A fledgling community group working to beautify Banyans surf spot in Kona spent Tuesday cleaning and repairing damage caused by vandalism the previous night.
A fledgling community group working to beautify Banyans surf spot in Kona spent Tuesday cleaning and repairing damage caused by vandalism the previous night.
Longtime area resident and Hui Aloha Holualoa member Myrna Thomas made her daily trek to the popular beach and surf spot about 7:45 a.m. to find the group’s handful of artist-painted signs damaged and one of the group’s hand-painted picnic tables broken and left partially in the water.
“They rolled it (the table), broke one part of it, and ruined the fresh growing grass,” Thomas said as she walked through the area pointing out grass the group had planted on Monday to provide more room for activities. “Then they threw rocks and cracked the signs.”
Puaalaokalani Nihau and Lehua Kamaka, also members of the hui, said a witness had come forward with information that a person, whose gender was unknown, had vandalized the area about 2 a.m. Nihau added the lone suspect, who was captured on several security cameras affixed to neighboring Kona Bali Kai, was wearing a bandanna and had a medium build.
Police confirmed that officers responded to the report, but were unable to provide further information because the officers’ report had not yet been completed. Nihau said officers came to the scene twice, once after the initial report and again several hours later to gather information and evidence.
Hui Aloha Holualoa, a not-yet-nonprofit, had just blessed its work at the shoreline park on Aug. 12. It began efforts about two months ago to beautify the beach and surf spot to create a more keiki- and kupuna-friendly environment. The improvements include a small garden and an area designated for students to complete homework before hitting the waves.
Thomas, Nihau and Kamaka, who spend a good amount of time at Banyans providing supervision, said between five and 13 children, ranging in age from 5 years old to 16 years old, take part in the group’s activities after school gets out.
“We established (the group) to get kids involved in malama aina and malama kai,” said Nihau noting the children have become stewards of the land. “It’s building their characters to be the caretakers of this aina for the next generation.”
Tuesday also marked the third time the group’s work has been vandalized and the second strike in less than a week, Nihau said. On Friday, she explained, a man became agitated when Thomas asked him to stop throwing mango peels on the ground and proceeded to pull out ti planted by the children. In another prior instance, someone had cut and tried to remove a portion of chain-link fence.