Vol No Inside Local hui forms affordable housing coalition

Vol. 1, No. 3 Inside... Local hui forms affordable housing coalition The owners of a 452-acre parcel of land in Mälaekahana who hope to develop realistically affordable housing for Ko‘olauloa residents are forming a coalition of people interested in such housing and seeking volunteers to serve on its advisory committee. As explained in the inaugural May 2007 issue of Kaleo: Ko‘olauloa News, three Lä‘ie men — Moa Mahe, president of Ko‘olau Business Center (KBC) in Hau‘ula, which sponsors Kaleo; Eldon Campbell, president of Kiwi Construction; and his brother Aaron Campbell, a BYU law school graduate and current Land Manager — as well as Maui resident Al Gardner, who does volunteer scholarship fund raising for BYU-Hawai‘i, formed Mälaekahana Hui West LLC and purchased the property from Campbell Estate in June 2006. Mahe said in the May Kaleo that he and his partners acquired the land mauka [inland] of Kamehameha Hwy. and bordering Kahuku with the intent to develop affordable housing. More recently he said, “We want to gauge the interest in and support efforts by local entities and individuals for affordable housing.” “We want to get this started by forming a coalition and a volunteer advisory committee. The committee will choose a chairperson(s) and a board of directors, and select a name for the coalition,” said Mahe, who is also president of the Kahuku High Booster Club and the Ko‘olauloa Educational Alliance Corporation, a nonprofit organization that helps Kahuku Complex students with career development. “We’ll use this newspaper and our KBC office to help get the message out.” Mahe added that with this article in Kaleo, he invites residents interested in joining the Affordable Housing Coalition and/or serving on the committee “to come to our KBC office in the Hau‘ula Kai Center and sign up. We’ll also have sign-up desks in various locations throughout Ko‘olauloa to sign up interested people; and we’ll then keep them informed through emails and future Kaleo articles.” Watch for future information on sign-up times and locations. Those interested can also contact Mahe’s assistant, Marvel Mau Perez or Niuë ‘The Voice’ of hau‘ula, lä‘ie, KahuKu SepTember 2007 pPCC starts prepping site for Iosepa’s new hälau wa‘a; page 2 Mälaekahana Hui West partners (left–right) Moa Mahe, Aaron and Eldon Campbell near a portion of their property above Manager’s Ridge in Kahuku. Along with partner Al Gardner, who lives on Maui and was unavailable for the photo, they plan to include affordable housing for Ko‘olauloa residents in their project and are seeking input. pNä Kamalei-KEEP to publish a new series of parent-child books; page 4 Suschnigg at the KBC office in Hau‘ula, 944-0700. Please note that if you want to sign up for the housing coalition, they will need names and contact information. “There’s a lot of interest in affordable housing in our moku [district], and we know there’s a need,” Mahe continued, “but it’s not organized to let the City and State know. We be- 200-plus review Ko‘olauloa plan pKahuku wins OIA season opener against Kaläheo, 33–26, and more sports; page 8 Over 200 Ko‘olauloa residents gathered in the Lä‘ie Elementary School cafeteria the evening of August 30 to participate in the “five-year review” process for the City and County’s Ko‘olau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan (KSCP). [Note: Kaleo uses the older alternative spelling Ko‘olauloa.] The KSCP — adopted in 1999, so the numbers are somewhat confusing — articulates the City’s conceptual “vision, policies, design principles and guidelines, and implementing actions, as well as consistency with the General Plan” for a rolling 20-year span. Under this process, urban O‘ahu districts have “development plans,” while country areas such as ours are covered by “sustainable communities lieve there’s a ‘silent majority’ out there, and we feel this coalition will give them a voice.” He uses his “family” of tour and support service employees as an example: “Of our combined total of 80 employees, half of whom live in this area, 38 of them need affordable housing.” “One of the key points I want to get across,” Mahe stressed, “is this is totally a grass roots project, started by a couple of guys from our community who have lived in the moku for many years — two of them Kahuku High graduates.” “As soon as we’re ready, we 8 continued on page 2 Lä‘ie carver gets royal jobs Master carver and Polynesian cultural artisan Tuione Pulotu, who came from Tonga to Lä‘ie 47 years ago as a Latter-day Saint labor missionary to help build the BYU-Hawai‘i campus and the Polynesian Cultural Center, has been asked by Queen Mata‘aho to bring the skills he developed here back home to create a traditional Tongan village. Pulotu, 68, explained he spent from December 2006 to June of this year in Tonga helping repair the 105-foot Tongan kalia-style sailing canoe he created for the South Pacific kingdom in 2000 (a kalia has two hulls, but one is smaller than the other). “While I was there, the queen asked me to do a sculpture of Christ in Gethsemane in the middle of her ‘prayer garden’ at her palace in Tufumahina,” which is about four miles outside the country’s capital of and more... Himene Patitifa..........3 Kahuku.org.................4 Common senses ........6 National honors ........8 Ko‘olau Business Center 54-316 Kamehameha Hwy. Suites 4&5, P.O. Box 129 Hau‘ula, HI 96717 Residents indicate their Ko‘olauloa Sustainable Communities Plan priorities by sticking dots on posters listing the key elements. plans” that seek to “preserve the region’s rural character and its natural, scenic and agricultural resources.” For City purposes, the KSCP covers the area from Ka‘a‘awa to “just past” Kawela Bay. Scott Ezer, Wendie McAllaster and others with the Honolulu firm of Helber Hastert & Fee Planners, Inc., which the City contracted to help with the review process, conducted the meeting. It got off to a bit of a rough start as some citizens attempted to turn it into a public forum to express opposition to Turtle Bay Resort’s expansion plans, but most people there came to find out what was happening in Lä‘ie and the surrounding communities, and to give input. Ezer explained that earlier in the year his company conducted 50-plus interviews in Ko‘olauloa to determine some of the key issues to consider in the review. McAllaster added they hoped to gather “more information from the whole community.” She also explained that the KSCP is part of the County’s General Plan “that 8 continued on page 3 8 continued on page 5 PAgE 2 SEPtEmBEr 2007 Affordable housing coalition... 