Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff
Red Cross volunteers leave for Guam today
More than a dozen volunteers from the Hawai'i Chapter of the American Red Cross will leave today to help with relief efforts in Guam in the wake of Typhoon Chata'an.
The typhoon pounded Guam yesterday, but caused no serious injuries. But Chata'an killed 37 people and injured more than 100 others as it roared through the Federated States of Micronesia.
The Red Cross volunteers will provide assistance in damage assessment, family service and disaster mental health. Among the volunteers will be Jocelyn Collado, director of communications for the Red Cross in Hawai'i, who will serve as public affairs coordinator.
Blaze destroys Big Island building
HILO, Hawai'i — Fire destroyed a three-story building that formerly housed a Big Island charter school, officials said.
The building that formerly served as the Waters of Life charter school in the Hawaiian Acres area of Kurtistown was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived around 9:40 p.m. Thursday. The fire was not extinguished until 1 a.m. yesterday. The third floor of the wood structure collapsed, fire officials said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage is estimated at $300,000, fire officials said.
The school, which is now located at the Boys and Girls Club in Hilo, operated out of the building during the 2000-01 school year. The state had sought to close the school for alleged fiscal mismanagement, but Circuit Judge Riki May Amano ruled in February that the state Department of Education should have placed the school on probation first.
Witnesses sought in Waikiki slaying
The police CrimeStoppers program has put out a renewed call for witnesses who could help with the investigation of the slaying of an 81-year-old tourist from Ontario, Canada, in January 2001.
Norman Chaplan died Jan. 23, 2001, of injuries suffered in a robbery and beating that occurred just before 1 a.m. that day at the Outrigger West Hotel, 2330 Kuhio Ave.
Steven M. Hauge, who was sentenced Tuesday in an unrelated hotel burglary that occurred six hours after the Chaplan beating, remains the sole suspect in the death, city prosecutors said.
Hauge was arrested but never charged in the Chaplan case. "It's been our experience that witnesses are willing to come forward after a suspect is in custody," said Detective Letha DeCaires, CrimeStoppers program coordinator.
The male assailant in the slaying is believed to have followed Chaplan into the hotel lobby restroom just after his arrival in Honolulu with his tour group. The killer struck him on the head with a blunt object and took his wallet.
The suspect was described as a Caucasian in his early to mid-30s, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, weighing 180-200 pounds. He had brown neck-length hair and a tan complexion and was wearing a dark blue or purple T-shirt with white lettering, green shorts and slippers.
Anyone with information can file anonymous tips with CrimeStoppers, 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
38-year-old charged in sex assaults
A 38-year-old man has been charged with 12 counts of first-degree sexual assault in a case that originated when the female victim was 10 years old.
Alan New made his initial appearance yesterday at District Court. Bail was set at a total of $50,000 on the 12 counts. The victim, now 16, alleged the assaults took place in 'Ewa Beach between August 1996 and March 2001.
Police seize 9,650 marijuana plants
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Law enforcement officials conducted a three-day marijuana eradication operation this week, netting 9,650 plants. The plants ranged in size from seedlings to 8 feet tall. No arrests were made.
Kaua'i and Maui police, the Hawai'i Air National Guard and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement participated.
