O'ahu briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
CENTRAL
25th Infantry changes staff
Col. Douglas L. Horn Jr. will take over the position of chief of staff, 25th Infantry Division (Light) during a Flying-V ceremony at 4 p.m. today on Sills Field at Schofield Barracks.
Horn replaces Col. James A. Kelley, who will leave July 1 for Fort McPhearson, Ga., to become Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff Operations (Readiness) for U.S. Army Forces Command.
The Flying V includes an inspection of troops, a tradition dating back to the Roman Empire. The ceremony is open to the public and will include a marching band and showcase all battalion and company commanders with their official unit colors.
Prior to the ceremony, Kelley will receive the Legion of Merit medal and his wife, Yvette, will receive the Commander's Award for Public Service.
The duties of chief of staff include guiding, coordinating and monitoring day-to-day activities of the division staff.
For more information, call Capt. Stacy Bathrick at 655-8729.
LEEWARD
Leeward residents decry landfill expansion
About 100 citizens with concerns about the city's proposed expansion of the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill attended the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board meeting last night.
The city recently released a revised draft environmental impact statement on the landfill expansion at the 200-acre site. Representatives with the city's environmental services office said the expansion is the most economical and cost-effective option, and the city continues to study other alternative technological strategies. Without expansion, the landfill will be used up by 2002.
Residents and business owners said they want the landfill removed altogether.
Neighborhood board chairwoman Maeda Timson said the site is ugly and foul-smelling — and runs contrary to everything the Kapolei community is striving for in the name of positive development.
"And now what do we tell tourists and citizens as we invite them to the Second City? Come to Kapolei and smell our dump?"
Other community residents suggested the city pursue aggressive residential recycling programs, and seek other locations for the landfill.
The 60.5-acre expansion to the landfill in Kahe Valley would provide space for rubbish though 2017. The landfill is operated by Waste Management of Hawai‘i Inc. and now uses 86.5 acres at the site.
Dogs attack Wai'anae boy
Eight-year-old Simon Kapua suffered three bites yesterday afternoon when two dogs attacked him as he played near his Ala Akau home in Wai'anae.
The boy's grandfather said the dogs that attacked him were pit bulls. The incident comes on the heels of a fatal pit bull attack on an 18-month-old boy and the mauling of the boy's mother June 9 on the Big Island.
Simon was playing on a brick wall near his home when the dogs attacked, grabbing him by the leg and pulling him into their enclosed yard, witnesses said.
The dogs' owner rescued the boy, bringing him into her house until the boy's grandfather, Paul Ganaban, could be notified to take him to the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. Police were called to the center.
The boy suffered two bites on his inner right thigh and one to his left ankle and received stitches.
"I'm in a state of shock," Ganaban said from the health center. "The kids were out playing and the next thing I knew my granddaughter was running in, saying 'The dogs got Simon.' "
Simon's cousin, Veronica Ganaban, 11, said a neighbor boy was teasing the dogs before the incident.
Simon "loves animals and doesn't think they will do any harm to him, but he knows better now," his grandfather said.
WINDWARD
Board re-elects its chairman
The Waimanalo Neighborhood Board has elected Wilson Ho as chairman for the seventh consecutive year.
Other officers voted in this week include Phillip Ellsworth, vice-chairman, and Andrew Jamila Jr., treasurer.
The board was also able to fill two of four vacancies from districts where no one ran in the recent election. Past board members Mabel Spencer and Nani Akeo agreed to fill the seats.
HONOLULU
Hawai'i team wins contest
Women representing Mi-lilani Leak Detection of Honolulu won the women's division of the American Water Works Association National Tapping Contest yesterday in Washington.
In their first trip to the competition, the three-woman team of Gaynor Minton, Danielle Ornellas and Anna Tanaka tapped a pipe for consumer water service in just over 2 minutes, 2:00.47, more than 10 seconds faster than their closest competitors. The women are employees of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.
The competition was a part of the American Water Works Association's 16th Annual Conference and Exposition, held June 17-21. The association is an organization of water supply professionals dedicated to improving drinking water quality and supply.
The men's team from Hawai'i did not make it to the finals.
Applications due to police
Applications for the next round of Honolulu police officer hirings are due tomorrow.
Applicants must be at least 20 years old, have a valid motor vehicle driver's license, be legally eligible to carry firearms and be either a U.S. citizen, national or permanent resident alien. The starting date for applicants who pass a written exam Aug. 4, and other entrance exams, is slated for Feb. 14. There were 41 officer positions available as of May 31.
Applications and information are available at police stations, satellite city halls, the City Department of Human Resources, HPD Human Resources Division and the HPD Web site.
