HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Fire destroys unit housing 18
Advertiser Staff
Eighteen people, including 12 children, were left homeless yesterday after fire gutted their third-floor, two-bedroom Waipahu apartment unit.
No injuries were reported in the 5:12 p.m. fire on Pupu'ole Street, said Fire Department spokesman Capt. Chris Ah Mook Sang.
A 20-year-old woman and two of the children were home when the fire started somewhere in the rear of the apartment, Ah Mook Sang said. The Hawai'i Chapter of the American Red Cross offered temporary clothing, food and shelter to the family of six adults and 12 children, ages 7 months to 14 years old.
STATEWIDE
HSTA PRESIDENT WINS 2ND TERM
Hawai'i State Teachers Association president Roger Takabayashi was re-elected Saturday to a second three-year term.
"I am very happy that teachers have given me a vote of confidence by returning me to the presidency," Takabayashi said in a written statement. "I am looking forward to continuing our work toward improving our public education system and helping teachers navigate the new demands being placed on them."
HSTA bylaws allow a president to serve two three-year terms.
Also elected were:
KAIMUKI
MOTORCYCLE CRASH VICTIM IDENTIFIED
A man who died Saturday night following a motorcycle crash on the H-1 Freeway near the Wai'alae Avenue overpass was identified yesterday by the medical examiner's office as Mark Guerland, 49, of Kailua.
Police vehicular homicide investigators said Guerland lost control of a 2002 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, which then struck the side-view mirror of a vehicle in a westbound lane of the freeway shortly before 6:45 p.m. The motorcycle then hit the curb and center barrier. Guerland was ejected from his motorcycle and suffered critical injuries.
He died at the Queen's Medical Center at 7:29 p.m. Saturday.
His death was O'ahu's 38th traffic fatality of the year, compared with 30 on the same date in 2005. Sixty-one people have died on Hawai'i roadways in 2006.
WINDWARD
HIKER BITTEN IN ATTACK BY DOGS
A pack of hunting dogs yesterday attacked the dogs of two hikers on the Maunawili Trail, a Fire Department spokesman said. One of the hikers was bitten on the hand as she fended off the hunting dogs.
Fire rescue personnel responded to an 11:25 a.m. call after the two women reported encountering a group of about eight hunting dogs that were not on leashes, said fire Capt. Chris Ah Mook Sang. One woman suffered a bite to her right hand; the other was unharmed. Emergency medical personnel treated the woman's injuries but she declined to be taken to the hospital, Ah Mook Sang said.
One of the hikers' dogs ran away during the fight but firefighters found her with minor injuries.
Ah Mook Sang said that hunting is illegal on the trail. Both women reported seeing men with the unleashed dogs.
NIU VALLEY
CHURCH OPENS SENIOR CENTER
Kilohana United Methodist Church yesterday opened the Kilohana Senior Enrichment Center, an elderly adult day care facility.
Situated on church grounds at 5829 Mahimahi St., the 2,000-square-foot, air-conditioned facility can accommodate up to 35 people per day. It will offer a variety of indoor and outdoor activities.
The cost is $60 per day.
The program is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is managed by Arcadia Elder Services and staffed by certified nurses' aides.
For more information, call 754-7171 or see www.arcadia-hi .org and click on "Kilohana Adult Day Care."
KALIHI
4 MEN ARRESTED FOLLOWING FIGHT
Police arrested four men for questioning in an attempted-murder and assault investigation after one man was stabbed and another struck with a bat during a fight early yesterday morning at Mokauea and Kahai streets in Kalihi.
The stabbing victim, 51, was in serious condition while the man hit with the bat, 45, was in good condition at The Queen's Medical Center, police said.
Investigators said one of the injured men approached the group about an unspecified problem that occurred last week, and a fight ensued.
Two of the men arrested are 21 years old; the others are 25 and 23.
HONOLULU
CHAMINADE GRADUATION TODAY
Four hundred seventy-three Chaminade University of Honolulu undergraduate and graduate students will be awarded degrees at a commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. today at the Blaisdell Arena.
The Most Rev. Larry Silva, recently installed Bishop of the Diocese of Hawai'i, is scheduled to be commencement speaker.
Admission is free; entry tickets are not required.
KAUA'I
STREAM DEBRIS TO BE DISCUSSED
Officials from the state, Kaua'i County and Army Corps of Engineers will discuss the status of Wailapa Stream debris removal tomorrow night at a meeting from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Kilauea Neighborhood Center.
For information, call the Kaua'i Public Works Division at (808) 241-6600.
MEETING ON PARK PROPOSAL PLANNED
Kaua'i County has scheduled a public meeting to discuss its proposed Salt Pond Regional Park, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 25 at the 'Ele'ele School cafeteria.
The county has the opportunity to lease from the state the land makai off the Port Allen airport, and will discuss various possible uses for the land.
For more information, call county community response specialist Theresa Koki at 241-6246.
