Holiday Lights; Citizen Police Grads

on December 19, 2012 at 2:58 pm

Elizabeth Freeman and Sue Dixon help light it up. Amanda C. Gregg photo

What a treat to see so many residents enjoy the dazzle, brilliance and family-friendly fun at this year’s 16th annual Festival of Lights and Lights on Rice Parade (see Pa’ina on Page 6.) Especially sweet was hearing from Elizabeth Freeman, who began the Festival of Lights tradition 16 years ago. Freeman thanked MidWeek Kaua’i for the cover story on her last year, saying the result has meant more volunteers and more creative freedom for her. I captured a shot of her with longtime friend Sue Dixon who, along with husband Ken Stokes recommended her as a cover story subject. So I will now pass on the mahalo to them: Thanks, Ken and Sue, for the idea …

Congratulations to the second graduating class of the Kaua’i Citizens Police Academy, which had its graduation ceremony last week at KPD’s Lihu’e headquarters. The 10 graduates of the 13-week program are Theresa Koki, Michael Lane, Lt. Paul Applegate, Melanie Marshall, Meghan Ornellas-Goodale, Sgt. Kalani Ke, Douglas Nobriga, Louis Fishman, Thomas Batara, Micah Hee, Jose Ancheta Jr. and Thomas Culbertson. The course offered its participants a firsthand look at police work, and they even had experience on the shooting range. The academy is an interactive program designed to educate the public about KPD policies/procedures and the criminal justice system. The CPA lets the police department and interested citizens of Kaua’i share information and ideas in an interactive and positive setting, with the goal of building relationships, increasing community involvement and reducing crime on our island. To learn more, call 241-1606 …

Safari Helicopters is offering all of Kaua’i’s senior citizens (age 60 and older) a free helicopter flight. To claim a seat, call 246-0136. A family-owned company, Safari was founded in 1987 by Preston Myers, retired commander in the U.S. Naval reserves. Preston has, over the years, built his company and reputation on safety. To learn more, go to safarihelicopters.com …

At the Kaua’i Citizens Police Academy graduation were (from left) Deputy Chief of Police Michael Contrades, Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr., County Council Chairman Jay Furfaro, Theresa Koki, Michael Lane, Lt. Paul Applegate, Melanie Marshall, Meghan Ornellas-Goodale, Sgt. Kalani Ke, Douglas Nobriga, Louis Fishman, Thomas Batara, Micah Hee, Jose Ancheta Jr. and Thomas Culbertson

The County of Kaua’i is looking for a facilitator for its Kekaha Host Community Benefits program to support the work of the County Advisory Council from Feb. 1 through June 30. The five-month contract pays $5,000 per month. The scope of services includes maintaining the kekahahcb.net website, conducting an orientation session with the CAC and providing an orientation for any new members, planning, supporting and providing minutes for monthly CAC meetings, maintaining open communication with the county and HCB grantees, and providing reports on grant status and other pertinent matters. The hiree also will plan, facilitate and provide minutes for up to four community workshops to support the “request for proposals” process, and provide information and support for grant writers, publicize meetings and other pertinent CAC information as needed throughout the duration of the contract, and work with the county to receive grant proposals by the deadline, working with the CAC at regular monthly meetings to review, evaluate and make decisions on proposals to recommend, conducting research and preparing reports as requested by the CAC and providing a final report to the mayor. Submit resumes electronically to btokioka@kauai.gov, using subject line Kekaha HCB Resume. To learn more, go to kauai.gov/hcb, and kekahahcb.net. Resumes should include pertinent facilitation experience and at least two professional references. Applicants will be interviewed at a publicly noticed CAC meeting in early January 2013. Questions may be referred to Beth Tokioka at 241-4913 or btokioka@kauai.gov …

The Wailua portion of the multi-use coastal path will continue as scheduled for construction starting Jan. 2. The county says that following the recent episodic erosion, the design has been modified so it can be removed if shoreline erosion threatens its stability in the future. The plans now call for the path along Wailua Beach to be made in 10-foot concrete sections that can be moved as needed. In response to community concerns, the county went beyond the required Section 106 process of the National Historic Preservation Act, which is required for all federally funded projects. No traditional Hawaiian or historic artifacts, cultural deposits or cultural resources were found during the investigation. Additional work performed by Cultural Surveys confirmed that there are no surface cultural resources, and the results of its ground-penetrating radar survey were inconclusive. Carvalho said that a number of technical and cultural studies have been conducted. “I want to acknowledge everyone who met with us over the years and expressed their feelings and concerns about the path alignment along Wailua Beach … We took what was said and weighed it heavily into our decision-making, as we have always considered the preservation and protection of the Hawaiian host culture of utmost importance.”

Input was provided by representatives from state and county agencies and local organizations including Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Friends of Kamalani and Lydgate Park, Halau Kanikapahuolohi’au, Historic Hawai’i Foundation, Hui Malama I Na Kupuna o Hawai’i Nei, Kaua’i County Planning Department, Kaua’i Heritage Center, Kaua’i Historic Preservation Review Commission, Kaua’i Historic Society, Kaua’iNi’ihau Island Burial Council, Na Kahu Hikinaakala and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Ruby Pap, a coastal land agent with the University of Hawaii (UH) Sea Grant College Program, also provided comment on the path project …

Holiday Lights; Citizen Police Grads

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