7 continued from page 1 want to go to the City and State and say, we have secured the land; now help us through the permitting process — but first we’ve got to have community support.” Some of that support is already there, partially because in the partnership’s long-term vision, there will be mixed use. “For example,” Mahe said, “tenant farmers will remain on the property until the community decides what to do. We also met with the Kahuku Community Association (KCA) and Kahuku Village Association (KVA) to get an idea of their thoughts on what we should do with the land. KVA president Noreen Cristobal, who confirmed meeting with Mahe and his partners, said, “I’m for development, just so long as it’s for the people. We need homes, and they’ve got to be affordable. I don’t know exactly what that word entails right now, but as long as it’s for the local people, I’m all in favor of it.” She added there are currently also several other affordable housing projects proposed for the surrounding area, including: n Phase IV of the City housing project in Kahuku village, “that’s been postponed while we wait for the Army Corps of Engineers to finish their [flooding] studies. There’s no deadline,” she said, but noted the Corps had recently obtained funding which might advance the project. “Phase IV will be makai [seaward] of Kamehameha Hwy. and is for the [Ka- huku] plantation people who worked the land,” continued Cristobal, who was born and raised in the community. “The last word I heard is that the City wants to finish Phase IV.” n Phase V is a private development near the Mälaekahana end of the Kahuku golf course. “They also want to give back to the people who are already on the property,” she said. n Hawai‘i Reserve, Inc.’s (HRI) proposed project on the Lä‘ie end of Mälaekahana, that includes an affordable housing component that might include leaseholds to ensure future affordability, but may not be available to the general public. The figure for low-income affordable housing is periodically determined on a county-by-county basis by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); but asked what she thought a realistically “affordable” figure might be, Cristobal replied, “On the books it’s probably close to $300,000. That’s high, so ‘affordable’ for this area should start about $150,000. I wish it could be less. KVA has a thick folder of names of people — former plantation workers and their offspring — who are interested in affordable housing,” Cristobal added. “We’ve also got to make sure the young people have jobs where they qualify to own a home.” “I’d like to see affordable housing now,” she continued, “but I’ve been president of KVA for 15 years, and we’ve passed all of the original deadlines; so, I don’t know when we might actually see any of these.” Asked if the project competes with IOSEPA TO GET NEW HÄLAU WA‘A: The Polynesian Cultural Center has begun site preparation in its Hawaiian village on a permanent berth for BYU-Hawaii’s Iosepa, when the sailing canoe is not on the water. Appropriate ceremonies for the site will take place in early November. — folifoto the other affordable housing projects in the area, Mahe said: “We support the efforts of HRI and the others to provide affordable housing for our community. We know there’s a list of people in Kahuku who are concerned with affordable housing in the area.” “Similar to the other projects, we know the only way our efforts will be approved will initially be through the support of the local community,” he said. Asked to project his dreams, assuming all approvals and financing eventually get worked out, Mahe said, “We want affordable housing in Ko‘olauloa. To achieve that, we know we’re also going to have to have market-value homes to subsidize the infrastructure costs. So, there will eventually be a mix in the project. This may be the only viable option for general public affordable housing in our area for the foreseeable future.” “It’s too early to say what the prices of any of those homes might be at this point,” Mahe continued. “The main thing is to organize those who want and need affordable housing now, because the process is going to take up to five years or longer to move forward. Ten years from now I want to be able to say we gave this our best effort.” “We need to get all of those interested to sign up as soon as possible, so we can have our advisory committee up and running by the end of the year.” PAgE 3 SEPtEmBEr 2007 n Build high rises. n Compromise on population density. Ko‘olauloa plan 5-year review... 7 continued from page 1 sets growth guidelines for the whole island, and very general planning policies.” “We’re looking at what has changed in Ko‘olauloa over the past seven years or so, and how the plan needs to be revised to better address the issues that the community is facing today. That’s the goal,” she said. She asked the meeting participants to fill out a survey which listed six “key vision elements” from the KSCP and indicate whether they were “just as important now, more important now, or less important now.” The key elements are: n Establish rural community, agricultural and preservation boundaries. n Preserve and enhance the natural, recreational and cultural resources. n Preserve agricultural lands and encourage diversification of agriculturerelated enterprises. n Enhance the existing recreational areas and resources. n Establish rural area development standards. n Enhance the character of the region’s commercial areas and recognize the contribution of country stores. She then asked the participants to “vote” on which of these were the most important to the group by putting three bright-red stick-on