Museum plans approved with kitchen.   

By Melissa Kelsey

Molokai’s veterans are considered by many to be living legends, and with last Wednesday’s green light to build a new Molokai Veterans Center as a museum, these fine women and men will indeed become living history. Dressed in bright yellow t-shirts, nearly 50 veterans showed up at the Molokai Planning Commission (MoPC) meeting to represent their case for the Veterans Center.  

“A nation that forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten,” said Larry Helm, Commander of the Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans.

Voting unanimously, the MoPC approved the veterans’ request for a Special Management Area (SMA) Minor permit, allowing the group to build the center on the veterans’ property located on Kaunakakai Place Road on the way to the wharf.   

“I think what we need to do today is just get this thing going,” said Steve Chaikin, MoPC Vice Chair.

Scale of confirmed cases falsely reported

By Melissa Kelsey

Two Molokai influenza cases tested positive for the H1N1 “swine flu” virus last weekend, according to Janice Okubo, Public Information Officer at the state of Hawaii Department of Public Health (DOH). She added that other cases are currently being tested. 

Earlier this week, Hawaii radio and television stations falsely reported that there had been 20 confirmed cases among Molokai firefighters.

“There is no clear basis to declare an outbreak of this sort,” wrote Mahina Martin, Maui County Community Relations and Communications Director, in a Monday statement addressing the false reports.

Only one of the two confirmed swine flu cases on Molokai was a firefighter, according to Martin.

Aka`ula School parents chip in to raise money.        

By Melissa Kelsey

Katelynn and Meredith Whitted enjoyed corndogs purchased from the food stand run by parents.For many parents on Molokai, working together is a fundamental facet of providing keiki with an excellent education. At Aka`ula School’s Summer Festival last Saturday, families collaborated to earn money to cover the school’s unpaid bills.  

“We needed to raise funds for the kids’ education,” said parent Dean Chow. “All the parents just kind of kicked in.”   

At the Aka`ula School campus at Kualapu`u Center, parents sold ono homemade bread, coconut cream pie, apple pie, lemon pie, shortbread cookies and other baked goods. Visitors enjoyed corn dogs, barbeque chicken plates and fresh coconut drinks. Whole, roasted Rotisserie chickens brought to the island from Sam’s Club sold out before the event was over.   

Chow said families donated possessions from their homes for a rummage sale of clothes, books, dishes, videos and other used household items. Farms and friends of the school contributed plants to the selection of goods for sale. Inside the school, an impromptu gift shop sold pottery, candles and other more expensive items.

Head of School Vicki Newberry said this is the first year Aka`ula School has hosted this type of fundraiser, but the school hopes to repeat the festival in the future.

Molokai court weighs eviction of Home Pumehana resident.

By Melissa Kelsey

The legal boundaries of medical marijuana use on Molokai were tested at the Molokai District Court in Kaunakakai last Tuesday. Based on her legal medicinal use of the drug, Gloria Molica is facing possible eviction from Home Pumehana, the senior living center where she resides.

“It is dangerous to the health and safety of the residents,” said Home Pumehana Housing Manager Jersula Manaba, explaining reasons why the living facility does not allow marijuana on its grounds.     

Medical use of marijuana is controversial because it is a federal offense, yet since 2000 has been legal in the state of Hawaii. Sixty-two-year-old Gloria Molica said she has suffered from severe depression and post traumatic stress disorder, so much so that her doctor has prescribed her to use marijuana to treat her symptoms. Molica holds a “blue card,” the certificate that allows Hawaii patients to grow, transport and possess marijuana for personal medical purposes with a physician’s approval.   

Judge Barclay MacDonald heard the Home Pumehana versus Gloria Molica case. Attorney Maria Sullivan represented plaintiff Manaba. Defendant Molica attended the trial without an attorney.   

“I don’t buy, I don’t sell, I do not smoke,” said Molica at the trial. “I vaporize at my own discretion because of my health,” she said.

Hawaiian monk seal still at the wharf

Not all of the wharf swimmers in this picture are kids. KP2, a Hawaiian monk seal at the lower right, enjoys an afternoon with friends after swimming back from Kalaupapa, where NOAA officials had taken him just two days earlier.

By Catherine Cluett

Life is good for KP2, a young male Hawaiian monk seal who calls Kaunakakai Wharf his home. Wherever people are, KP2 is sure to be found, whether it’s diving with laughing children or grabbing onto an outrigger for a ride. Some find his behavior annoying, but most are endeared by this bright-eyed, playful creature who prefers human company to hanging out with fellow seals.

“I’ve watched him hug the kids and the kids hug him back,” said one onlooker who frequents the wharf.

