Free aikido classes offered at Hale Halawai
Free aikido classes offered at Hale Halawai
The Department of Parks and Recreation, along with the Aiki Kaio Kona Aikido Club is offering free, ongoing classes at Hale Halawai on Alii Drive. Instructors Sharon Gilbert and Bill Stockton have taught aikido in West Hawaii for more than 25 years.
Classes are held on Mondays and Wednesdays. Youth ages 6 to 14 meet from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and adults age 14 or older meet from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Aikido is a Japanese martial art teaching self-discipline, harmonizing and defensive techniques in a noncompetitive atmosphere. It offers full body exercise and can help participants manage stress and improve flexibility and confidence. Advanced students will learn the weapons used in aikido.
For more information, call Stockton or Gilbert at 325-7501, or Marshall Tohara at 327-3565 or email aikikaiokona.hawaii.rr.com.
Secret Santas sought to provide gifts for needy children
Family Support Hawaii is seeking “Secret Santas” to help make its Kalikimaka No Na Keiki, or Christmas for the Children, campaign a success. Secret Santas may either “adopt” the children of a family or make a monetary donation.
The program brings joy to children in need by making sure each one has at least one present to open on Christmas.
For more information, contact Gabriella Cooper at 987-6364 or kamana001@gmail.com, or Barbara Millslagle at 896-0080 or bjmillslagle@hawaii.rr.com, no later than Dec. 1. All contributions, large and small, are appreciated and tax deductible.
Thanksgiving food drive underway
Kona Community Hospital, in partnership with the Hawaii Food Basket, is sponsoring a Thanksgiving food drive that runs today through Nov. 15.
Hospital staff will fill baskets with donated food needed for a Thanksgiving dinner, including canned fruits and vegetables, gravy, cranberry sauce, boxed stuffing, instant mashed potatoes, canned meat, boxed desserts and rice. Food baskets will be distributed to families by Hawaii Food Basket community partners.
Food donations can be dropped off at the Kona Community Hospital Administration Building entrance across from the emergency department, Alii Health Center in Keauhou Shopping Center in the general surgery and obstetrics departments in Suites 422 and 411, and West Hawaii Community Health Center at 75-5751 Kuakini Highway.
For more information, call Judy Donovan or Alexa Herrera at 322-6960, or visit kch.hhsc.org.
WCA meeting features Blue Zones Project
Dan Burden, a White House-recognized national “Champion of Change in Transportation” who has worked with communities in Hawaii to help make them more livable and conducive to natural movement, will lead a workshop conversation during a Waimea Community Association Town Meeting presented in collaboration with the North Hawaii Blue Zones Project. The meeting will begin with an optional 4 p.m. “walking audit,” and will then convene in the Waimea School cafeteria for a workshop that will run until about 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The lengthy session is intended to provide ample time for community discussion.
Healthy, filling snacks and cold drinks will be provided by the Blue Zones project and hot coffee will be provided by Starbucks.
The community is invited to WCA Town Meetings and there is no charge, though membership in WCA is encouraged. Attendees also are encourage to make a contribution to the Waimea food pantry — either with cash, check or nonperishable foods.
For more information, call Patti Cook at 937-2833 or email cookshi@aol.com. For more information about North Hawaii Blue Zones project, call Carol Ignacio at 938-8631 or email CarolR.Ignacio@Healthways.com.
Students invited to innovation-focused energy workshop
Blue Planet Foundation will kick off its inaugural Student Energy Summit on Nov. 7 at the Homer A. Maxey International Trade Resource Center on Oahu. This one-day workshop will gather middle and high school students from across the state to learn about Hawaii’s current energy landscape and its opportunities for the future. The Student Energy Summit will be an opportunity for students from all islands to network and collaborate with peers, applying their knowledge to real-world challenges and exploring innovative ideas to address them.
The summit, which will incorporate a month-long online curriculum leading up to the event, will focus on experiential and interactive learning. Students will put their problem-solving skills into action through a design-thinking challenge on the day of the summit. The challenge is aimed at encouraging critical thinking through a variety of lenses, including an understanding of economic and policy dynamics, as well as technological and engineering considerations. Students will also have the option of teaming up for an innovation contest, supported by a small stipend to bring their ideas to life.
Register at studentenergysummit.org.
Boating safety course offered
The Coast Guard Auxiliary is offering a boating safety course starting at 8 a.m. Saturday near Keauhou Bay that satisfies the state’s Mandatory Education Rule for boat operators.
Topics include state and federal regulations, life jackets requirements, how to handle boating emergencies and navigation rules. The course is taught in a classroom setting with time for questions, hands-on experience with safety equipment and a written exam. The eight-hour course is taught by volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary instructors and costs $40 with lunch and books provided.
For more information or to pre-register, contact Bob Lathrop 557-6577.
Course for beginning farmers and ranchers planned
The Kohala Center’s Beginning Farmer-Rancher Development Program will provide more than 70 hours of classroom training and hands-on field days for farmers and ranchers.
The course begins Saturday and runs through May 28, 2016. Classes meet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every other Saturday at the North Hawaii Education and Research Center in Honokaa. There is a course fee of $100.
The 14-session course includes classroom lectures, site visits to area farms and hands-on field days at The Kohala Center’s 10-acre demonstration farm in Honokaa. University of Hawaii researchers, extension agents and other agricultural experts will cover subjects such as production planning, farm design, irrigation, soil management, integrated pest management, composting and vermicomposting, cover cropping, business planning, marketing and sales, orchard crops and livestock production.
To appply, visit kohalacenter.org/farmer to download an application. For more information, contact Derrick Kiyabu at dkiyabu@kohalacenter.org or call The Kohala Center at 808-887-6411.