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Clear Brush to Prevent Fire

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Clear Brush to Prevent Fire

Community Contributed

By Richard K. Schonely, Fire Inspector

Recent heavy rains have created new brush growth. Check your house and lot now!
 
The Department of Fire and Public Safety is encouraging property owners to make sure that their homes and land are in compliance with the Uniform Fire Code pertaining to brush as adopted by the County of Maui.


The Department of Fire and Public Safety will be inspecting vacant lots and large house lots, known as parcels, yearly throughout Molokai. You are encouraged to visit the nearest fire station or the Fire Prevention Office and pick up brochures on how the parcel shall be maintained. You may also visit www.firewise.org to get tips on making your home safe from a brush fire. Please read the following and keep in mind that violators can face a fine of up to $1,000 for each day the violation exists. This does not include the liability that a property owner may face if his/her parcel is responsible for the spread of a fire.
 
Any person owning, leasing, controlling, operating or maintaining any building or structure in a hazardous fire area, or adjoining a hazardous fire area shall at all times:
 
1. Remove and clear all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth at least 30 feet on each side of the building or structure. This does not apply to trees,  ornamental shrubbery or similar plants used as ground covers, provided that they do not form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from the native growth to any structure.
 
2. If the Fire Chief determines 30 feet is not sufficient to provide reasonable fire safety, remove and clear all brush, flammable vegetation or combustible growth from 30 to 100 feet from the building or structure. Grass and other vegetation located more than 30 feet from such building or structure and less than 18 inches in height above the ground may be maintained where necessary to stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.

3. Maintain any tree adjacent to or overhanging any building, and clear up dead wood.
 
4. Maintain the roof of any structure free of leaves, needles or other dead vegetative growth.
 
Please also keep in mind that electrical transmission lines shall also be kept clear of all vegetative growth. Do not attempt to remove hazardous brush near live electrical equipment without proper training. Contact the responsible utility company for information. Keep a 10 foot clearance around telephone and electrical poles, transformers etc. A 10 foot clearance shall also be maintained along all roadways.
 
Your cooperation is greatly appreciated and your neighbors will thank you. We must prepare for the next brush fire because it’s not a matter of if it happens but when. Are you prepared? Stay fire safe!

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Veterans Corner

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Column submitted by Jesse Church

The commander of the Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans Larry Helm recently had heart surgery to replace a heart valve. He came through the surgery well, and was out of bed, taking a short walk two days later. Larry was released from the hospital after a one week stay, and is now recuperating at home, going to physical therapy and is doing very well.

The Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans lawsuit is moving along, with lawyers on both sides currently in negotiations; both parties have made a settlement offer. Hopefully the lawyers will be able to hammer out an agreement, and we can begin construction on the Veterans Center.

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Tutu’s Corner

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Tutu’s Corner

Community Contributed

Column by Tutu and Me

Po`okela means excellence, to exceed, to excel. In the Hawaiian culture, everyone has not only their kuleana, responsibility, but also an understanding that we should do more than what is expected whenever possible.  It’s a feeling in your na`au (literally: guts; figuratively: of the heart or mind) that you should do not only what is asked, but to perform beyond what is expected. In school, it means doing assignments not only thoroughly, neatly, and turning it in on time but putting a cover on the report, adding illustrations and doing extra research. The same is true in the workplace – not only performing up to expectations but taking the initiative to do more than you are asked. This is po`okela.


Getting keiki out of the house in the morning is a challenging task. Getting to Tutu and Me consistently is good. Getting to Tutu and Me and being on time for the morning circle is superb. Attending consistently and arriving on time with both caregiver and keiki smiling and ready to go is po`okela.

All of the wonderful toys and equipment at the Tutu and Me site are fabulous. All of the “homemade” activities – the cardboard box canoe, refrigerator, puppet theater, etc. are awesome. The extra effort the staff gives in creating these things is from their hearts, and with aloha is po`okela.

Try This at Home:
•    In daily activities with your keiki, po`okela should be recognized and praised.
•    Po`okela is learned through observation and modeling.  When a task has been completed well, describe and explain this to your keiki. For example: “Look! Daddy washed the car. Not only the outside but the inside too. He did a really good job, didn’t he?”
•    Recognize and praise keiki when they do something well. For example: “You not only put away your toys but your sister’s as well! That’s an excellent job!”

Remember: Kulia i ka nu`u – Strive to reach the highest. Motto of Queen Kapi`olani.

