Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013

      The staff for the school, including 52 teachers, administrators, counselors, assistants, paid coaches, maintenance, cafeteria and other workers totals about 75. The principal is Sharon Beck, and vice principal is Stacey Bello.
      Look for statistics from Na`alehu School in tomorrows Ka`u News Briefs.

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Trojan athletic director Kalei Namohala explains options to the regular football season, which has been cancelled. Photo by Julia Neal

THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR FOOTBALL PLAYERS at Ka`u High this year even though the regular Big Island Interscholastic Federation play for the 2013 fall season has been cancelled. During a meeting last night for players, parents and the community, athletic director Kalei Namohala said that by Wednesday, Kea`au High School will decide whether to allow Ka`u players to join their team, and Ka`u players can decide whether to accept. If they do, they would have to travel to and from Kea`au on practice days and for games.

      Trojan freshmen and sophomores would be on the Kea`au junior varsity team, and the Trojan juniors and seniors would play varsity. Whether they play or sit on the bench would depend on individual skills as compared with those of Kea`au team members.

Trojan football players may be able to join the Kea`au High School football team or form their own eight-man team. Photo by Julia Neal

      The others option: by Friday, Ka`u players will decide whether to play eight-man football for which Maui school district has a league. One of the teams in Maui County – Moloka`i – has already agreed to host Ka`u High for a game, Namohala explained. In addition, Kamehameha School and Kealakehe have agreed to field eight-man teams to play Ka`u.
      Ka`u dropped out of BIIF play last Friday when it could not come up with the required 30 players. Namohala said she asked for a three-day extension to see if more players would sign up on Monday when school started, but BIIF turned her down. The most to come out for practice this year is 25, she said. The high school has an enrollment of 103 boys.
      The athletic director said that eight-man football is good for small schools that find it difficult to field an 11-man team, which needs 30 players to qualify. Eight-man needs 18 players. She presented recent statistics. In 2011, the team started with 35 players and ended up with 24. Last year, Ka`u started with 42 players and ended with 21, forfeiting the last game since there were not enough qualified players – several of them had fallen back in their academics.

Bobby Barba fondly remembers playing six-man football when he was a young Trojan under principal Laurence Capellas. Barba later became head coach. Photo by Julia Neal

      One of the problems with too few players is penalties for forfeiting games. The school is fined $100 for each cancelled home game and $1,600 for each away game. The school can’t afford the risk, Namohala said. She also said that injuries can contribute to not having enough players for a game. With some Ka`u High team members playing both defense and offense and many of them being fit and lean athletes rather than very large players, they have a high risk for injury.
      The athletic director noted that eight-man football is a faster game with fewer defensive players. It is somewhat like arena football, with a smaller field and could suit the Ka`u team, Namohala said. She said that Ka`u football players are continuing practice until decisions are made.

      Team supporters at the meeting said that they would be willing to work on raising money for the eight-man football team to travel to Moloka`i. In the future, such Hawai`i Island schools as Kohala, Pahoa and some of the small private schools could play eight-man football. With a minimum of three teams, the island could have a league and play the winners of a Maui league in a state playoff.
      Namohala also cleared up a misconception that if a school drops out of football season, it will have to stay out two years. She said that is an old rule and no longer applies.
      Former Ka`u High football coach Bobby Barba said this morning that eight-man football would keep the program going. “I am all for football.” He said that when he was a student he played six-man football under the leadership of former Ka`u High principal Laurence Capellas. The Trojan team traveled the island playing schools like Honoka`a. Barba said it was a great game.

Sen. Josh Green

KA`U HOSPITAL could have some staff cutbacks. Fourteen million dollars in cash is needed to cover statewide shortfalls, said Avery Chumbley, acting CEO of Hawai`i Health Care Systems, which runs Ka`u Hospital and Rural Health Clinic. The money is needed to cover union pay raises recently approved and declining reimbursements.
      HHCS representatives met with lawmakers at the state Capitol. Regarding the meeting, Sen. Josh Green, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and former physician at Ka`u Hospital, told Hawai`i News Now, “The hospital system is our emergency safety net. We always knew there would be some need for emergency appropriations on the neighbor islands.”
     See more at hawaiinewsnow.com.
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GREENSANDS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION gave out school supplies last weekend during a successful rummage sale. The organization has regular events, including a Neighborhood Watch meeting the second Monday of the month in Green Sands Park at 4:30 p.m. 

KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL airs on Na Leo O Hawai`i Channel 54 television this month, showing today at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Aug. 8 at 11:30 a.m.; Saturday, Aug. 12 at 3 p.m.; Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 11 a.m.; and Saturday, Aug. 17 at 6 p.m. The 51-minute program was produced by Wendell Kaehuaea, who, along with Bobby Tucker, interviewed and filmed participants and some of the thousands of people who attended.
      Ka`u Coffee Festival 2014 will cover ten days, spanning from May 2 through 11. It starts with the Miss Ka`u Coffee Pageant on Friday, May 2 at Ka`u Coffee Mill; Simply Elegant, the third annual Ka`u Farmers Table at the Inn at Kalaekilohana on Saturday, May 3; the Triple C Recipe Contest using Ka`u Coffee at Ka`u Coffee Mill on Sunday, May 4; Ka`u Mountain Hike on Wednesday, May 7 starting at Ka`u Coffee Mill; Coffee & Cattle Day at Aikane Plantation Coffee Farm on Friday, May 9; Stargazing, leaving from Ka`u Coffee Mill on Friday, May 9; the ho`olaulea with free entertainment, coffee tasting, the Coffee Experience and mill and farm tours at Pahala Community Center on Saturday, May 10 and Ka`u Coffee College and farm tours on Sunday, May 11.
      For more, see kaucoffeefest.com.
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Amy Gordon, of Waialua, took first in the female division of the half marathon at last year's Volcano Rain Forest Runs. Photo from Volcano Art Center

VOLCANO RAIN FOREST RUNS’ HALF MARATHON will be the third event in the new Hawai`i Triple Crown Half Marathon series beginning next year.
      Kona Marathon announced today that they have partnered with the Big Island International Marathon and the Volcano Rain Forest Runs to create the Hawai`i Triple Crown Half Marathon series.
      Starting in 2014, participants who complete the half marathon at each event will achieve Triple Crown status. “Our goal is to provide our runners with the opportunity for a new challenge and for them to have fun doing it at the same time. It is a great way to see the island as an athlete as well as to stay fit and healthy,” said event operations director, David Ranck.
      Each participant who completes the series receives a Triple Crown medal, certificate and other prizes to be announced. The award ceremony will take place after they complete the Volcano Rain Forest Run. “We will celebrate their achievements in grand style,” said Sharron Faff, director of both the Kona Marathon and Rain Forest Run.
      The 2014 dates for each half marathon events are as follows: Big Island International Half Marathon March 16, Kona Half Marathon June 22 and Volcano Half Marathon August 16. The three half marathon events are scheduled for any trained athlete to run or walk each event. Additional information and registration is available at konamarathon.com.
      Registration for this year’s Volcano Rain Forest Runs on Saturday, Aug. 17, is available at rainforestruns.com.
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