Neighbor Island briefs
Advertiser Staff
Disability forum scheduled on Maui
WAILUKU, Maui — The sixth annual Maui Disability Alliance Legislative Forum will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 16 in the Cameron Center auditorium.
There will be panel discussions on employment, transportation, education, family support and respite, housing, medical and personal care, and safety. State lawmakers will be on hand to meet with parents, educators, people with disabilities and others. A potluck will follow.
For more information, call Mary Matsukawa at (808) 984-8218 or Colleen Wallace at (808) 242-6461.
The primary sessions will have four themes: the therapeutic relationship; cross-culture issues; race, gender and sexuality; and movies and medicine.
The sessions are designed for medical professionals, but are open to the public. For more information, visit come.to/KFCE or e-mail Dr. David Elpern at kauai@bcn.net
Patient-doctor conference slated
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The Kaua'i Foundation for Continuing Education will explore the relationships between patients and their doctors in a conference titled "The Art and the Calling: Beyond Powders and Potions," to be held Nov. 1-4 at the Sheraton Kauai Hotel.
A special session on society and health will include four speakers directly involved in the New York City terrorism aftermath.
Probation revoked in Big Isle murder
HILO, Hawai'i — A Big Island judge has revoked probation for Matthew Gibbs, one of three defendants in the 1993 kidnapping, rape and murder of Pahoa High School student Sequoya Vargas.
Gibbs, 27, was arrested on a felony drug charge earlier this year on Maui, where he now lives, and is awaiting sentencing. Because the Maui arrest violated the terms of his probation, Judge Riki May Amano will re-sentence Gibbs in the murder case on Oct. 30.
In exchange for testifying against Richard Damian Serrano in the Vargas case, Gibbs was allowed to plead no contest to third-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced in August 2000 to five years of probation.
Serrano, who was a fugitive for six years before his 1999 arrest in Mexico, is serving two life terms for abducting and killing the 16-year-old girl. A third defendant, Jason McCubbins, is serving a 20-year prison term.
The victim's body was thrown into the ocean near McKenzie State Park and was never recovered.
Maui mayor seeks input on budget
WAILUKU, Maui — Maui County Mayor James "Kimo" Apana has scheduled a series of meetings this month to gather ideas from the public on the next fiscal year's budget.
Representatives from each county department will be at the meetings to answer questions and receive suggestions for the budget year that starts July 1. Apana said the meetings also will be used to discuss the Community Development Block Grant program.
The meetings will begin at 6 p.m. and are scheduled for the following dates and locations: Oct. 15, Mitchell Pau'ole Center, Moloka'i; Oct. 16, Pa'ia Community Center; Oct. 17, Kula Community Center; Oct. 18, Helene Hall, Hana; Oct. 22, the new Lana'i Senior Center; Oct. 24, Kihei Community Center; Oct. 25, Wailuku Community Center; and Oct. 30, Lahaina Civic Center Social Hall.
Anyone needing assistance or special accommodations to participate in the meetings should contact Tammy Shamblin in the Budget Office at (808) 270-7855 at least six days before the meeting date.
