Better firefighting equipment needed
Better firefighting equipment needed
Hawaii needs a fixed wing firefighting resource. While small helicopters with a bucket can handle smaller fires, during El Nino conditions, that could prove inadequate for a larger fire in the proximity of highly urbanized areas.
A Canadair CL-125, or a Beriev 200ES would be about the right size and when not fighting fires, could be used for search and rescue duty as they are both capable of landing on water. Will government consider this? Probably not until their homes are threatened by wildfire.
Dave Kisor
Pahoa
1 dentist giveth, 1 taketh away
A tale of two dentists:
In 2015, one dentist, Dr. Cliff Kopp, (WHT Jan. 2, “Homeless comes home; Dr. Kopp finishes his around the island awareness walk”) began a walk of over 200 miles in an effort to bring hope and life to others.
Another dentist, Dr. Walter Palmer from Minneapolis, flew thousands of miles so he could claim the life of one of God’s most majestic creatures, a Southwest African lion.
While Dr. Kopp raised money to help the homeless, the other dentist spent thousands of travel dollars to ambush a defenseless lion — just for the sport of it.
What a wonder it is to see how humans derive their pleasures. One squeezes a triggers and snuffs out a life, while another shows his true humanity and finds a ways to improve life — not take one.
As I begin this new year, I applaud Dr. Kopp for his humanitarianism, and using his example, I hope that I can offer service to others — even in some small way — each day of 2016.
Bravo, to Kailua-Kona’s Dr. Kopp.
Richard Dinges
Hilo