Park woes
Park woes
Kahuku needs
water and personnel
I moved to Ocean View in 2001 near a small county park called Kahuku Park. Built in 1994-95 by local folks, it was rather run down by 2001. So Friends of Kahuku Park, a volunteer group, was formed to fix the park up and this has occurred in may ways — baseball dugouts built, as well as a volleyball court, office building, lots of rock walls and gardens, etc.
Two problems remain:
1) Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation can’t seem to hire personnel who will stay. Part of the problem is they they hire people who live many miles away. The commute is tough and they don’t pay for gas. The most recent employee left in April, but there was a seven-month gap between his hiring and the prior employee leaving. Ocean View also has the bulk of children who reside in Ka‘u.
2) Water. We have no grass on our ballfields — just dirt and dust, because the water that Parks and Rec has hauled in by truck at a cost of $4,500 is used to flush the toilets. There is no water to keep grass alive and no drinking water for the kids.
And what makes this so unbelievable — there is now a county well next to the park. But the well water does not come to the park.
In October 2012, at a meeting with then Parks and Recreation Director Bob Fitzgerald, I asked about water for Kahuku Park. His response was, and I quote, “the lawyer in the Water Department is talking with the lawyer in the Parks and Recreation Department.” Well, Bob, that doesn’t make the grass green or provide drinking water for our kids.
Perhaps, someone should talk to the mayor about how to appoint folks to public office — find someone with brains who can find solutions.
Robin Lamson
Former Chair of
Friends of Kahuku Park
Ocean View
Disasters
Solar power could
slow global warming
In the wake of the horrible Oklahoma storms, solar power came to my mind. First it is clean and is also unlimited. In a state like Hawaii, which experiences summerlike conditions throughout the year, 100 percent solar power should be the goal to supplying Hawaii’s energy needs.
We’ve got to take the Oklahoma tornado disaster seriously. Global warming is a fact and the entire world has got to reverse the trend. Otherwise, we will be in big trouble. Even Hawaii can experience Oklahoma-like disasters with water surrounding the islands.
I’m all for solar power and our politicians should focus on it. Mankind has terribly abused the planet. It is time for planet Earth to heal so as to prevent disaster like what happed in Oklahoma.
Dean Nagasako
Honokaa