Ka‘ū News Briefs, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021

A severe school bus driver shortage could lead to change in routes and unavailability on some days according to the Department of Education. See more below. Photo from Roberts

VICIOUS DOGS ATTACKED AN 85 YEAR OLD WOMAN, who died this Sunday, police announced today. Her 89 year old husband and 88 year old family member were also bitten during the attack, which happened on Aug. 14. Hawai'i County Police Department sent out a message today saying residents islandwide who are wishing to report vicious dogs are encouraged to call the police department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311.
    According to the police report, the woman attacked by multiple dogs  in Kea’au, succumbed to her injuries on Sunday, Sept. 5. Identified as Teresa Oskin, she was pronounced dead at Hilo Medical Center Intensive Care Unit, where she was under care following the incident. An autopsy has been scheduled for Friday, Sept.10, to determine the exact cause of death.
    The dog attack occurred on 12th Avenue in Hawaiian Paradise Park, after the victim went searching for her lost dog and multiple neighboring dogs attacked her. According to police, her husband and family member immediately went to her aid and were also attacked by the dogs.
    The woman was bitten about her head, neck, and arms, and had multiple lacerations and puncture wounds. All three victims were transported to Hilo Medical Center. The two men were treated for their injuries, and released from the hospital.
    Following the incident, County of Hawai‘i Animal Control Officers took two dogs into custody.
Hawai’i Police Department Area I Criminal Investigation Section is continuing to work the case. Upon completion, it will be forwarded to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, according to today's release to the media.
    Police ask anyone with information about this incident to call the police department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311, or the Area I Criminal Investigation Section Lieutenant, Rio Amon-Wilkins, at (808) 961-2252, or email Rio.Amon-Wilkins@hawaiicounty.gov.

Drivers must be COVID tested every week or show proof of vaccination. Photo from Akita

THE PLANT INDUSTRY DIVISION of Hawai`i Department of Agriculture has a new leader. Helmuth Rogg, PhD. He is also the new State Plant Regulatory Official. He oversees Plant Quarantine, Plant Pest Control and Pesticides branches. As designated by the National Plant Board, the SPRO is the state’s lead person responsible for overseeing pest detection and regulatory activities between government agencies and coordinates the state’s initial emergency response if an exotic pest is detected.

Dr. Helmuth Rogg

    Rogg comes to Hawai'i from the Oregon Department of Agriculture. He previously served as head of the Invertebrate Department at the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, where his work included applied research in conservation of endemic invertebrate species, eradication programs for invasive insect species and plant quarantine issues. Rogg also worked at universities in Santa Cruz and La Paz, Bolivia, as an entomology professor and an IPM researcher and extension specialist. His experience also includes work in Benin and Nigeria, Africa, at the Biological Control Program of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. Rogg earned his master’s degree in biology, with specialization in entomology, in 1986 and his doctorate in agricultural sciences with an emphasis in integrated and biological control in Germany in 1992. In Oregon, he and his wife own and operate a 20-acre farm with two acres in lavender production.
    Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, chair of the Hawai`i Board of Agriculture, said, “The department is pleased to have an administrator of the caliber of Dr. Rogg to help lead our state in managing the complex issues of pest control and prevention, invasive species and plant health. “The breadth and depth of his knowledge and experience will be of tremendous service in support of the department’s mission to protect and expand the state’s agricultural resources.”
    Rogg was most recently director of the Plant Protection and Conservation Program Area with the Oregon Department of Agriculture and oversaw the Insect Pest Prevention & Management Program, the Noxious Weed Management Program, the Nursery, Christmas Tree and Hemp Program, and the Plant Conservation Program. He began his career with ODA as an entomologist and later as the IPPM manager. Since 2018, Rogg has served as president of the Western Plant Board in his capacity as the State Plant Regulatory Official for the State of Oregon.
    While at Oregon, Rogg worked several Hawai`i-based projects, including collaborating with agricultural inspectors from HDOA and the Washington State Department of Agriculture to develop a pre-shipment inspection protocol for Christmas trees which significantly reduced the number of invasive species arriving in holiday tree shipments to Hawai`i. Rogg also collaborated with HDOA and the U.S. Forest Service testing potential biocontrol agents to control the brown marmorated stink bug on Hawai`i’s endemic koa bug. More recently, Rogg joined a group of agencies to evaluate new biocontrol initiatives to control gorse weed in Hawai`i and Oregon.