Letters 6-29-2012

Cats and dogs

Shelter needed

Ocean View is a growing community on the slope of the big mountain, Mauna Loa, just above South Point. The population consists of two types, human and animal.

Most of the human residents own at least one dog, usually more. There are many stray dogs, roaming daily over the harsh lava terrain, desperately in search of food and water. Some are starving, some sick, some painfully shy of human contact, and others are aggressive, sometimes traveling in packs. There are new puppies on a regular basis.

It is tragic to see a young mother dog, nothing but bones and breasts, looking for food so that she may stay alive long enough to nurse her puppies until they are old enough to forage for themselves.

Of course, there is a large feral cat population, as well. Many of them suffer, but as a whole, cats do much better in the wild than dogs.

There are people who seek these animals out and feed them and, if they can trap them, it is possible to have these animals spayed or neutered so they will not produce more animals to suffer the harsh reality of survival in the wild.

The nearest humane society shelter is 50 miles away. There is a veterinarian in Ocean View two days a week.

It would be a great blessing to have our own animal shelter here, even if just a holding facility for animals awaiting transportation to the shelter in Kona. There is no place for these animals to be cared for, fed, or treated for injuries locally.

New kittens and puppies could be taken in and adopted out, as they are in Kona. Starvation and sickness could be relieved. Lost dogs and cats could be reunited with their owners.

The large community of Ocean View certainly deserves to have such a facility. As it is, the burden of assistance to these needy animals falls entirely upon individuals, who are able and willing to help and the cooperation of the Hawaii Island Humane Society in Kona, 50 miles away.

Surely funding for such a project should be available. The need is intensely desperate and something must be done as soon as possible to correct such an outstanding case of neglect.

Dorothy Denny

Ocean View

Cellphone

Serious concerns

I am writing this in hopes of getting some answers to questions about the cellphone sting operation on Alii Drive. What is the law concerning cellphone usage?

I have inquired officers about the specifics of the law, only to have my questions fall upon deaf ears. None of the policemen I have encountered has outlined clearly what the law is. I have been pulled over six times in the last two months. I have taken to turning off my cellphone before exiting my business (which is another portion of private property owned by my landlord, where the officers observe from the bushes, then call ahead to the ticket writing officers). No matter the precautions taken, I continue to get pulled over and cited. In fact, I have been cited for additional infractions (such as proof of registration) even though I produced valid documentation proving the opposite. I am starting to question whether or not I should move my business from the downtown area.

When I was pulled over on June 4, I implored the officer to listen, to show him my phone was off. I was treated harshly. This treatment divides the community. This last negative experience prompted the following questions:

How do people find out the law concerning cell- pone usage? What evidence are they using? If the cellphone isn’t on, how can there be a violation? How do we present our truth?

Being as involved in the community as I am, I started sharing my stories and noted several similar experiences throughout the community. I have serious concerns about how this activity is affecting people individually, as well as the community as a whole. When residents have experiences like this, we go back to our families, social situations and our jobs in fear and anxiety. This creates a ripple effect throughout the entire community. It is dividing us when we should be working together.

Kelly A. Mankin

Kailua-Kona