Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Friday, Sept. 16, 2016

Bay Clinic's Na`alehu facility is a model for others the nonprofit plans to build. Image from Bay Clinic

KA`U FAMILY HEALTH & DENTAL CENTER in Na`alehu is the first of several that Bay Clinic is planning. CEO Harold Wallace told Jeff Hansel, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, that the organization wants to move from leasing space to building facilities based on patient need.
The Na`alehu facility is the first to be built and owned by the nonprofit, which, according to Hansel, is the “sole (health care) provider for 55 percent of Hawai`i Island’s total population.” It offers services regardless of health insurance status.

Bay Clinic CEO Harold Wallace

The community raised funds to help with construction of the new medical building. `O Ka`u Kakou sponsored a Ka`u Family Fun Fest in 2011, and up to $30,000 was committed to Bay Clinic from the event and a fundraising challenge by the Edmund C. Olson Trust. The building opened in December 2013.

According to Hansel, the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics says online that such clinics serve “as a safety net for those who have fallen through the cracks of America’s health care system – and studies have shown that they have also decreased the burden on the nation’s emergency rooms.”
Bay Clinic recently established a call center to ensure patients can make appointments in a timely manner and decrease wait times on the phone. It also procured a new mobile van that was deployed in July to provide medical and dental services throughout East Hawai’i.
“We are clearly on the way to improving the organization,” Wallace told Hansel. “We want folks to know this is a new Bay Clinic – and we really are paying attention.”
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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Pisces IV sampling coral that is thought to be

new to science. Conservation International

photo by Michael Garland

RESEARCHERS EXPLORED SEAMOUNTS off the Ka`u Coast earlier this month. Scientists from University of Hawai`i and Conservation International descended in the submarine Pisces IV to Cook seamount, an extinct volcano, and became the first humans to view the area, which is over 100 miles southwest of Hawai`i Island.

According to an Associated Press story, seamounts are hotspots for marine life because they carry nutrient-rich water upward from the sea floor.
Geologist Seamounts, which include Cook, McCall, Lo`ihi and others, are about 80 million years old and could hold many new animal species, as well as elements such as nickel and cobalt that mining companies could extract.
“My goal today is to … find out what’s living on them, find out how they support ocean life, what their effect is from ocean currents and essentially what drives the ocean, what makes the ocean what it is,” marine biologist Greg Stone told AP. “Seamounts are a key part of that, and something which humanity knows very little about.”
According to the AP story, the researchers at Lo`ihi viewed gases escaping from vents on the active volcano, which scientists say will someday be the newest Hawai`i island when it breaks through the ocean surface.
See bigstory.ap.org.
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Hawaiian hoary bat Photo from Wikipedia

HAWAI`I’S HOARY BATS WILL BENEFIT from U.S. Fish & Wildlife funds to protect threatened and endangered species. Using $395,000, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, in cooperation with members of the Hawai`i Forest Industry Association and biomass industry, will develop a Habitat Conservation Plan to conserve the bat during biomass and timber harvest activities in the Hawaiian Islands. The HCP will result in a better understanding of the bat’s status and distribution in commercial forest stands, reduce and mitigate impacts from biomass and timber harvest operations, and conserve the bat while allowing sustainable forest management practices, which will allow public and private landowners to meet economic, ecological and social goals.

The funding is part of a $3.8 million investment to protect Hawai`i’s wildlife.
“This new funding will help ensure that threatened and endangered species in our state will be protected for years to come,” said Sen. Brian Schatz. “These funds are a strategic investment that will help strike a better balance between human use and wildlife habitats. By accounting for threatened and endangered species in our land use planning, we can reduce our impact on the environment and allow our state’s unique wildlife to thrive.”

Joshua Corbin Photo from
Hawai`i Police Department

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JOSHUA CORBIN, WHO POLICE ARRESTED Tuesday on suspicion of sexual assault and traffic offenses, has been released after posting $4,500 bail. Yesterday, Corbin, who has no permanent address but frequents the Ocean View area, was charged with reckless driving, failure to obey a police officer, fraudulent use of a license plate, resisting an order to stop, driving without no-fault insurance and driving without a license. His initial court appearance has been scheduled for Oct. 20 in Kona District Court.

