Officers have tough gig
Officers have tough gig
We all need the police. The officers whom I have met on a personal level I would consistently describe as nice people. Unfortunately, most people’s only contact with police is the traffic stop, where the officer politely hands you a bill (ticket) for $206, punishment for behavior you considered normal. So every time you see a police unit, you wonder if anything you are doing will provoke another encounter.
Many of those tickets are appropriate, but many amount to tax farming by legislatures too gutless to raise taxes or cut expenses. The relationship between the public and the police would be better if the government did not pressure the police to bring in more revenue.
Ken Obenski
Kaohe South Kona
Keep park green
Please do not build a ball park in Kukuihaele. The area is too small! A ball park with its chain-link fencing and formal layout will completely destroy the gentle, serene, green park atmosphere. Most of the time it will not be used as a ball park and when it is, the number of cars parked will overwhelm the parking and end up squeezed on the sides of the road.
In fact, the upper road was built because the narrow Kukuihaele Road could not take the intense traffic. Also, the additional gas used by so many to go out there for games only adds to our dirty air pollution.
Most of all, why are we spending $5 million for a remote park? If additional ball fields are necessary, build them in Lapahoehoe or Pauillo or Honokaa or anywhere between Hilo and Honokaa. These are our tax dollars being used and they are not being spent wisely for our community. And what about the ongoing maintenance?
When I was out there, the children were rolling down the green hill. They were climbing on the only tree available. Please spend the money for toilets, playground equipment and a covered pavilion. Leave us a green, old fashioned park to play in.
Joyce Oconnor
Kamuela
Writer didn’t deserve Roundup rebuttal
Mr. Philip Motooka said in his Letter to the Editor that he is a retired weed, soil scientist. I am not sure what education it takes to become one and how long ago he retired because his criticism of Diana Duff is absolutely ridiculous. Unless he was at some time employed by Monsanto et al, he obviously has no knowledge of the problems with glyphosate, which, by the way, has been banned in numerous countries. He refers to the EPA required testing — testing that was produced and submitted to EPA by the manufacturers, not tested by EPA! Of course, they would not make up results, now would they?
GMOs have been around for hundreds of years by grafting plants and “marrying” others to obtain a better crop, which is not the same of what GMOs are now, where genes have been implanted into seeds to be resistant to glyphosate, i.e., so that huge quantities can be sprayed on the fields to kill weeds. Thus residual glyphosate has been found in food plants as well as in the meat of deformed, dead animals. Monsanto et al have cornered the markets by selling their GMO seeds, which farmers have to buy from them every season, as well as, of course, glyphosate.
Obviously, Diana Duff is much more informed than you are, Mr. Motooka, and it would behoove you to check up on the latest data and information. There are extensive scientific and medical reports available. So, if you are spraying Roundup in your yard, I suggest you wear a mask and have your body fully covered. Also, make sure it does not drift into your neighbor’s yard because they might sue you because they are concerned about their health!
Christa Wagner
Kailua-Kona