dots on wall-mounted posters that listed each of the elements. The “affordable housing” poster appeared to have the most red dots. Indeed, McAllaster said it’s a “big, big issue that we’ve heard about over and over again.” She added there’s a big question about the definition of “affordable,” and asked rhetorically, “what’s the impact of rentals on affordable housing?” Other key issues included development pressures and appropriate infrastructure. “This is everything from traffic, water, sewers, drainage, and electrical power,” she said. The participants then divided into four groups to discuss each of these three general issues and report back at the end of the meeting. Their input included suggestions and comments such as: “I think we’re going to have to compromise,” said Ben Shafer of Kahana. n Concern over increased taxes. n Community-focused development: “Just because we’re building more housing doesn’t mean we’re solving the problem,” one woman said. n Zoning changes “so we can all build multiple-family houses,” a man added. n Improve and open up the Army’s “drum road” through the Ko‘olau Mountains to provide an alternative access and evacuation highway. n “It’s about time even the existing road got the improvement it needs,” said Keoki Wallace of Hau‘ula; but Ka‘a‘awa resident and Ko‘olauloa Neighborhood Board chair DeeDee Letts pointed out, “If you’re talking about adding another lane [to Kamehameha Hwy.], you’re going to wipe out 50% of some of our communities.” n “Low-cost, not affordable” housing. n Nonprofit affordable rental housing. n More affordable elderly housing. n Coordination among developers. At the end of the two-hour session, McAllaster indicated another community meeting might be held in December. In the meantime, to give further input, contact Helber Haster & Fee Planners at info@hhf.com or call 545-2055. Additional information can be found at [no hyphens]: http://honoluludpp.org/Planning/Koolauloa/ Kloa5Yr/KloaProjectPage.pdf Kahuku Library Fran Corcoran, Branch Manager, thanked all who recently donated money, including former library technician Judy Funasaki ($1,000) and Susumu Ono’s family ($500 in his memory). Corcoran said some of the money will fund a History of Kahuku Library DVD “as we move into our 40th year of community service.” She also asks those “willing to share photos or other memorabilia from 1968 on to please let us know.” In other news: n The library has openings for two student (high school or college) aides for 19 hours/week, including Tuesday evening until 8 p.m. n Corcoran invites topic suggestions for the Tuesday even presentations. “One of the most popular topics has been orchid culture,” she said. “If you have suggestions or are volunteering, please let me know.” Lä‘ie couple called to Hong Kong The president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has called Charles W. H. and Helen Goo of Lä‘ie to serve as president and matron, respectively, of the LDS temple in Hong Kong for three years, starting Nov. 1. The Goos previously served as president and “mother” of the LDS mission in Hong Kong from 1986–89. Charley also served there as a young man in the 1960s while Helen, who is originally from Kwong Tung, China, grew up in Hong Kong before attending high school on the mainland and enrolling at the Church College of Hawai‘i. Goo’s father, also named Charley, moved the family to Lä‘ie in 1955 to operate the store previously located at the corner of Lanihuli St. and Naniloa Loop, right across from the temporary CCH campus. Goo graduated from Kahuku High as class valedictorian in 1963, and all five of their children attended — four of them graduating, while Charlene finished high school in Hong Kong. “It’s thrilling to be able to return to Hong Kong again,” said Goo, who added that his parents also served an LDS mission in the temple there when it first opened in 1996. Goo said he will retire after 34 years with BYU-Hawai’i, where he is Associate Dean of Students. Helen Goo, who is known for her Chinese cooking skills, added she will also retire from her Internet and home-based business, Helen’s Kitchen. PAgE 4 SEPtEmBEr 2007 ly very positive and help us carry on. I think that’s one of the things that made this project a little bit special.” ma o Ko‘olauloa or “the children of Mattox-Primacio, who lives in KahuKo‘olauloa.” The first book will come ku, further explained books in the new out this month: series, to be completed in 2009, “will n A Day with Makana: I Kekahi Lä me Mabe distributed for free, first to families kana, which follows a boy with special and children of needs through Ko‘olauloa, just a day at school, like we did the submitted by first time.” She the Ko‘olauloa added that if the Hawaiian Civic organization has Club. enough money, Two more will then they’ll refollow by the print and sell end of this year, the new books including: to the public. n The Face of Her Nä KamaleiKing: Ke Alo o KoKEEP’s distribuna Mö‘ï, that tells tion is handled how a girl who by “commuwalks with a cane nity partners” has trouble at — Ko‘olauloa first seeing King Hawaiian Civic Kaläkaua during Club, the BYUH his visit to Lä‘ie, Hawaiian Studsubmitted by Nälani Mattox-Primacio displays the 12 books in ies program, the Nä Leo Kako‘o o Nä Kamalei-KEEP’s original Ho‘oulu Hou series. — folifoto Pünana Leo HaKo‘olauloa. waiian immern Mahalo Ke sion preschool in Kahuku and Nä Leo Akua, in which the wheelchair-bound Kako‘o, the parent organization for the son of Kahuku residents Harry and Hawaiian language immersion proDonna Brown shows how much he gram at Hau‘ula Elementary School. has to be thankful for, by Mattox-Pri Of the earlier 12 books, she said “in macio. the beginning we were going to dis “Our new book project is as varied tribute about 500 copies, but we endas Ko‘olauloa,” she continued, “but ed up giving out 2,000 as widely as we it also backs up our claim that we are could to Ko‘olauloa families and othfamily oriented, and that we look to ers.” Those books are now available for each other for values. For example, we purchase online at www.nakamalei.org. follow Ke Akua [God], and the things Topics include