Detectives from the Juvenile Aid Section, which is responsible for investigating sexual assaults, are continuing the sexual assault investigation.
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HAWAI`I STATE SENATE UNANIMOUSLY confirmed Dakota K.M. Frenz to the District Family Court of the Third Circuit on Hawai`i Island this week.

Hawai`i's state senators join Judge Frenz after her confirmation.
Photo from Hawai`i State Senate

Frenz was most recently a sole proprietor of her own private law practice in Hilo specializing in criminal law, family law and civil litigation/collections. Prior to opening her own law practice, Frenz was a partner at Laubach & Frenz, AAL, LLC, where she focused her legal practice in the same areas of law. Prior to entering private practice, Frenz served as deputy prosecuting attorney in the County of Hawai`i where she handled cases in the District, Family and Circuit Courts. In addition to her legal experience, she serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Ku`ikahi Mediation Center, a member of the Board of Directors of the Hawai`i County Bar Association, an arbitrator with the Court Annexed Arbitration Program, a member of the County of Hawai`i Bench Bar Committee and Hawai‘i State Bench Bar Committee. She also volunteers with the Friends of Drug Court and the Self-Help Center in East Hawai`i. Frenz is a graduate of Whittier Law School and was admitted to the Hawai`i State Bar in 2006.

Frenz fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Lloyd X. Van De Car.
“Ms. Frenz bring to the bench a reputation as an intelligent, hard-working and prepared advocate with substantial trial experience as a former county prosecutor and more recently as a private attorney,” said Sen. Gilbert Keith-Agaran, Chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor. “Her background and what people say about her makes it likely that she will be a very good addition to the District Family Court, one of the most challenging assignments for a Hawai`i jurist.”
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Register for Ka`u Coffee Trail Run today online or tomorrow in person
before 6:30 a.m. Photo by Taylor's Treasures Photography

RACE DIRECTOR CANDY CASPER expects tomorrow’s third annual Ka`u Coffee Trail Run to be as successful as last year’s. She reported that, as of yesterday, 175 participants had registered for the 5K, 10K and Half Marathon. Sponsored by `O Ka`u Kakou, the event begins at 7 a.m.

All proceeds remain in Ka`u to benefit Ka`u’s kupuna and keiki, as well as local schools and community groups.
Register at race360.org/21357.
For more information about the race, course maps or volunteering opportunities, email candy.casper@gmail.com, or see okaukakou.org.

HOLY ROSARY CHURCH IN PAHALA holds a thrift sale tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. There will also be a silent auction until 11 a.m., with many items available.

MONGOLIAN BBQ IS SERVED tomorrow from 5 p.m. 8 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp’s Crater Rim Café in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. KMC is open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. For more information, call 967-8356.

Learn about the People & Lands of Kahuku tomorrow.
NPS Photo by Julia Espaniola

LEARN ABOUT THE PEOPLE & LANDS OF KAHUKU Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s Kahuku Unit. This free, guided, 2.5-mile, moderately difficult hike over rugged terrain focuses on the area’s human history.

See nps.gov/havo.

GRAND OPENING OF NIAULANI SCULPTURE GARDEN at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village is Sunday at 4 p.m. The event includes dedication of Guardian, a sculpture by Randy Takaki on permanent loan from the Takaki family.
There will be music by Larry Broido and Loren Brownlea on the new performance deck, which will have four carved poles and a roof when finished, and refreshments.
The sculpture garden was designed by landscape architect David Tamura and features works by Glenn Yamanoha, Randy Shiroma, Henry Bianchini, Ethan Froney, Lonnie Tomono and a collaboration by Jonathan Sudler and Elizabeth Miller.
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FREE INFORMATION ABOUT S.N.A.P., USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is offered Monday from 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. Attendees learn about the program and how to apply during Tutu & Me.
Call 929-8571 for more information.

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