Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, August 27, 2013

IN AN ONGOING EFFORT TO PROTECT BEES and other pollinators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed new pesticide labels that prohibit use of some neonicotinoid pesticide products where bees are present. 

      “Multiple factors play a role in bee colony declines, including pesticides. The EPA is taking action to protect bees from pesticide exposure, and these label changes will further our efforts,” said Jim Jones, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
      Kathleen Johnson, EPA’s Enforcement Division director for the Pacific Southwest, said, “The proper use of pesticides is critical for the protection of honeybees and the crops that depend on them for pollination. We will be working with our state partners to ensure the pesticides subject to these new labeling requirements are applied correctly.”
      The new labels will have a bee advisory box and icon with information on routes of exposure and spray drift precautions. Today’s announcement affects products containing the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, dinotefuran, clothianidin and thiamethoxam.
      The EPA will work with pesticide manufacturers to change labels so that they will meet the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act safety standard.
      In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and EPA released a comprehensive scientific report on honeybee health, showing scientific consensus that there are a complex set of stressors associated with honey bee declines, including loss of habitat, parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure.
      The agency continues to work with beekeepers, growers, pesticide applicators, pesticide and seed companies, and federal and state agencies to reduce pesticide drift dust and advance best management practices.
      The EPA recently released new enforcement guidance to federal, state and tribal enforcement officials to enhance investigations of bee-kill incidents.
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SCHOOL COMMUNITY COUNCILS will soon start meeting for the fall semester. The first meeting for Na`alehu School will be on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 3 p.m. in Room 35. Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary will hold its first meeting on Monday, Sept. 16 at 4 p.m. in the SCC room near the main office. Elections are expected soon for officers of both School Community Councils. 

       According to the Hawai`i State Department of Education School Community Council Handbook, procedures to implement school community councils include the following:

• Principals and Complex Area Superintendents must actively support School Community Councils by providing the necessary resources to recruit, elect, educate, run and renew their Councils. 
• School leadership must welcome participation in the process by demonstrating the values and skills that facilitate inclusion of all members. 
• School Community Councils must keep their attention on student achievement by focusing their work on the development, support and monitoring of the school’s Academic and Financial Plan. 

     The handbook states that School Community Councils are a major part of the overall leadership structure at each school. They are a group of people who are elected by their peers to advise the principal on specific matters that affect student achievement and school improvement. Their primary role is to participate in the process that ensures that the needs of all students are specifically addressed in the overall education plan for the school. They review and make suggestions for the Academic and Financial Plan, a document that highlights the goals for the school, the programs and the available resources to reach these goals.
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