Posted on: Thursday, September 16, 2004
HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Diane Kato wins Wal-Mart honor
Advertiser Staff
Alvah Scott Elementary School teacher Diane Kato has been named the state's Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year, an award that comes with a $10,000 educational grant.
Kato will be recognized at her school on Tuesday, when Wal-Mart associates will present her with the grant check, a personalized teacher-of-the-year certificate and a one-year membership to Phi Delta Kappa, the professional organization that selected her.
Kato, a second-grade teacher, established the 'Aiea school's remedial reading program during the 2001-2002 school year, hiring a part-time teacher with a $10,000 federal grant, soliciting volunteer tutors and holding individual conferences with her students' parents to teach them strategies to help their children.
In her application for the award, Kato wrote: "I want students to experience the joy of self-satisfaction upon completing a task or mastering a new concept. I try to instill a love of learning as I guide and nurture in order that students can attain that level of achievement that they may have felt was out of reach."
State Board of Education members will discuss the Reinventing Education Act of 2004, enacted into law as Act 51, at a Sept. 27 community meeting at 'Aiea Elementary School, 99-370 Moanalua Road. The meeting will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The BOE is seeking to inform the community about educational initiatives to improve student achievement in public schools.
The meeting primarily is for schools in the 'Aiea-Moanalua-Radford complex area but is open to the general public.
For more information, call 586-3349.
Honolulu's top mayoral candidates raised very little in campaign money since Sept. 3, according to reports filed yesterday with the state Campaign Spending Commission. Mufi Hannemann raised $12,700 from 12 donors, and Duke Bainum raised $7,700 from 6 donors, according to the reports, which detail money collected between Sept. 3 and Sept. 14. With the primary election Saturday, the state requires the reports to disclose any late campaign contributions over $500 that candidates receive after the Sept. 3 deadline for filing more comprehensive statements. The new reports bring the total raised by Hannemann to $1,480,067. Bainum has raised a total of $1,156,134, and has loaned his campaign $1,973,863 more. A 36-year-old man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of sexually assaulting two prostitutes. The man is accused of forcing two admitted prostitutes to have sex with him on March 19 and April 2, police said. The women, ages 19 and 22, said they work in the downtown area where the assaults occurred. The man was being held last night in a police cell block pending charges. Police said he may also have been involved in the sexual assault of two other prostitutes this year. The former head of the Waimanalo Health Center faces new charges of embezzling about $40,000 from the facility. Radine Kawahine Kamakea-Ohelo, 51, and her former husband, Clyde Kamakea-Ohelo, 53, were indicted last year on second-degree theft charges of bilking the state welfare system out of more than $19,000. Yesterday, Radine Kamakea-Ohelo was charged in a federal indictment with embezzling money through methods that included making personal charges on the facility's two credit cards and receiving payments from the facility for personal expenses on her own charge card. She could not be reached for comment. Big Island firefighters yesterday shut down operations to battle a Kawaihae brush fire that had burned 1,500 acres since Sunday.
Capt. Grant Kojima said the fire was contained at 2 p.m. yesterday and that only a water tanker would be stationed overnight to watch for any flare-ups.
Some areas where the fire burned are littered with unexploded ordnance from World War II military training exercises. Kojima said firefighters were not able to work on foot because of concerns that the old explosives might detonate. Eight personnel staffed the scene yesterday, monitoring the fire from vehicles.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. It started Sunday morning along Kawaihae Road near Hawaiian Fresh Egg Farm, forcing the temporary evacuation of about 60 homes. No structures were burned.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved money to offset the county's firefighting costs, which have not been tallied. The aid was offered under the agency's Fire Management Assistance Grant Program, which will cover up to 75 percent of the firefighting and emergency response costs.
The nonprofit Hawai'i HomeOwnership Center will offer free orientation classes to first-time home buyers on Kaua'i starting Sept. 24.
The free classes can be supplemented by detailed instruction — for which there can be fees — on debt and credit issues, budgets, home financing and other information.
"Over the next two to three years, we are aware of 200 to 300 affordable multi- and single-family housing units that will be built on Kaua'i. We need to prepare residents today to become Kaua'i's homeowners of tomorrow," said Kenneth Rainforth, head of the Kaua'i County Housing Agency.
For more information and to register, call toll-free at (877) 523-9503.
Wesley Lo has been named chief executive officer of Maui Memorial Medical Center and regional CEO for Hawai'i Health Systems Corp., Maui region.
Lo, a former county finance director, had been acting regional CEO since July 1, and also served as the region's chief financial officer. Originally from O'ahu, Lo has lived on Maui since 1990.
In addition to his responsibilities at Maui Memorial Medical Center, he will oversee Kula Hospital and Lana'i Community Hospital.
EWAlution, a coalition of agencies that coordinates community activities and events in 'Ewa, will present a "Movie on the Wall" on Oct. 22 at the Hale Pono Boys & Girls Club at 91-884 Fort Weaver Road. The movie will begin after sunset.
Call the Movie on the Wall hotline at 589-1829 Ext. 270 or Melissa-Kim Tom, community coordinator of Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii, at 689-0267 for more information.
BOE to discuss education law
Money tapers off in mayoral race
Man, 36, arrested in assault cases
Ex-health center chief charged
Big Island fire finally controlled
Nonprofit helps home buyers
Wesley Lo CEO of Maui Medical
'Ewa group to screen movie
