Posted on: Sunday, January 16, 2005
HAWAI'I BRIEFS
No asbestos in fallen tiles
Advertiser Staff
KAILUA — Plaster and ceiling tiles that fell in a classroom at Kailua Intermediate School on Friday tested negative for asbestos, a state education official said yesterday. Eight students and one teacher sustained minor injuries when a part of ceiling collapsed on the second floor of C Building.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser To speed up the repair of the collapsed ceiling, the affected wing of C Building will be closed until repairs are completed. Classes normally held there will be relocated, Knudsen said.
School will resume as scheduled Tuesday. Students in the affected classrooms are instructed to report to the office on Tuesday morning to receive their new room assignments.
Knudsen stressed that student and staff safety is of utmost priority and all measures were being taken to ensure the safety of the campus.
A driver accused of running over former Honolulu Police Chief Michael Nakamura has been fined for driving without a license in an unrelated incident.
Anthony G. Pearce II, 20, of Waipi'o, pleaded no contest in Wahiawa District Court to a charge of driving without a valid license. He was fined $150.
Pearce was arrested on Sept. 29 after an incident in which Nakamura was struck as he attempted to cross Lanikuhana Avenue in Mililani in his motorized wheelchair.
Nakamura, 57, who uses a wheelchair because of a degenerative nerve condition, suffered two broken legs and other injuries. He is recuperating at home and is undergoing physical therapy.
Pearce was arrested for suspicion of failure to render aid, driving without a license and auto theft, but was released pending further investigation.
Waikiki lifeguards reported that a 60-year-old man collapsed at around 3:30 p.m. yesterday 40 feet offshore from Kuhio Beach.
The man was standing in waist-deep water when he suddenly fell face-first, said Capt. Paul Merino, who heads the South Shore Water Safety District. People nearby pulled the man out of the water and alerted lifeguards, who brought him to shore and administered CPR.
Merino said that according to the man's wife, he had just taken diabetes medication. The man had no pulse and was not breathing when he was taken by ambulance to Straub Clinic and Hospital at 3:04 p.m., Merino said.
EnvironMETeo Services Inc. assessed Room 219 and all tests were negative for asbestos, said Greg Knudsen, of the state Department of Education.
Construction workers remove ceiling debris from a Kailua Intermediate classroom.
Driver who hit ex-chief fined
Swimmers help man in distress
