Puohala Elementary may close 'dangerous' path

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau

KANE'OHE — The lilikoi, mango and tall grass that line a shortcut to Puohala Elementary School are the stuff memories are made of for children who use the path, but illegal activities and rude encounters there paint a different picture for people who live along the route.

A concrete path used as a shortcut by children from Puohala Elementary School in Kane'ohe has been the site of illegal activities and rude encounters, say some residents who live along the route. They would like to see the path closed. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

"The dangerous situations have increased greatly and that is our concern," Silberstein said. "It gets to be very isolated as the weeds and trees become overgrown. I don't think you would want your daughter or young son to travel through the path."

For a long time the school had a large number of children who used the shortcut to get to classes, cutting about half a mile from their walk. It also removed the students from a busy highway and potential traffic danger. Students attending Castle High School also benefited.

But because of reduced enrollment at Puohala and fewer students taking advantage of the shortcut, the Department of Education, which owns the path, is considering what to do with it. Safety for the children will be the deciding factor, Silberstein said.

Officials at Bayview Golf Links said they have met with the school and would support whatever the school decides is best for the children.

The golf course periodically clears its land next to the 6-foot-wide walkway, which is fenced on both sides and is more than 900 feet long. But on one recent day, grass between four and five feet tall still rose halfway up segments of the fence on the golf course side.

Recent fires in the area have threatened the golf facility, and increased criminal activity made the school want to act, said Herb Lee, golf course spokesman.

"Times have changed and maybe that pathway is no longer viable or useful," Lee said. "It's become more of an impediment."

Some residents who live next to the pathway said it should be closed.

Beryl and Donald Powell, a sister and brother who have lived next to the walkway for 22 years, said teenagers throw mangoes, golf balls and squash at their home.

"It's a nuisance every year," said Beryl Powell, 79. "There's a new gang of kids every year. They're rude. They talk back."

"They're dangerous," said Donald Powell, 76.

The pair have had to chase away teens who were shooting a BB rifle, and have tried to stop others from trespassing on their property.

They said they've gotten no help from the city or the state.

Donald Powell blamed parents for not teaching their children to respect other people's property and blamed society for coddling children.

"Until you get back to the idea that kids should be seen, not heard, nothing is going to change," he said.

Donald Powell said the only way to ensure against trespassing is to sell the land to the adjoining homeowners.

Joshua Collas, 20, who uses the path, said closing the area would punish the people who use the walkway for jogging and walking, including older residents.

"I guess it's the high school kids that use the drugs that bring it down," Collas said, adding that he would not like to see the path closed.

Penne Collas, 46, said she has called police several times when she had noticed teens at a neighbor's house.

Teens frequently jump over the 8-foot fence and run through people's yards. Penne, who has four dogs guarding her property, said she wasn't sure the trail should be closed.

"If people would fence their yard and put dogs in their back yard, they wouldn't have this problem," she said.