Letters | 11-28-15

Department of Health needs to do more about dengue now

I urge the state Department of Health to urgently do even more to control the dengue fever outbreak.

Among the things that can be done is to establish a testing lab on the Big Island, which would reduce the response time from over a week to just a few days, allowing faster reaction to new cases and new locations of concern. And much more could be done to control the relevant mosquito populations, and to reach suspected cases for testing.

I applaud DOH Director Virginia Pressler for restoring Dr. Lorrin Pang’s involvement. He is one of the most knowledgeable officials in our state regarding mosquito-borne illness, and his removal from the project this past week was deeply troubling. His involvement is reassuring, as he is clearly more concerned with public health than with efforts to save face, build reputations, or minimize the publicity about the outbreak. This cannot be said about all those involved thus far.

Unfortunately, it is perceived in our community that this was not treated as urgently as the situation deserved. Every resource available should be used, including asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for local help, now.

This outbreak is in imminent danger of becoming endemic on the Big Island. If it is entrenched here, Hawaii will be on travel advisories worldwide. It is unlikely to remain only a Big Island problem, and it will affect the whole state financially, as well as medically.

State Sen. Russell Ruderman

Keaau

Mr. Elarionoff’s letter astute, superb

Kudos aplenty to Leningrad Elarionoff for his superb contribution in the Nov. 24 issue of West Hawaii Today. He calmly, intelligently and correctly addressed the issues of possible Syrian-refugee immigration to Hawaii, without all of the recent melodramatic, tempestuous blathering that has appeared in your pages of late, both pro and con, toward this emotional subject.

Over the past several years, I have read virtually all of Mr. Elarionoff’s letters to the editor and, in virtually every instance, have found them profoundly insightful, as well as interesting. I was familiar with his intelligence and professionalism as a high-ranking HPD official, by virtue of my long-term tenure as the Big Island federal transportation officer in Hilo. But it is now, in his retirement years and my own, all the more rewarding to see his viewpoints so eloquently reflected in the West Hawaii Today.

Mr. Elarionoff’s commentary regarding our governor’s misplaced sense of immigration “aloha” is not only spot-on accurate, but his final remarks about an insufficient vetting process possibly leading to our hearing “Allah Akbar” are chillingly terrifying. His discourse should be given maximum attention, at the top most levels of political authority, both locally and nationally.

William H. Nordstrom Jr.

Kailua-Kona

CERT essential for public safety

I still don’t know how I wound up on a list that got emailed about CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training, but nevertheless, something drew me in and I ended up spending four Saturdays learning how to assist first responders and to even show up when formally activated (you can’t just activate yourself) before they are able to in a larger incident to help stabilize a situation, especially when the ratio of first responders to the general public is less than 1 percent.

The course I attended is taught at the Keaau Community Center, although it’s taught at other locations throughout the island. You get classroom and hands-on training and on the fourth Saturday, there is a written exam and practical exams, followed by a critique known to the fire people as a hot wash.

This is just something to mull over in case you ever wonder how your community will fare in an emergency. Visit www.hawaiicounty.gov/civil-defense-cert.

Dave Kisor

Pahoa