Well here we go again, another chapter in the never-ending battle over Molokai’s precious limited water.
West Molokai gets the bulk of its drinking water from Well 17, which is located next to Kualapu`u town. The use of this Well 17 has been illegal for the past four years. How can this be? It must be politics. Try to go to our courthouse on Tuesdays and see if any one who does illegal things can get away with it… I don’t think so!
With my deep respect to these who initiated the MCHC – I beg to differ with them.
We should read the article written by Sen. Fred Hemmings to the Dispatch about three or four years ago. It tells us the real picture of Molokai – Molokai really needs help, but not health care providers like the MCHC.
Sometimes on Molokai one spears a manini (convict fish) on the east end, and by the time it gets to the west end it’s a whale!
Faith Mahealani Ocampo of Kapaakea died on Feb. 17, 2011 at the Queens Medical Center in Honolulu at age 51. She was born on July 7, 1959 in Honolulu. Ocampo was a long time employee of Monsanto Hawaii and will be greatly missed.
She is survived by husband John Ocampo of Kapaakea; sons Billy Jac (Melissa) of Anchorage, Alaska, Dalvin “Nakoa” Ocampo of Anchorage, Alaska; father Henry Nahoopii of Ho`olehua, brothers Noah (Valerie) Nahoopii of Waiehu, Maui, Koa (Denise) Wainui of Kahului, Maui, sisters Ulu (Louie) Arce of Oceanside, CA, Kaui (Mike) Raspotnick of Waianae, Oahu, Walette Nahoopii of Carlsbad, CA, Sy (Kahili) Schudt of San Diego, CA, Singleton Gross of Anchorage, Alaska; and two granddaughters.
Israel “Theodore” Mokiao of Kamiloloa, Molokai, died on Feb. 21, 2011 at the Molokai General Hospital at age 77. He was born Oct. 21, 1933 in Ho`olehua.
He is survived by sons Justus Fren of Kamiloloa, Shane (Lei) Mokiao of Ohia, Molokai; daughters
Honesty Grace of Pukalani, Maui, Lovely Emmanuel of Ho`olehua, Grace Mokiao of Kamiloloa, Susan Nobriga of Wailuku, Maui; brothers Walter (Angie) Mokiao, Stewart Little; sisters Mildred Ahina, Evelyn Naeole, Lily Kihano, Maryann Nelson, Lorraine Lee; 17 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Friends may call at a memorial service on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at 9 a.m. at the Molokai Veterans Cemetery in Ho`olehua. Burial of ashes to follow.
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Nancy McPherson, the recently reinstalled Molokai planner, has returned to ensure projects are done correctly to Molokai standards – and efficiently.
She is knowledgeable about permits, zoning, flood maps, and Special Area Management (SMA), McPherson said.
“Our natural resources are our natural capital, so we have to protect it,” McPherson said.
McPherson’s first stint as the island’s planner began in 2006 and came to an end in 2008 when she was promoted as Maui County planner..jpg)
A Plan for Efficiency
McPherson returned to her Molokai position in mid-January, and said she is enthusiastic about being back in the position. She would like to be able to allow people to begin their projects as soon as possible.
“I plan on trying to make the SMA permitting process more streamline. I want to make it more efficient,” McPherson said.
Lori Buchanan, a Molokai Planning Commission member, said she is happy to have McPherson back on board. “I have always been impressed with McPherson’s experience and academia,” she said.
“I thought we got lucky. I honestly thought she was overqualified. She has a great heart,” Buchanan added.
Sometimes permitting may seem like a daunting task, but McPherson said she wants to assure residents that she is trying to make it less confusing.
Buchanan said she trusts McPherson’s experience as a long-range planner on Maui, and “her ability to see the long-term effects of projects.”
"It’s difficult to balance current projects and long-term projects on Molokai. People want to build now.” Buchanan said.
McPherson said she is planning more cultural assessments of Molokai to ensure nothing is overlooked when permits are handed out for building projects.
