Carpenter apprentices help school

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KANE'OHE — Carpenter apprentices have used their newly acquired skills to build a storage facility at Kane'ohe Elementary School, providing the Windward campus with a 520-square-foot building that is the envy of those who see it.

The building provides much-needed space for May Day props, Fun Fair games and other items now being stored in classrooms, said Mitchell Otani, school principal.

With its wide, long lanai, the storage building fits in with the style of homes in the area, Otani said. "Several of the teachers said they wanted to move in," he said.

The building, in the school's playing field, will be blessed at 10 a.m. today. Guests will include U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, who was a principal at the school in the late 1960s, and state Rep. Ken Ito.

The Hawai'i Carpenters Union and its Honolulu Community College apprenticeship earn-and-learn program provided the labor of 13 students and an instructor to construct the building on six Saturdays. The union also provided a plan, solicited material donations and got the roofers and painters union to complete the project, Otani said.

The school provided about $9,000 in material through the PTA and money it earns by renting space to community organizations at nonschool hours, he said.

In the open market a project of this size would have cost about $62,400 to build, said Shayne Chung, Carpenters Union service representative. The building has no electricity or running water, but it has a skylight that provides light during the day.

"This is forever, so generations of children who come to the school can use it," Chung said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.