Contributions from Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool, a program of Partners in Development Foundation.  Tutu and Me is funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

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A Molokai Wind Farm

Monday, February 28th, 2011

A Molokai Wind Farm

Community Contributed

By Steve Morgan

Unlike Molokai, land on Lanai has already been designated for the purpose of the wind farm. As a result, the process on Lanai has progressed further than that on our island. Referencing Lanai issues will hopefully help us in making evaluations for our own island.

How much land will the Lanai wind farm require?
According to Castle and Cooke, majority landowner of Lanai, the maximum amount of land that will be used will be 12,800 acres.

What benefits are being offered to the people of Lanai in return for the construction of a wind farm on their island?

Based on the Jan. 11 presentation given by Harry Saunders of Castle and Cook, a basic summary of the combined benefits being offered to the Lanai community are as follows:
-    Make  Lanai utility rates the same as Oahu rates
-    Make Lanai electric grid 100 percent green by 2020
-    Maintain public access for hunting and fishing
-    Infuse money into weakened tourist industry in order to maintain jobs
-    Improve existing water infrastructure including $500,000 annual investment for improvements
-    $250,000 annual investment into watershed preservation
-    1 percent gross revenue to establish community benefit fund  for broad range of community projects, as decided by the community
-    $100,000 annual investment to Lanai Cultural and Heritage Center
-    Road Improvements
According to Mr. Saunders, these benefits would be included in a Purchase Power Agreement (PPA) making these benefits legally binding.

What is the response of the Lanai community?
According to “Lanaians for Sensitive Growth” (LSG), a 25-year-old community advocacy organization, complete support for the wind farm project is found only within a small percentage of Lanai residents. Combining dozens of small group sessions, and a random survey of approximately 400 homes in Lanai covering a broad demographic spectrum, the survey by LSG determined the following statistics:
-    7 percent in complete support
-    23 percent support with reservation
-    21 percent opposed
-    36 percent need more information
-    13 percent other
The official statement made by LSG at this time is, “We do not feel that the potential benefits outweigh the environmental, cultural, social and economic impacts to Lanai and the community.” At the Jan. 11 Senate hearing, Reynold Gima, president of LSG, requested that the senators at the meeting engage more fully with the Lanai community, concluding “Do with us, don’t do to us!”

Is there a Lanai governing body that will be involved in the decision making process on Lanai?
No, currently there is no such governing body. Using the county process, the intention of LSG is to designate land in the area of the proposed windmills to the zoning categories of “Open Space One and Open Space Two.” According to LSG, through such a designation, the Lanai Planning Commission would have jurisdiction over some areas of the wind farm.

For more info in regard to opposition of the Lanai wind farm go to friendsoflanai.org

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Preserving Forgotten History

Monday, February 28th, 2011

By Associated Press and Molokai Dispatch staff

Not many people in or outside of Hawaii know the state hosted internment camps – preliminary studies have identified 13 sites in Hawaii where people were confined for varying lengths of time between the 1941 start of the war and the war's end in 1945.

Honouliuli Gulch on Oahu, which held 1,200 people between 1943 and 1945, was the largest camp in Hawaii.

The National Park Service is holding public meetings over the next month to get input on internment camps in Hawaii during World War II to help it determine the best way to preserve these sites and share their history.

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Springing into Play

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Springing into Play

Heading out of winter and into the hot summer months, student athletes at Molokai High School are preparing to end the current school year proudly, representing tennis, track and field, and baseball.

Tennis
With a first year coach and a team mainly comprised of new players, the boys and girls tennis team are ready to break new ground.

“They’re all fresh, [and] that’s the best kind,” said coach Katie Brind. “I can show them the correct form.”

Brind, who has been playing tennis since she was six, joined the team this year after watching her niece play last year.

She is joined by returning volunteer assistant coach, Renee Montizor, who said the team did very well learning the fundamentals over the past few weeks. Montizor said Brind has just finished ranking the players, which matches players based on their skill sets, to determine how they will play in their matches. Also because the team is novice, they will mostly play in double sets.

.”

Kikukawa is joined by eight other athletes, including those training for the ‘field’ part of track and field. Assistant coach Rodney Nelson will be training freshman Rendy Jacobs in the shot-put, and senior Kalei Adolpho will be training again for her state-qualifying high jump. Adolpho, who recently signed an athletic scholarship to play volleyball next year at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, qualified for the state championships in the high jump after just one meet – the Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) championships.

The track and field team will head to Maui on March 11 for their first meet at War Memorial stadium.

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Molokai Leader in Hawaii Swimming

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Molokai Leader in Hawaii Swimming

As he lowers the goggles to his eyes, adjusting them one last time, Ilia Reyes has one goal in mind – beat 20 seconds in his 50-yard freestyle.