Before McPherson began tackling Molokai’s projects in January, the planner position on Molokai was left vacant for four months. Previous planner Mikal Torgerson left in September 2010. The county would not comment on the nature of his departure.
A History of Planning
McPherson has lived in Hawaii off and on since the age of 10. Her family moved to Oahu when her father got a job as a hydraulics engineer for sugar and pineapple plantations. She moved back to her home state of California when she was 19 to further her studies. She said she had always wanted to preserve the land, and decided to study planning.
She attended Sonoma State University, and earned a double-bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Development and Economic.
She later worked as an urban planner in Novato, California, where she helped implement a new permit tracking system for the city.
Since returning to Hawaii in 2000, McPherson has consulted with farmers on Oahu’s North Shore, in order to provide locational data that is essential to urban planning.
She began a master’s in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawaii Manoa in 2003. While she was there, she came with a team of eleven people to do cultural research of ancient burial sites at sand dunes on Papohaku Beach. She also did cultural research at Malama Beach Park on Molokai.
Her master’s research includes extensive studies on ahapua`a in North Kohala, Hawai`i Island, including King Kamehameha I’s birth site. They also compiled information for the Office of Hawaiin Affairs. That information has been further utilized to create community plans for North Kohala, she said.
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Geraldine “Geri” Ululani Mahiai Santiago died on Dec. 28, 2010 at age 65. She was born on Jan. 18, 1945. A devoted, humble, kind, energetic, and an exceptionally strong-willed woman are the simple words that describe our beautiful wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and friend.
Geri is survived by her husband Robin Santiago Sr.; son, Robin “Boy” Santiago Jr.; four daughters, Beverly Domingo (Barry), Connie Hirashima (Keith), April English (Jonathon), Carmen Solatorio (Kamaki); three sisters, Gwendolyn "Gwen" Naone, Bernadette "Buzzy" Manijo, Iwalani Enriques; five brothers, David “Butch” Mahiai Jr. (Lani), Floyd "Boy" Mahiai (Emily), Willis Mahiai, Frank "Buddy" Mahiai (Emily), William "Mac" Makaena (Julie); 23 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her father David Haaliliamanu Mahiai Sr., her mother Hattie Kaipoahi Simeona, and a sister, Harriet Lani Dudoit.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 12 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Kalaniana`ole Hall. Private scattering to be held at a later date.
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Sometimes life experience is the best experience. Take the Molokai Community Health Center’s new doctor for example. She has been sharing her time and precious medical skills around the world.
Traci Mosher Stevenson the health center’s newest addition – a doctor of osteopathy, she brings seven years of rural, Polynesian experience with her.
MCHC Executive Director Desiree Puhi said she is excited to bring an osteopathic doctor to Molokai, which incorporates Eastern-style methods of healthcare.
“It’s a more holistic approach to medicine. It connects mind, body and spirit. And emphasizes eating well,” Puhi said.
The practice of osteopathy began in the early 1900s, when a doctor saw medications as more of “Band-Aid” type of care, according to Stevenson. Osteopathic doctors take a broader look at the body as a whole.
Osteopathy also relies on the idea that the muscles and bones of the body affect the nervous system and blood flow, Stevenson said.
Doctors of osteopathy (Dos) are also medical doctors (MDs), but with a difference in their specialty training.
“Doctors of osteopathy also have training through ‘osteopathic manipulative therapy,’ which is similar to but not the same as treatments that chiropractors give,” Stevenson said.
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Check out the new Molokai Dispatch commercial, created by local filmmaker Matt Yamashita.
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Last night’s lightning storm did not cause any major destruction across the Hawaiian islands, but did provide an amazing light show. Jess Craven sent in this photo from west Maui – Molokai’s east end lit up with a major double-lightning strike around midnight.
Send in your storm photos to the Dispatch to share with the community – email us at editor@themolokaidispatch.com, or drop them off at the Moore Center in Kaunakakai.
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