UPDATE: Kaunakakai Water Customers Urged to Conserve

 Maui County Press Release

The County of Maui Department of Water Supply (DWS) is urging all customers in Kaunakakai and Kalae, Molokai to use water for health and safety purposes only while the Department of Water Supply replaces the pump and motor at the Kualapuu Well, which is the County’s only water source for the area.

Water levels at the Kaunakakai tank have fallen rapidly since the Kualapuu Well was shut down on Monday, June 22, 2009 for the repair work.  Customers may experience low water pressure or no water if storage levels continue to drop.  The State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is supplying water to the County system while the well is out of service but cannot keep up with the additional demand.

Molokai residents get a taste of canoe sailing.

By Catherine Cluett

With a sail taut above their heads, wind rushing past them and salt spray on their faces, Molokai keiki got an experience that brought smiles and squeals of delight – a ride on a Hawaiian sailing canoe. The public event, held last Saturday at the Molokai Canoe Club by Kaunakakai Wharf, was sponsored by the Hawaii Sailing Canoe Association (HSCA). 

“We are doing this event as a ‘Mahalo Molokai’ for all the years of support that the HSCA has received from the Molokai community,” said Nakoa Prejean, Vice President of the HSCA. Keiki and adults alike took advantage of the opportunity.

The canoes were already on Molokai as part of the HSCA’s racing season. The fleet started on the Big Island in late April and will continue to race their way between islands until early October, according to Tom Boomer, former Vice President of the HSCA. He said the canoes are privately owned and racing crews gather from throughout Hawaii to participate in the island-hopping event.

Invasive jellyfish removed from Kaunakakai Wharf.   

By Melissa Kelsey

Unusual and unwanted creatures made a stinging entrance to Kaunakakai Wharf several weeks ago. There was a population explosion of Mangrove Upside Down Jellyfish, mildly stinging sea invertebrates with tentacles in shades of brown and green. A man and two children were stung several times, according to Lori Buchanan, Field and Outreach Coordinator for the Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee (MoMISC).

Last Thursday morning, six workers from Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and MoMISC eradicated around 200 Mangrove Upside Down Jellyfish from Kaunakakai Wharf. Workers caught the jellyfish with nets, counted them and classified them by size for future reference, according to Cecile Walsh, a DLNR Aquatic Invasive Species Research Associate.

To protect themselves from the stinging cells, the workers wore protective body gear. Warnings were posted at the wharf for swimmers to beware even after the jellyfish were removed, due to the possibility of stinging cells still floating in the water. Throughout the project, the invasive species workers conducted public outreach by showing the jellyfish to children at the wharf and alerting them to the danger.

Molokai Irrigation System gets a makeover.

By Melissa Kelsey

For farms to thrive on Molokai, nothing is more important than a reliable source of water. At the Molokai Irrigation System (MIS), significant water pipe upgrades are almost finished, and promise to make water delivery to the island’s farms even more secure, according to MIS Chairman Adolph Helm.

Helm said the state legislature approved over $1 million toward MIS system upgrades several years ago after state audits revealed massive disrepairs. But it was not until this year that the actual repair work began.   

To the revamp the system, Helm said the primary pipes that connect the MIS from the east end of the island to the west end are being replaced. These lifelines, which service all of the MIS pumps on Molokai, have never been replaced since the MIS was first constructed more than 40 years ago. The MIS system electrical wiring has already been amended to better handle water moisture. As an added perk, a telemetry system will be installed that will allow for remote control of the pumps and give MIS workers the ability to monitor the water flow inside pipes and wells.     

Independent grocer manages his family’s business.

By Melissa Kelsey

“Independent grocers are a dying breed,” said Kevin Misaki, the General Manager at Misaki’s in Kaunakakai. The father of three children and an avid fisher and diver, Misaki is the third generation manager of the Molokai family-owned grocery.

From new refrigeration equipment to fresh coats of paint, shoppers at Misaki’s have enjoyed the shop’s recent improvements. New cash registers will be installed in six months or so, according to Misaki. The roof has been repaired and internal construction renovations have made the grocery more shopper-friendly. Misaki said Molokai’s small population dissuades large chain-store competitors and helps small businesses like Misaki’s thrive.  

Misaki came back to Molokai in 1979 to continue his family’s business after he graduated from college on Oahu. He said he had initially considered majoring in Oceanography, but later changed course and graduated with a degree in Marketing because he thought it would be easier to find a job on Molokai in that field.

“I think for young people, it is how important it is to actually live here,” said Misaki. “It is about what they are willing to sacrifice.”