Hawai'i briefs

HONOLULU

Special athletes Olympics-bound

Special Olympics Hawai'i will hold a sendoff party Saturday for 13 local athletes who will be a part of Team USA at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland.

Organizers of the party, which will be held 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Murphy's Bar & Grill, will recognize the swimming and track and field athletes participating in the world summer games June 21 to 29.

Center offers parenting class

Hawai'i Counseling and Education Center Inc. is offering Ke Ala Pono (The Pathway to Peace) parenting classes on communication, conflict resolution and how to bring out the best in each other. Classes start June 17 and will be held Tuesday evenings at the center's Honolulu office, 600 Kapi'olani Blvd. For more information, call 254-6484.

Students create winning posters

Several O'ahu schools and one on Maui have received awards and prizes for illustrating the importance of Hawai'i's forests through posters. About 70 students in kindergarten, second and fifth grades participated in the contest, sponsored by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The contest's theme was "Year of the Hawaiian Forest." The winning posters in each division were:

• "Birds of the Forest" by kindergarten students at Kamehameha Schools, Maui campus.
• "Watershed Wisdom" by second-graders at Iroquois Point Elementary School.
• "Trees Are Terrific and Forests Are Too" by fifth-graders at Mililani Mauka Elementary School.

Winning posters will be displayed in Honolulu Hale in October.

Summer reading program begins

Ronald McDonald will help kick off the Hawai'i State Public Library System's children's summer reading program on Saturday. Admission is free. The Ronald McDonald Show will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the main library's Edna Allyn Room for Children. The program is designed for children of all ages and their families.

"Find Adventure @ Your Library" is the theme of this year's summer reading program. Participating children who read at least one book per week will receive a free reading incentive while supplies last.

To request a sign language interpreter, call the library five to seven days before the program. For more information, call 586-3510.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

6 acres burned by brush fire

HILO, Hawai 'i — A Big Island brush fire burned six acres and came within 25 feet of two buildings Sunday afternoon near Hawaiian Paradise Park before being brought under control.

The fire, which spread along Paradise Drive and Maku'u Drive, caused $1,400 in damage.

It took firefighters approximately four and a half hours to extinguish the flames.