Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Wednesday, June 15, 2016

THE WORLD’S LARGEST WAR GAMES are coming to Hawaiian waters. Sailing to RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, the first ships arrived from South Korea yesterday and will be joined by military from the U.S. and many other countries. RIMPAC takes place every other year and is scheduled for June 30 - Aug. 4.

      The U.S. Pacific Fleet hosts RIMPAC. The 2016 exercises are led by U.S. Vice Adm. Nora Tyson, commander of the U.S. Third Fleet (C3F). Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Coast Guard services perform.

      Participants in this twenty-fifth RIMPAC - the first was in 1971 - are: Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, China, Peru, South Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the U.S. This is year one for Brazil, Denmark, Germany and Italy.

      The 27 countries are sending 25,000 personnel, planes, helicopters, war ships, aircraft carriers, boats and submarines, fully loaded with weapons, including missiles for war games in both Hawaiian and Californian waters. According to the military Stars and Stripes newspaper, among the exercises will be “amphibious operations, gunnery, counter-piracy, mine clearance, explosive ordnance disposal and diving and salvage operations. Defensive training against missiles, submarines and aircraft will also take place.”

      According to a statement from the U.S. Pacific Fleet, “RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans.”
      The 2016 theme is, “Capable, Adaptive, Partners. The participating nations and forces will exercise a wide range of capabilities and demonstrate the inherent flexibility of maritime forces. These capabilities range from disaster relief and maritime security operations to sea control and complex warfighting. The relevant, realistic training program includes amphibious operations, gunnery, missile, anti-submarine and air defense exercises, as well as counter-piracy, mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal and diving and salvage operations,” says the Pacific Fleet statement.

      The statement also points to the Department of the Navy’s Great Green Fleet initiative. It “highlights global operations using energy conservation measures and alternative fuel blends to demonstrate how optimizing energy use increases resiliency and operational readiness. During RIMPAC, almost all participating units will operate using an approved alternate-fuel blend.”

      Environmental groups in Hawai`i and elsewhere have watchdogged RIMPAC for decades, pointing to possible damage to marine life caught up in the noise of the war games, the electronic signaling between the participants and the sinking of ships. Rules of the game call for lookouts for whales and other marine species.
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THE U.S. SENATE PASSED the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act 85-13, which includes more than $600 billion in funding for service members and national security, and several measures championed by Sen. Mazie Hirono, a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and ranking member of the Seapower Subcommittee.

      “I voted to approve the National Defense Authorization Act because, on balance, this legislation invests in our service members and strengthens our national security,” Hirono said. “I was particularly proud to secure nearly $200 million of investments in Hawai`i’s military infrastructure. I remain concerned about changes the bill makes to the Department of Defense that would impact our force structure and locally based service commands. These and other changes should follow adequate study and evaluation of their impact. But we are not at the finish line yet. I will continue to work with Chairman McCain, Ranking Member Reed, and our House counterparts to ensure that our forces in Hawai`i receive the necessary resources to continue their pivotal role in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Rebalance in the final bill.”

      Hirono secured provisions to provide nearly $200 million to improve military installations in Hawai`i, prevent cuts to Hawai`i’s Impact Aid program and direct the DoD to examine how to bolster Hawai`i’s missile defense systems. Hirono also included Talia’s Law, named after five-year-old Talia Williams, who died after months of abuse by her father and stepmother, that would require Department of Defense employees who interact with children to report suspected abuse to civilian authorities like the Hawai`i Child Welfare Services.
      Hirono also included language reinforcing the national security importance of the United States’ Compact Agreement with Palau and its obligations to Palau under the agreement.
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RESULTS ARE IN FOR THE ULUA CHALLENGE. S. Tokunaga Store in Hilo sponsors the annual event held last weekend. Fishers line Hawai`i Island’s coast to see who can catch the largest fish. South Point is one popular location for Ka`u fishers to test their skills.

      In the Ulua Challenge, Auston Marsteller’s 117.2-pound catch took first place. Second through 10th places went to John Branco at 105.9 pounds; Ryan Chow, 103.9; Bruce Tsubamoto, 99.1; Richard Kaiawe, 90.0; Jason Vierra, 77.3; Mitchell Izuno, 76.8; Brandon Uchida, 73.3; Chad Kosinski, 71.6; and Scott Yamamoto, 62.4.

      In the Omilu Division, first- and third-place winners used barbless hooks. First- through 10th place winners are Brienn Kirihara at 20 pounds; Dane Ramey, 19.7; Toni Salboro, 19.4; Brandon Lopes, 17.4; Waylen Towata, 17; Holi Correa, 16.9; David Llanes, 16.4; Louis Carreira, 16.1; Kiko Napeahi, 14.6; and Kemole Belanio, 14.6.

SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS! The Hawai`i Department of Agriculture’s Coffee Berry Borer Subsidy Program, beginning soon, will reimburse a percentage of the cost for Botanigard and Mycotrol products, once the application process is completed. The program is in effect through June 30, 2019. Farm TMK and other relevant information is required. Costs are reimbursed up to $600 per acre per year and up to $9,000 per farm per year. 

      Email gwendolyn.m.hicks@hawaii.gov for sign-up information.
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POHAKU CLAY SCULPTURE class will be offered by Olivia Ling at Ocean View Community Center on Tuesday, July 12 from 10 a.m. to noon. Participants will each make a clay mask, which will be pit fired at the community center on Tuesday, July 26 at 10 a.m. Cost is $25 per person and includes instruction and all materials and firing.
      To ensure enough clay for the class, RSVP as soon as possible by calling 929-8174, said Ling.

FIND YOUR PARK on the Big Screen Friday at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. View John Grabowska’s 16-minute film Pu`uhonua o Honaunau: Place of Refuge and Brad Watanabe’s 12-minute documentary HiStory: Hawai`i Island’s National Parks.

      Free; park entrance fees apply.

SOUTHSIDE VOLLEYBALL CLUB raises funds with a Krispy Kreme donut sale this Saturday, June 18 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Pahala Shopping Center.
      The club is raising money to participate in the Boys Junior National Championships, this year in Dallas, Texas. Members fly out on June 30 and begin play on July 3. This will be Southside’s eighth trip to the competition. In the last five years, they have once become National Champs and finished twice at fourth, once as a Silver Division champ and once tied for thirteenth.
      Ka`u players coached by Guy Enriques are Kameron Moses, of Pahala; Nai`a Makuakane, of Na`alehu; and Addie and Avery Enriques, of Punalu`u. All attend Kamehameha Schools on this island.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.