traditional Hawaiian we share with each other are generalstories and more modern accounts such as the “alligator pond” at Kaipapa‘u in Hau‘ula, as well as Küola Walk — the young boy who sailed on BYU-Haour communities. KEAC continues to point with pride waii’s sailing canoe, the Iosepa. to its kahuku.org retail operation. As Mattox-Primacio described the latter both a school store and e-commerce as “the most successful, and I think it’s web site, kahuku.org offers Kahuku because the Iosepa touched so many Red Raider merchandise for sale and people in the community. When we go provides an opportunity for students out of Ko‘olauloa, we tell of men who to gain valuable hands-on experience would stop by after work and sand the canoe, then they were there for the in managing a business. Kahuku.org’s regular store hours [2001] launching. When these people on campus are 10–4:30 on weekdays. get this book, they can say to the child, Many new shirts, hats, and other pop- ‘Daddy worked on this part of the caular school-spirit items are now avail- noe.’ People would bring down food, and others would meet there. That was able for the new football season. As has been the practice, kahuku. a big community pull-together.” org will also set up a satellite sales “For the ones who remember when booth at all home and Aloha Stadium the Iosepa was being built right in front football games. Gross revenue from of the community, we felt that was a kahuku.org for the 2006–07 school year good thing for the community to rewas over $127,000, of which more than member how they pulled together and $25,000 in cash or merchandise was worked on this wonderful vessel.” paid to Kahuku High for its share of Asked to share one of her favorite examples from the earlier series, Mattoxproducts sold with the Kahuku name. Partial funding for student workers Primacio quickly replied, “There are so comes from a grant from the Friends of many,” but she told of something unHawai‘i Charities, Inc., through money expected: “We had so much reaction raised by the Turtle Bay Championship to the ‘alligator pond’ story from peoand SBS Open golf tournaments at Tur- ple who grew up in Hau‘ula, who said that’s where I learned to swim; and tle Bay Resort. Anyone wishing more information now they’re taking their kids there, about KEAC and its programs can even though they no longer live in the email kahuku.org@kahuku.org, call 293- district. Their childhood was reignited 8919, or sign up for email updates at when they read the book.” “I want to encourage people to rewww.kahuku.org. member that these stories were created for home life. We wanted adults talkKahuku.org ing to children in the home, and using booth at the the books as part of that conversation.” September 8 She added Nä Kamalei was “totalKaläheo footly surprised when they went into the ball game. Red classroom. We never intended them for Raider logo wear that.” and other gifts are also available online at kahuku. org., an activity of the nonprofit Ko‘olauloa Educational Alliance Corporation. Counter-high 4.4 cu. ft. Sanyo refrigerator, stainless steel door, mint condition, $150 OBO; Nikon D100 digital camera w/ 24–85 mm f2.8 zoom lens, good condition, $350 OBO; call mike at 754-4304. Nä Kamalei-KEEP publishes again With funding from The Administration for Native Americans (ANA), the Nä Kamalei-Ko‘olauloa Early Education Program (KEEP) headquartered in Punalu‘u is publishing a new series of eight books that focuses on special needs children and diverse learners in our district. Nälani Mattox-Primacio, külana na‘auao or executive director, explained Nä Kamalei-KEEP is a nonprofit organization that provides interaction learning programs for parents and children, ages 18 months to four years old, at six sites throughout Ko‘olauloa. ANA is a national nonprofit foundation that promotes economic and social self-sufficiency for American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Native Pacific Islanders. Following the successful rollout of the earlier 12-book Ho‘oulu Hou series, Mattox-Primacio said in the new series the ANA commissioner requested “that native communities demonstrate to people how children with special needs, or diverse learners, were integrated in our cultural communities — how we don’t send them away but we love them at home and we keep them with us, how they’re a part of our families.” “The idea is to produce educational materials for families and educational organizations that serve young children. Our focus this time is on the integration in the native Hawaiian culture of special needs and diverse learners,” she said. The new series is entitled Nä Ka- KEAC refreshes board, kahuku.org store By Lonia Burroughs In early 2007, the Ko‘olauloa Educational Alliance Corporation (KEAC) underwent a change of leadership with the retirement of MaryAnne Long, who led the organization since 1999 and was one of the founders of kahuku.org. KEAC is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to provide schoolto-work and career opportunities for Kahuku youth. School, business, and community leaders form its board of directors. Moa Mahe, president of Ko-‘olau Business Center, succeeds Long. New board members include Richard Vierra, Property Manager of Hawai‘i Reserves, Inc.; Keoki Wallace, Public Relations Manager of Turtle Bay Resort; Mike Foley, Editor of Kaleo: Ko‘olauloa News; and Fran Corcoran, Kahuku Library Branch Manager. Outgoing board members are Ralph Maka‘iau, Steve Hoag and Spencer Kamau‘oha. Lonia Burroughs now serves as KEAC business manager, and in that position has received a grant from the Mayor’s Task Force on Drug Abuse to implement a project called “Walking Billboards.” Its aim is to provide an opportunity for students to create and produce tee shirts that will support the Mayor’s efforts to curb drug abuse in She emphasized all of Nä KamaleiKEEP’s efforts are focused on parentand-children interaction. “We believe very strongly that you have to have strong parents and grandparents in your family to advocate for children, to know your children well so an outsider can’t say, we believe your child is ‘this’. We certainly want schools to