Posted on: Thursday, April 21, 2005
HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Ex-bank teller put on probation
Advertiser Staff
A former Central Pacific Bank teller was placed on probation for five years yesterday for stealing about $105,000 from bank customers last year.
Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario also ordered Anne Li, 28, to pay $1,000 to the state Crime Victim Compensation Fund.
Del Rosario followed a plea agreement in placing Li on probation.
Li was a teller at the bank's Ke'eaumoku Street branch when she stole the money from customer accounts, according to prosecutors.
Li and her family have repaid the money, city Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter said.
She also wrote letters of apologies to the two customers and the bank, he said.
A 42-year-old man was arrested at a Kaimuki store yesterday morning after he allegedly tried to buy a money order with a counterfeit $100 bill.
Police said the man handed the currency to a clerk about 8:30 a.m. and that the clerk used a pen with special ink that revealed the bill was a fake.
Police and U.S. Secret Service agents were called to the store and arrested the customer on suspicion of first-degree forgery.
The 'Aiea Community Association, Wai Momi Outdoor Circle, Marines from Camp Smith and Friends of Pearl Harbor Historic Trail will do an Earth Day cleanup of 'Aiea Stream Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
They will be clean the stream near the Aiea Shopping Center. It's part of ongoing efforts to clean the stream and the surrounding area, including Rainbow Bay State Park, said Robyn Blanpied, president of Friends of Pearl Harbor Historic Trail.
Students studying agriculture or related natural resource sciences at the University of Hawai'i's Manoa or Hilo campuses may be eligible for full scholarships, employment and other benefits through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Applications are being accepted for the 2005 Asian Pacific Islander program through May 13.
Applications also are being accepted for the new Tribal Scholars program, which offers scholarships to tribal colleges.
For information about the program, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov, or call Larry Holmes, NRCS Outreach Division director at (301) 504-2229 or larry.holmes2@usda.gov.
Hawai'i public schools will get an additional $5.6 million from the state to serve autistic children, whose numbers in the school system have increased by 40 percent since 2002.
The money is part of an $11.7 million emergency appropriation request by the Board of Education. The remainder of the money will pay for behavioral heath services at the schools.
Autism includes an array of neuropsychiatric disorders that inhibit a person's ability to communicate.
There are 1,123 children with autism spectrum disorder attending Hawai'i public schools, said Sandra Goya, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education. That's up from 801 counted in July 2002, when administrative and fiscal responsibilities for autistic children were transferred to the Department of Education from the Department of Health.
"The funds will ensure students with the greatest needs receive appropriate services and that the state fulfills its responsibility to serve all students," Gov. Linda Lingle said.
Man arrested in counterfeit case
'Aiea Stream cleanup Saturday
Ag scholarships available at UH
Schools financed to treat autism
