Molokai High School’s O Hina I Ka Malama program will get the chance to explore the depths of the ocean floor, and share that knowledge with the world.
Ross was selected as one of 13 science communications fellows aboard the exploration vessel (E/V) Nautilus, operated by nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust. He was the only Hawaii resident chosen out this year of applicants from around the world.
“He mea koʻi koʻi no mākou ke kau ana i luna o ka moku E/V Nautilus e ʻimi ʻike e pili ana i ka papakū o ka moana i hiki ke kaʻana like me nā poʻe o Hawaiʻi a me nā poʻe a puni ka honua,” said Ross.…

Robotics Awarded at World Championship

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

Robotics Awarded at World Championship

Molokai High School (MHS) robotics concluded their memorable season with a trip to Dallas, Texas to compete in the Vex Robotics World Championship. Of the 820 robotics teams from across the world, the MHS robotics team was honored with the 2024 Vex Community Award. Sponsored by Google, the award recognized the MHS team for their contributions towards supporting the larger Molokai robotics landscape.

Coach Edwin Mendija explained that judges were “really impressed, just knowing how limited in resources we are.”

Mendija and the MHS team had helped restart robotics on Molokai following COVID. Mendija explained that the MHS students helped Molokai elementary schools gear up for robotics competitions by providing parts, training and funding.…

New Fuel Facility at Kalaupapa

Wednesday, May 1st, 2024

NPS News Release

The National Park Service (NPS) is requesting public input on a proposal to construct a new fuel facility at Kalaupapa National Historical Park and is releasing an environmental assessment (EA) for a 30-day review period from April 19 to May 19, 2024. The EA has been prepared to meet both the project implementation requirements of the state and federal government in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act, and analyzes the environmental impacts of a no action alternative and the proposed action alternative.
The proposed facility would be located east of Staff Row and the Damien Loop intersection.…