be ready for our children, as we want our children to be ready for schools. One of the ways we engage in that is to help parents help their children. We engage the parents very early in the process, which is one of the main ingredients in the children’s success.” “I want to say how grateful I am to the Ko‘olauloa community for supporting their families and children. We really do see good things out there,” MattoxPrimacio said. “I also want to recognize Ke‘Ali‘i Greene from Kaipapa‘u and Rebekah Luke of Ka‘a‘awa for their incredible work [on the books]. Rebekah was our design and layout person” for the first 12 books. She explained that the idea behind Nä Kamalei-KEEP started in 1996 when Kamehameha Schools announced they were closing their traveling preschool program in our area. Aunty Maxine Kehaulelio organized interested people and obtained nonprofit status in ’98. The program worked from the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center (QLCC) in Punalu‘u until “going out on our own” in 2003, after obtaining a lease from Bishop Estate for their Kawaiono campus, named after the nearby river. In addition to Kawaiono, Nä Kamalei-KEEP operates satellites at QLCC in Punalu‘u, the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Hau‘ula, the Kahuku Village Association Community Center, and BYU-Hawai‘i married student housing (TVA) — the biggest site: “They’re all going strong,” and they’re considering at least one more. A total of 17 full- and part-time employees work for the program, which usually serves between 60–75 children. “We also have the children’s Punalu‘u Discovery Garden and Lo‘i [taro patch] that physical area supplements our Ho‘äla Nä Pua parent and child interaction program. Board members include Kela Miller, president, and Richard Vierra, treasurer, of Lä‘ie; Jeff Peterson, secretary, John Kaina and Bonnie Richards of Hau‘ula; and Chester Kahapea and Robert Hanohano of Punalu‘u. Ko‘olau Business Center publishes Kaleo: Ko‘olauloa News up to 10 times a year as a community service. It is distributed free of charge to homes in Hau‘ula, Lä‘ie and Kahuku, and is available for pick-up in other central Ko‘olauloa locations. the views of the individual writers and other contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or editor. Publisher moa mahe Editor miKe foley Advertising Director aaroN campbell Send news queries to Foley at 7544304, or foleym002@hawaii.rr.com; and advertising queries to Campbell at Ko‘olau Business Center, 54-316 Kamehameha Hwy., Suites 4&5, P.O. Box 129, Hau‘ula, HI 96717; phone 944-0700 x212, (fax) 944-0955; or aaroncampbel@gmail.com. for Sale PAgE 5 SEPtEmBEr 2007 Lä‘ie carver takes skills to Tonga 7 continued from page 1 Nuku‘alofa. “That’s also where the two tiger sculptures I made earlier are,” he said. “She wanted to get it done in time for her birthday on May 29th.” Because clay is hard to obtain in Tonga, Pulotu created a cement mix similar to the one Easter Island carvers used in 2003 to create seven moai statues at the PCC, from which he sculpted the Christ figure sitting on a rock and leaning on another rock in the attitude of prayer. “I got it done on time, and if the statue could stand up, he would be nine feet tall.” Pulotu said the sculpture project enabled him to follow up on his desire to find a site “to build a traditional fale [house] where I could display my work. When I was finished, I went to ask the queen for some land, but she was ill that day. Fortunately, Princess Pilolevu [who has visited Lä‘ie and the PCC a number of times] was there. When I told her I wanted a site with access to the water, she told me a number of European visitors have wanted to live in a traditional Tongan environment, but they couldn’t find one in the country. Can you believe that?” “She asked me if I was willing to come home and build some traditional fale, and I said okay,” Pulotu said of the royal arrangement that gives him “five acres on the mauka [inland] or king’s side of the land in Tufumahina, with access to the water.” Pulotu said the idea of taking his skills back to Tonga to build a traditional village is exciting. “I came here to Lä‘ie to help preserve Tongan culture; now 47 years later, I’m going back there to help preserve the culture of building traditional fale.” He added that one pleasant surprise with the proposed project is the ready availability of coconut trees, which are used throughout traditional fale. “Everything in the Tongan traditional fale is built with coconut. We could build hundreds of them, and still have plenty of coconut trees left over.” “I’m going to go back in January and start building. I’ll do as many as I’m capable of doing,” Pulotu continued. He noted that in addition to the fale, he’ll also build a palangi [European] threebedroom home, but everything else will be traditional.” “I’m going to pick some young people to train, so by the fifth or sixth fale we build, they’ll know how to do it, and we’ll have traditional Tongan builders again. I’m also going to encourage all the nobles to have a traditional fale in each of their villages.” “Wait until we get this thing going! I’m so excited to be giving a contribution to Tonga that everyone will remember. It was working at the PCC all those years ago that developed me to the point where I’m capable of doing this,” said the carver who also took the lead in creating BYU-Hawaii’s 57-foot twin-hulled sailing canoe, the Iosepa, in 2001. Pulotu, who is originally from Pa- ngai, Ha‘apai, spent two years as a Mormon labor missionary in Tonga before transferring to Lä‘ie, where he spent almost four more years as a volunteer. He and his wife Mahana Mo‘o Pulotu, who recently retired after working at the PCC for 40 years, have six children, 17 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The PCC queen’s summer palace Pulotu is currently rethatching hale [houses] in the Polynesian Cultural Center’s Hawaiian village with pili grass and repairing termite damage in the scale model of the queen’s summer palace in the Tongan village. “The queen’s summer house was not part of the original plans for the PCC,” he recalled. “Six weeks before