Welcome To HouseMart, New Cops

HouseMart owner Paul Mizoguchi (from left), manager Tony Keale and owner Guy Kamitaki at the Kapa‘a store cake-cutting. Amanda C. Gregg photo

Congratulations and good luck to the folks over at HouseMart (formerly Ace Hardware/Ben Franklin), who have rebranded the enterprise throughout the state – including Ele’ele, Lihu’e and Kapa’a stores. The family-owned local business for 60 years and counting has aimed to serve Kaua’i residents with excellent customer service and charitable community efforts, including supporting Kaua’i United Way. Kaua’i manager Tony Keale, owners Paul Mizoguchi and Guy Kamitaki, and other staff hosted three cake-cutting ceremonies and shared yummy slices with shoppers at Kaua’i locations last week. Mahalo for sharing! For more information, go to hmstores.com …

Congratulations also to the 82nd recruit class graduates for Kaua’i Police Department, who were honored last week at Kaua’i Beach Resort. The event honored nine newly sworn-

in police officers: Mathew Beadle, Dustin Broad, Richard Brown, Christopher Cabrera, Joshua Leines, Andrew Muraoka, Lance Okasaki, Stacy Perreira and Arthur Styan. Broad also was

82nd Police Mathew Beadle, Dustin Broad, Richard Brown, Christopher Cabrera, Joshua Leines, Andrew Muraoka, Lance Okasaki, Stacy Perreira and Arthur Styan

Photo courtesy Sarah Blane

honored with a “most outstanding police recruit” award for being the most proficient in all areas of the recruit training process. Guest speakers included Police Chief Darryl Perry, Deputy Chief Michael Contrades,

82nd Police Mathew Beadle, Dustin Broad, Richard Brown, Christopher Cabrera, Joshua Leines, Andrew Muraoka, Lance Okasaki, Stacy Perreira and Arthur Styan. Photo courtesy Sarah Blane

Police Commission chairman Ernest Kanekoa Jr., County Council chairman Jay Furfaro and Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. Their messages centered on the importance of working as a team, and never straying from doing what is pono, as stated in KPD’s mission statement. Graduates completed more than 1,400 hours of recruit training, including a series of academic and physical challenges. The officers have already begun their next phase of the program, which is three months of on-the-job training with a field training officer. KPD currently has 19 vacancies and upcoming retirements. The next recruit class is scheduled to begin in December with another to follow shortly. To learn more, go to kauai.gov/police, or contact Lt. Rob Gausepohl at 241-1651 …

Winter swells are upon us, and rip currents are strong. Mahalo nui to the lifeguards who recently rescued two swimmers in different locations on the North Shore. Both sustained non-life-threatening injuries, declined medical treatment and were released at the scene. The first incident involved a 16-year-old North Shore boy at Queen’s Bath. He had been walking with a couple of friends along the rocks at the edge of Queen’s Bath when he jumped in the water and was sucked out to sea. He waited outside the breakwater until lifeguards arrived on scene and brought him to the Hanalei tower. Firefighters from the Hanalei station also responded. About a half an hour later, rescue personnel responded to an incident involving a 32-year-old woman from Wyoming who had been wading in the ocean with friends before being swept out in the water between Ha’ena Beach Park and Ke’e Beach. A lifeguard in a four-wheel drive and another on a Jet Ski brought her to Tunnels Beach, where she was treated for minor injuries. To learn more about ocean safety, go to kauaiexplorer.com …

Music for Life Foundation will host Rhythm of the Islands Saturday, Nov. 17, starting at 10 a.m. with ukulele workshops, and continuing with a pre-concert at 3 p.m. and a concert at 6 at Kaua’i Beach Resort in the Jasmine Ballroom. Musicians include Brittni Paiva, Kalei Gamiao and Derick Sebastian. Tickets cost $20. For more information, call 652-1942 or go to musicforlife. org …

Women Artists of Kaua’i will host its fourth Holiday Fine Art Festival and Fundraiser Saturday, Nov. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hanapepe United Church of Christ. The event will have ono food (sandwiches, soups, salads, baked goods), live music by guitar musician Dr. Matthew Miller as well as plenty of holiday shopping opportunity. Paintings, photography, pottery, sculpture and mixed media all will be part of the eye candy. A portion of the proceeds will go directly to HUCC’s free community lunch program offered every Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mahalo to participating artists Patrice Pendarvis,

Anna Skaradzinska, Dawn Lundquist, Helen Turner, Marionette Taboniar, Leslie Hagen, Caylin Spear, Donia Lilly, Debbie Barklow and Rhonda Forsberg. For more information, call Taboniar at 631-9173 or go to womenartistsofkauai.blogspot.co m …

Superintendent Bill Arakaki recently filled me in on the new online channel to view the DOE premiere of Kauai’s Shining Stars in Education show. ( You can see the show at https://vimeo.com/channels/k auaishiningstars). The program showcases special segments on Kaua’i schools. The first show features stories from Wilcox Elementary,

King Kaumualii Elementary and Kapa’a High School. Also, there is an introductory segment on “meet the CAS.” The production is hosted by resource teacher Sean Doi and is done as a three-person show (one doing the camera work and another the editing). …

Yuki Mossman, creator of NaniGirl Basics “playshop,” will host an event Saturday, Dec. 8, from 8:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Courtyard Marriott at Kaua’i Coconut Beach in Kapa’a. The workshop offers a oneday curriculum for young ladies, emphasizing the importance of manners and etiquette, good communication skills, developing inner strength and confidence, respecting oneself as well as others, and goal setting. Cost is $149 for registrations received by Nov. 20, and $169 by Dec. 1. For more information, contact Mossman at 652-7111 or via email at yuki-mossman@gmail.com …

During the recent tsunami warning, some users of the emergency notification system reported not receiving a warning. The county is therefore encouraging residents to sign up for Connect CTY, the emergency notification system, which will be tested out this Thursday, Nov. 15, at 11:45 a.m.

“We hope to have many new subscribers between now and Nov. 15. The test will help us to establish a baseline of what a successful CTY call should look like, and diagnose any problems ahead of time,” says Civil Defense manager Theodore Daligdig III. “Connect CTY is a great service for our community. It delivers emergency information directly to your phone via voice, TTY, text and by email.” Listed phone numbers are automatically entered into the system, and users can input additional numbers and email addresses. For each account, up to three phone numbers can be entered, one TTY number for the hearing-impaired, and one text/SMS contact, along with four email addresses. The account must be tied to a valid street address on Kaua’i. “In looking at the report, it appears that the network was overloaded with calls, which prevented some of the Connect CTY calls from going through,” says Daligdig. “It’s important to remember that making only necessary calls during times of emergency will help us to get the word out as quickly as possible.” To sign up for Connect CTY or to enter additional contact points, go to kauai.gov and click on the Connect CTY button. If you need assistance, call the Civil Defense Agency at 241-1800 …