Ka‘ū News Briefs, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022

HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE SPEAKER AND TEACHER TO MANY, JEANETTE KAUALANI AKIU HOWARD was laid to rest on Saturday at Hokuloa Church on the hill above Punalu'u, followed by a celebration of her life on the beach below, with food and much talk story. 

A young Jeanette Howard

   She was known as Tutu to many and lived in her home at Punalu'u Beach. Many Kaʻū 

A detail of a painting including Jeanette Howard's lei stand in Punalu'u in 2013 by Mark N. Brown

residents remember her as a Kupuna in the Schools through the Department of Education Hawaiian Studies Program. She shared her knowledge of the Hawaiian culture and history with many youth of Kaʻū. She also worked at Punalu' Black Sand restaurant years ago. She operated the lei stand at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach for many decades, into this year.     

   Born on Aug. 19, 1923 at Punalu'u, she passed away on July 2, 2022 at the age of 98. 

   She was a member of the Kaʻū Ward of the Latter Day Saints Church, a lifetime member of ʻO Kaʻū Kākou and a lifetime member of Hawaiian Civic Club of Kaʻū. She was a student of Lorilei Shirakawa's Kupuna Wahine O' Kaʻū Halau. 

The late Tutu Jeanette Howard

     She was a poet and songwriter and left volumes of handwritten stories, notes and compositions about Kaʻū. 

    She is survived by daughters, Patricia K. Martin (Elwood), Myrajean Sumida (Cyrus), and Lorraine (Lani) Iona. Her sons are  Guy Enriques (Julie), Jon Pall Enriques (Katherine). Her brother is the Rev. Dr. Henry K. Boshard. There are 15 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren, 12 great great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

    Howard was married for 47 years to the late Arnold L. Howard. She outlived her son Gayland D. Enriques and daughter Yolanda L. Silva.

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Hokulele Ten and Under players Kaiea  Kaupu-Manini, Lawai’a Kaupu, Rye Bonoan and Bull Wroblewski. Photo by Jan Panera

HOKULELE BASKEBALL CLUB'S SUMMER TOURNAMENT for youth is back at Kaʻū District Gym this weekend and is open to the public all day Sunday. Twenty-seven teams from around the island came to Kaʻū for two days of competition. 

     Hokulele is led by its President & Head Coach Ravel Kaupu, Jr., Vice President Jan Kaez Penera, and Coach Chrysa Dacalio. There are 75 members of the club, ages 6-17.

    The tournament is called the First Annual Summer Classic and is drawing a gym-full of people.

     Donations are accepted to support the club. Food and drink are for sale from the kitchen in the entrance to the gym.

GRANTS FOR SMALL-SCALE GARDENING, HERDING AND LIVESTOCK to reduce food insecurity are available from the state Department of Agriculture. The Micro-Grants for Food Security Program aims to help produce food in areas that are food insecure.

    The program has  $3 million to distribute for this program, $2 million for this year’s grant funds plus $1 million carried over from last year when 177 grants were awarded statewide. Funding is provided through U.S. Department of Agriculture under the 2018 Farm Bill.
    The maximum award per household is $5,000. The statement from the state DOA says, "Due to the high level of interest from individuals, organizations will not be eligible for this year’s MGFSP program." 

    The online application form and program information are available at the Market Development Branch website at: https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/add/md/. Deadline to apply is noon, Sept. 19.
    Eligibility requirements include: Must be a Hawai`i resident, at least 18 years old and head of the household. The household has not received a previous MGFSP grant.
    Consideration will be based on the description of the project, the number of beneficiaries, and whether the applicant received an award in the previous program. Consideration will also be given to the level of food security in the location of the household as indicated on the Food Insecurity Index, calculated by Conduent Healthy Communities Institute using data from Claritas, 2021. The index which maps food insecurity by zip code may be found at https://www.hawaiihealthmatters.org/indexsuite/index/foodinsecurity
    “Since the department received a great amount of interest last year from home gardeners and small-scale farmers, the department has streamlined the application process and will focus on supporting households so they may grow their own food for their families,” said Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, chairperson of the Hawai'i Board of Agriculture.

Microgrants for Food Security are available  for individuals from state Dept. of Agriculture. See https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/add/md/.

    Examples of the types of activities that may be funded under this grant include: Small-Scale Gardening – purchase tools or equipment, soil, seeds, plants, canning equipment, refrigeration, composting equipment, towers, hydroponic and aeroponic farming.
Small-Scale Herding and Livestock Operations – purchase animals, buy, erect or repair fencing for livestock.
    To assist interested parties with the application process, a Zoom webinar has been scheduled for next Wednesday, Aug. 24 at noon. Click on the link below to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/93608996520; or one tap mobile : US: +12532158782,,93608996520# or +13462487799,,93608996520#
    Zoom session will also be recorded and posted on the HDOA website.
    Questions regarding the application process may addressed to HDOA’s Market Development Branch at (808) 973-9595 or email: hdoa.md.microgrants@hawaii.gov

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at wwwkaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.htm