the dedication, the Tongan labor missionaries got together and decided we needed a real traditional fale built with coconut; so we asked [the late project supervisor Joseph] Wilson if we could build a Tongan fale. He asked, how are you going to do that in six weeks? We said, just say so, and we’ll do it.” Polynesian artisan and master carver Tuione Pulotu, and other labor missionaries donated their time and skills after regular hours to build the Tongan queen’s summer palace at the Polynesian Cultural Center in only six weeks. Forty-plus years later, Pulotu — a man of unique talents — has been named a “living treasure” and “Pacific Star.” — folifoto “We worked on our regular assignments during the day,” Pulotu continued, “and we worked on the Tongan fale in the evening. We gave our time outside of our regular responsibilities.” He also explained that two ex- perts from Tonga, Nafetali and Olive, came to oversee the project, and Queen Salote “sent the mats, tapa and everything else needed for the inside. We got it done within the six weeks.” Kahuku Medical Ctr. On July 1 the Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation started a short-term management contract with Kahuku Hospital, which has been be renamed, while HHSC obtains licenses required to take ownership of the 25-bed facility. The State Department of Health will continue facilitating the transition to ensure a successful acquisition. PAgE 6 They’re currently at 2–2. The blue team is headed by Sheldon Carvalho. They’re 4–0. So, we’re going to be very competitive this year,” Whitford said. Cross country “Greg Knohl is our coach, with two standout runners on the girls’ side: Ke‘ilani Wasson and Danica Äuna. We also have four boys running, whereas last year we had none.” Air riflery “We’re off to a great start again this year in air riflery,” said Whitford. He added that campus safety and security manager John Shaw is the coach. Basketball Whitford explained that because both boys and girls will compete during the winter, “and all the OIA schools only have one gym, there’s going to be (Front row): Christin Hoag, Amy Bangerter, Chelsie Kamauoha, Diane Veras, Sami Wheel- a scheduling crunch. Consequently, er; (middle row): Alana Aluli, Jessica Tew, Jonathan Lautaha, Jeremiah Thee, Ila Myer, Ma- fans will not be allowed into the gym rissa Compton, Christina Hubner, John Nielson; (back row): Kawena Bikle, Lacy Chun and on game days until 4:45, with games Jazmine Emerson starting at 5 o’clock, to afford the teams practice time before tip-offs. So, if the boys are playing, the girls will be able Kahuku High and Intermediate stu- wrote essays, designed visual display to practice until 4:45, and vice versa.” OIA Red vs. White dents Jonathan Lautaha, John Nielson boards, created their own scripts and and Jeremiah Thee were finalists in performances, and made documen- In summary, Whitford noted Kathe in the senior media division of Na- tary films. The competition is open to tional History Day competition held in grades 4 –12. Each year students are Washington, D.C. in June. They won a given a theme to follow. Last year over special award and $1,000 in the Mili- 2,000 students participated nationally By MaryAnne Long tary History category for their docu- in “Triumph and Tragedy in History”. Our five senses are the doorways to mentary on The Battle of Stalingrad. Mahalo to the sponsors: Hawaii Re- our brain. Without input through the In the junior division Ila Myer, Kira serves, Inc., Windward District, Tur- senses, there could be no thought. The Ho Ching and Christin Hoag won the tle Bay Resort as well as families who exercises below were designed to help Outstanding State entry for their per- made this trip possible for the Kahuku parents develop sensory awareness in formance of The Dawes Act: Story of the students. their children. Indian Tragedy. Sight These students, along with 36 others After a trip to the supermarket, ask from Hawai‘i, had the opportunity to your child to remember the items you visit national museums, monuments 7 continued from page 8 bought before you take them from the and historical sites between competitry to equalize the number of boys and bags. Depending on your child’s age tions. They spent their last day, Friday, girls playing to satisfy Title IX gender and ability, you might ask for a more June 15, meeting with Congressman detailed description of each item. Or, equity.” Daniel Akaka and touring the State “Moana Ah Hoy has stepped down after watching a short commercial on Capitol with former Kahuku students to pursue other interests,” Whitford TV, ask your child to remember every interning there. continued, “and the new varsity head item that appeared on the screen dur Students from all 50 states, American coach is Uila Vendiola. Her assistant ing the commercial. Sämoa and the Department of Defense Sound is Teisa Fötü Auva‘a. They’re currently Schools in Italy and Germany compet Sit with your child and have him at four wins and no losses.” ed in the competition June 10 –14. They “Bonnie Blake is the JV coach. close his eyes and try to distinguish the sounds that he hears. Or, have your child close his eyes during a TV program and try to distinguish the different sounds he hears. You can carry the exercise further by having him identify other items that might make similar SEPtEmBEr 2007 huku is fielding 55 teams this year. “There’s always concern about the budget: We never have enough,” he said, “and fund raising is always a big issue. We’re trying to do our best to accommodate all the wishes of all the teams.” He also explained that Kahuku, which only has 1,138 high school students, is much smaller than, for example, Farrington, which has about 2,500 students. “We’re considered one of the smaller schools; but in the OIA we do not go by the size, we go by the strength of the teams. Because of the strength of our teams, we compete at the top level.” “If Farrington doesn’t have a strong team, even though they’re one of the largest schools in Hawai‘i, they will compete in the [smaller] OIA White Division. Many other mainland states go strictly by student body population to determine their