Ka`u News Briefs Nov. 22, 2010

Food Security is part of the Abercrombie Plan.
All of this food was grown in Ka`u.

GOVERNOR-ELECT NEIL ABERCROMBIE is planning a trip through Ka‘u after he takes office on December 6th. The date is set for Sunday, December 12th and he is expected to meet with Ka‘u residents concerning education, small business, natural resources and agriculture. In his New Day for Hawa‘i Plan, Abercrombie is a big supporter of preserving agricultural land, saying that “our dependency on imported food is a problem. We ignore it at our peril.” Any disruptions in our food supply – international crisis, natural disasters or labor disputes – would leave us with less than a week of food.” He vowed to help preserve open land for agriculture with federal and state programs. See www.newdayhawaii.org.

Award-winning coffee grows on land slated
for subdivision into agricultural lots.

CHRIS MANFREDI, WHO SERVES as president of the Ka‘u Farm Bureau, has been elected by the board of the statewide Hawai‘i Farm Bureau Federation to be its vice president. He has also been named Chair of its Government Affairs Committee and will serve as Hawai‘i’s delegate to the national American Farm Bureau Federation. Manfredi is the manager of Ka‘u Farm and Ranch Co., LLC, a company that oversees thousands of acres in Ka’u that were purchased by investors after Ka‘u Sugar company closed. Some two thousand of those acres have been proposed for subdivision into lots zoned Agriculture, including land where Ka‘u’s award-winning coffee grows. 

     Manfredi founded Ka`u Local Products, LLC to market and distribute agricultural products. He helped introduce Ka‘u Coffee into the Specialty Coffee Association of America, where it has been winning many international awards. Manfredi serves on boards of the Ka‘u Chamber of Commerce, Hawai‘i Coffee Association, Ka ‘Ohana O Honu`apo, and the Ka‘u Soil and Water Conservation District.

Dr. Cliff Field, new medical director at Ka`u Hospital,
also leads a dojo at Pahala Community Center.

DR. CLIFF FIELD has been named medical director for both Ka‘u Hospital and its medical clinic. Field, a resident of Punalu‘u mauka, has served as director of the emergency room. “He is extremely well liked and respected by patients and staff alike,” said Ka`u Hospital Administrator Merilyn Harris. “His leadership will be a key component in our ongoing efforts to enhance our services to meet the expectations of the community,” she said. 

THE KA`U DIRECTORY IS NEARLY PAU. Tuesday, Dec. 7 is the last day to submit information for community groups, churches, membership listings and ads for The Directory 2011. Sponsored by the Ka‘u Chamber of Commerce, The Directory, printed annually, publishes important Civil Defense and community information and promotes local enterprise. The Directory is Ka‘u’s very own phone book. This year’s cover features an image of the state bird, the Nene, by Ka‘u photographer Peter Anderson. To be included in The Directory, call 928-6471.

THANKSGIVING CELEBRATIONS are planned for the public around Ka`u. The Rubber Band Turkey shoot takes place at Pahala Community Center tomorrow from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. On Thanksgiving Day, feasts are planned at Ocean View Community Center at noon and Discovery Harbour Community Center at 3 p.m. The $10 fee for the Discovery Harbour meal will go to Emergency Food Pantry in Na`alehu.