OTHER NEWS
Fix found for Kainalu mural
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KAILUA — Kainalu Elementary School won't have to come up with an extra $5,000 to hang its 50th anniversary mural after all, thanks to Kula Construction, a Kailua business.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Kainalu sixth-graders have been working with local artist Tom Deir on a 4-foot-by-30-foot mural for the school's 50th anniversary. Recently the campus learned that the paint on the wall where the mural is to be placed contains lead.
Kainalu sixth-graders, including Marcus Hall, 11, right, have been working with artist Tom Deir, center, on the school's 50th anniversary mural. The problem of lead on the wall where the mural is to be placed may have been overcome, with the help of a Kailua businessman.
Volunteers were to hang the mural, but the presence of lead in the paint meant professionals would have to be brought in, and the school hadn't budgeted for that cost, about $5,000.
Tom Hawkins, Kula's owner, learned about the school's problem from an Advertiser story last week and called the school the next day to offer a cheaper solution, said Sandra Wills, curriculum coordinator at Kainalu school.
Hawkins, a friend of Deir, said the problem could be solved by hanging a concrete board, DuRock, on the wall without removing the paint and gluing the tile to the board. The board would be screwed into the wall and would be a shield from the paint, Hawkins said.
Wills was so thrilled about the offer, she gave Hawkins a hug.
Wills said she had feared the mural might not be hung.
The state Department of Education has given a tentative OK to Hawkins' proposal, she said.
"I was like, there's no way we're going to do this," Wills said.
"Even in the future, murals in any school would be in doubt because of this problem with the lead."
Deir said that Hawkins has offered to donate the material and the labor for the project, costing about $1,500.
"I thought if he (Deir) is doing something like that for the kids, I don't mind helping him out," Hawkins said, adding that he also recognized that the schools are having a tough time financially and should spend their money on more important things like supplies for the kids.
"It was such a surprise for the school to have to deal with (the lead paint)," Deir said.
"It's something that was unforeseen. It was a pleasant surprise when the media put out a story ... and then people come to help."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