leagues.” “Because we’re a stronger team, competing against the smaller schools — especially in football — became a catalyst for change,” he said. “It became a safety issue.” Kahuku students win history awards Beyond the classroom: Common senses Smell Take time whenever you are cooking to have your child identify the foods to be served just by the smell. Or, have him remember times on TV when one’s sense of smell played an important part in a program; or have your child make a list of commercials that appeal to a person’s sense loNg of smell. Taste Youngsters love to eat, so adapt the activity above to a taste testing to identify what is to be served for dinner. Touch Collect some household items for your child to identify simply by feeling them. Or, as you watch a TV program or commercial, have your child match textures that he sees on the screen to things around your home. There’s no need to feel that you have to buy the latest learning gadgets; just take advantage of the world around you to give your child ample opportunities to think and learn. [MaryAnne Long is a retired teacher and an educational consultant. She can be reached at malong@lava.net] Sports Reports iNTerNShipS Nä Kamalei-K.E.E.P. is looking for student interns to work with young children in Ko‘olauloa. Stipend. Negotiable college credit. For non-speakers or speakers of Hawaiian. Inquire at nkpublishing@hawaii.rr.com, or contact Rebekah Luke, 237-8504. sounds. Ho‘äla Nä Pua Women’s luncheons The BYU-Hawai‘i Women’s Organization — which is open to community members — will hold an opening social luncheon on Friday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m. in Aloha Center 155. Margaret Wheelwright, wife of newly installed BYUH President Steven C. Wheelwright, will be the speaker. This year’s theme comes from the song Holding Hands Around the World, which a group of BYUH choir members will sing. It was part of their recent China/Mongolia tour repertoire. The cost for each lunch is $10 for members and $12 for nonmembers. Membership dues are $10 per year. Dues and a portion of luncheon proceeds go to the BYUHWO Textbook Scholarship Fund. Childcare is available at a nominal charge. RSVP to 383-4600. Come and join our Parent & Child Interaction program! For Babies 18 months to 3-years old and their Parents/Tütü We believe that Parents are a Child’s 1st teacher! Sites: Hau‘ula, Kahuku, Punalu‘u, TVA; Weekday mornings For more information: 237-8500 PAgE 8 SEPtEmBEr 2007 Sports reports: Over 300 students play on Kahuku teams Kahuku High’s Joe Whitford, starting his sixth year as athletic director for the Red Raiders, reports the fall 2007 season is “very busy with over 300 athletes currently participating, although winter has the most sports.” Football For Red Raider fans, however, football is the game that always rises to the top this time of year. Of course, by now everybody knows the varsity lost their two pre-season games: 21–6 to St. Louis on August 22 at Aloha Stadium; and 27–0 against Bingham High in Cedar City, Utah, on September 1. But those with weak faith got a good boost on September 8 when the Red Raiders stopped Cody Von Appen and the Kaläheo Mustangs, 33–26, during the OIA Red Season opener at home. “About 10,000 fans came to the game in Cedar City, “said Whitford, “and most of them wore red. They came from all parts of the western United States. At the end of the third quarter the score was 0–0, but unfortunately, we didn’t win. Coach Reggie Torres’ philosophy is to evaluate all players during the pre-season, and that’s what happened. That doesn’t sit well with many of the fans in the community, but those games helped us prepare for not only the season but hopefully post-season play.” “We have a hard time getting teams to play us pre-season, but we try to line up the best competition we can get,” he added. “Some times we win, some times we lose; but the value is we can see exactly where we are and where we need to prepare and do better.” “I also want to add that the values we instill in the students are Kaleo: Ko‘olauloa News Community Calendar Kaleo gathers calendar information from a variety of sources, and suggests you verify any details below you’re particularly interested in. September 13, Thursday: Ko‘olauloa Neighborhood Board, 7 p.m., Hau‘ula Civic Center; BYUH women’s volleyball team vs. alumni, 7:30 p.m., CAC; September 15, Saturday: Kahuku girls JV softball at Farrington, 10 a.m.; Kahuku football at Kailua, JV at 4 p.m., varsity after; September 17, Monday: Parks & Recreation Fall program starts at Kahuku District Park, Lä‘ie Elementary School and Hau‘ula Community Park, call Diane Tafua, 293-5116, for more info at Lä‘ie and Hau‘ula; and Maile Etherton, 293-5564, at Kahuku; September 18, Tuesday: Kahuku girls JV softball vs. Castle, 3:30 p.m.; September 19, Wednesday: Keiki Storytime, 10 a.m., Kahuku Public & School Library (repeats every Wednesday); September 20, Thursday: Kahuku High School career fair, in the gym, starting at 10 a.m.; September 21, Friday: BYU-Hawai‘i Women’s Organization opening social luncheon, 11:30 a.m., Aloha Center 155, featuring Margaret Wheelwright, RSVP by 9/15 at 383-4600, $; BYUH women’s volleyball team vs. UH-Hilo, 7:30 p.m., CAC; September 22, Saturday: Kahuku girls JV softball vs. Kaläheo, 10 a.m.; Kahuku football vs. McKinley, JV at 4 p.m., varsity after; BYUH women’s volleyball team vs. Chaminade, 7:30 p.m., CAC; September 25, Tuesday: Kahuku girls JV softball at Kailua, 3:30 p.m.; Kahuku High Song Fest, 7 p.m., BYUH CAC, $; September 26, Wednesday: “Kökua ‘Öhana” sessions help with Kamehameha School applications at Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center, Punalu‘u, 9–5, call 293-8577 (repeats on Oct. 10); Lä‘ie emergency shelter drill, 6–8 p.m., BYUH CAC; September 27, T h u r s d a y : Lä‘ie Elementary School carnival, 5–10 p.m.; Fourth annual Himene Patitifa International Song Contest at the PCC Hale Aloha (see page 3); September 28, Friday: Kahuku homecoming football vs. Farrington, JV at 5 p.m., varsity after; September 29, Saturday: Kahuku JV girls softball at Moanalua, 10 a.m.; October 4, Thursday: Deadline, next