The officials tell the swimmers to ‘take their mark,’ and all swimmers crouch into start position; a loud buzz announces the start.

With arms like windmills, Molokai-born Reyes edges out seven other top swimmers to take first place, touching out second place by mere milliseconds. His time: 19.78 seconds. The University of Hawaii-Manoa (UH) swimmer was at the Conference-USA Championship at the University of Houston in Texas last week.

“Winning the 50 [freestyle]; bringing home a championship trophy; I’m just excited,” Reyes said in a phone interview last week from Houston. He said this was the first time UH has ever won a conference championship in swimming.

Reyes said it was the “family-oriented” training at UH that got him to this point.


Next up: the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships starting March 24. Reyes said he won’t know until results for the PAC-10 conference are posted if he qualified, but that he hopes to be swimming in the big meet. After that, Reyes has some Olympic-sized dreams.

“There’s always another step, a best time, but I look at it and I can be better,” Reyes said. “There’s always another level.”

Reyes will finish up his studies next fall, graduating with a bachelor’s in kinesiology and rehabilitation science. In the meantime, he said he will continue to train for national competitions and for the Olympic trials, set for June 2012.

“He’s been doing what it takes,” Flanagan said. “You get what you put into it, and he’s been putting a lot of time and effort…he deserves every bit of what he’s getting.”

His first coach said it’s a great accomplishment for Molokai to competing at a collegiate level in the first place.

“The magnitude of where he is as far as swimming goes on Molokai, I don’t think is paralleled by any other swimmer,” Yomemura added.

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Farmers Downed in Tournament

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Farmers Downed in Tournament

The Farmer’s baseball team is off to a 0-3 in preseason action after tough matches against top teams at the Baldwin High School Invitation Tournament.


The team is under new leadership this season, as first-year coach and storied Molokai baseball player Mike McCutcheon tries to bring his team to a higher-level of playing.

“I want to bring some consistency and respect to the program,” McCutcheon said.

McCutcheon pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Double-A division for seven years before coming back to Molokai in 2002. He is now a Maui County policeman and school resource officer for Molokai High School.

“Molokai was very different when I got back. I saw a drug problem here and I wanted to help fix it,” McCutcheon said.

He also holds the high school state record for the most strikeouts in one game, with 23 against Baldwin in the summer of 1995 at Kaunakakai Ballpark.

The 2010 Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) champions, Baldwin, were Molokai’s first opponent last Thursday. Molokai lost 0-12.

Holding Ground
Despite the loss, coach McCutcheon said he can take the loss as a humbling experience.

“Baldwin has one of the best offenses in the state. I was very pleased with our pitching performance,” he said.

Ryan Rapanot was the starting pitcher and gave up six hits over four and two-thirds innings. Molokai had six defensive errors over the course of the game, and McCutcheon said that was a big factor in losing the game.

“The kids were overwhelmed a bit with this being their first game” of the season, he said.

It was more of the same on Friday against King Kekaulike, which ended 10-1. The Farmers also played against Waipahu on Saturday and lost 14-2.

McCutcheon said he will continue to work with them on the fundamentals of baseball this week.

The team began practicing on Feb. 7, five times a week at Kaunakakai Ballpark. They currently have 24 players on the team.

McCutcheon also has hopes to make it to states this year. “I want to bring Molokai baseball back to what it used to be,” he said.

The Farmers will begin their regular season on March 25-26 against Seabury, on Maui.

 

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Dancing under the Stars

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Special Olympics Molokai hosted their sixth annual “Dancing Under the Stars” fundraiser at Hotel Molokai on Feb. 5, 2011.  Upon entering, couples were invited to register for our first “Dance Couple Contest” which lasted for 45 minutes non-stop.  Six couples danced their hearts off, but the winning couple was Tina Aki and Richard Rodriguez, proving they have the stamina and vibrance to have won. Thanks all those who donated, volunteered or contributed in anyway to make our dinner, dancing, silent auction and lucky drawing a success. 

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Need a Website?

Monday, February 28th, 2011

I have lived on the Big Island for 20-plus years and my plan was to move to Molokai when I retire and start a small web business there. Unfortunately, my life took a different turn. I have owned the http://molokaiweb.com domain name forever; it was part of my future plans, but since I will not be moving there I won't need it anymore. I probably could sell it on the domain name market for a decent amount of money, but then it would just become a click-an-ad page for some mainland firm. I think it should remain in local hands. If anyone on Molokai has use for it, feel free to contact me at johnrabi@yahoo.com.

Mahalo and aloha!
John S. Rabi

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