issue of Kaleo; BYUH Lyceum featuring Tomas Kubinek, 7:30 p.m., Auditorium, $; October 5, Friday: Kahuku High Project Grad carnival; BYUH “Idol Night,” 9:30 p.m., CAC; October 6, Saturday: LDS General Conference; Kahuku football at Castle, JV at 4 p.m., varsity after; October 7, Sunday: LDS General Conference; October 11, Thursday: Next issue of Kaleo; BYUH Lyceum featuring Japanese Koto Trio, 7:30 p.m., Auditorium, $; October 13, Saturday: Maori competition at PCC, 9 a.m., Pacific Theater, $; BYUH “Idol” finals, 9 p.m., CAC; Paipai Falemalu (42) bats down a Kaläheo pass in the first quarter of Kahuku’s 33– 26 win over the Mustangs at home on Sept. 8. After a slow offensive start and an early lead by Kaläheo, the Red Raiders came charging back. — folifoto very important to us. Because our season is long, we look at it as a building process, to get better. We normally play 13–14 games in a year. We won’t end the season until the last Friday in November, hopefully, if we make it to the State finals. That’s how it’s been for the last six-or-seven years. We don’t want to peak too early, and then free-fall at the end.” Whitford pointed to outstanding defensive play by Paipai Falemalu, Shiloh Te‘o and Alema Tachibana; and Jray Galea‘i as quarterback. “We also had a good look at some of our running backs — Wesley Töuli, Dustin Akiyama, Junior Mata‘afa and St. John Lessary. We had a good look at a lot of people. For example, we played all three quarterbacks in both pre-season games.” Against Kaläheo, Whitford said, “any time anyone comes to our house to play, they want to try to do their best. In the first quarter, Ko‘olauloa athletes get national attention Three Lä‘ie kids won gold medals between Aug. 9–12 at the Jr. Olympics Skills Competition in Colorado Springs, Colorado: n Josh Christensen, 13 and a 9th grader at Kahuku where he plays JV football, medaled in tennis. n Quayd Ah You, 11 and a 7th grader at Kahuku Intermediate who plays Jr. Midgets Pop Warner Football, won gold in track for a 6.83 50-yard dash and 7’4” standing broad jump. n Rachel Christensen, 11 and in grade 6 at Lä‘ie Elementary, also won gold in tennis. The Christensens are the children of Perry and Martha Christensen; and Quayd is the son of Kingsley and Julia Ah You. Martha Christensen, a former BYU-Hawai‘i tennis player, said her “kids have been playing since they were four, when they could start.” She noted they were the only brother-sister team in the competition, which is held at the U.S. Olympics Training Center. “Rachel and Josh also went last year. Rachel won tennis, and Josh went basketball then,” she continued, adding all three kids had “great fun” and came home with lots of momentos and sports equipment from the all-expenses-paid trip. “Both Josh and Rachel have represented Lä‘ie Elementary in the Three from Lä‘ie win gold Windward Physical Fitness meet for the last couple of years.” Kingsley Ah You, who owns Digital Sports Hawai‘i, pointed out his son’s dash time — which he ran without much practice — was good enough to have “won a silver in the 12–13 category.” “It’s a wonderful program for the kids and an opportunity to meet others. Everything was firstclass,” he added. “It was awesome to represent Hawai‘i and our community of Lä‘ie.” * * * * * * * Well-known college football recruiting guru Max Emfinger invited two sophomore boys with Ko‘olauloa ties to his 2010 annual All American Bowl Game Classic in Jackson, Mississippi, after watching them in one-on-one drills on July 21: n Kona Schwenke, 15, son of McKay and Angela Schwenke of Lä‘ie, plays for Kahuku. n V.J. Fehoko, 15, son of former Ko‘olauloa residents Vili and Linda Fehoko, plays for Farrington. Kona’s uncle and former Lä‘ie resident, Reg Schwenke, reported Emfinger described the two as “freaky sophomore phenoms. They’re the first and only two sophomores I’ve selected for any of my 14 All-Combine teams around the country.” Two sophomores invited to bowl game they successfully completed two on-side kicks, and we only had two plays — an 80-yard run, and a lost fumble. But once things settled down, we put 33 points up and won the game. That gives confidence not only to the players, but also the fans. Personally, I think Kaläheo is a team to be reckoned with.” “Our offensive line is coming together. We average 6’3” across, and we’ll be very competitive this season. The main challenge is academics, but our philosophy is there’s more to life than football: We believe they’re students first, and athletes second. We’re going to hold to that standard, and we’re confident that most student athletes will do both. After high school many of them will not continue with athletics, so we want to help them with their academic foundation.” Whitford pointed out the JV football team, coached by Ikaika Plunkett, “had a good start,” followed by a two-week bye. “Coming off that, they looked okay, but it’s going to be a long season. Most of the kids got to play.” He added that both varsity and JV are “huge squads. We have 86 JV players, and 94 on varsity. That’s a total of 190 kids participating in football. We’re happy with that.” Girls JV softball Whitford reported the girls JV softball program, which has switched from winter play, “is just starting off. We have 16 on the roster, and Dean Hughes is the head coach. He’ll also coach the varsity this year in the spring, along with the varsity boy’s baseball. The JV boys baseball team will compete in the winter.” He also explained the schedule changes are a result of competing for public field time in the spring with Little League. Bowling “We have 24 bowlers this year — 12 boys and 12 girls. They practice at BYU-Hawai‘i and all their competition is on the Käne‘ohe Marine Corps Base. The coach is Joe Holtzmann, our testing coordinator. There’s a lot of interest, and we’re very pleased with the turnout. We’re grateful that BYUH allows us to use their lanes.” Girls volleyball “This year we have three girls teams in the Fall — varsity, JV and blue — while the boys have shifted to the Spring. We have a total of 48 girls participating on the three teams, so we’re very excited as we 8 continued on page 6