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| The Surfer prey |
YESTERDAY’S KAMAOA ROAD site visit and public meeting regarding selling off a public road remnant to private landowners drew a large crowd. More than 40 people inspected the old government road that travels through green pastures with panoramic views. One of the problems discussed about public use of the road is that there is no parking at the end of it and no place to turn around.
More than 70 came to the hearing at Na`alehu Community Center where the majority who testified were in favor of keeping the road in public ownership. One testifier said that the road is the old highway, which makes it a historic road. Another Ka`u resident suggested that people who are looking for outdoor activities could instead go to the Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Ralph Roland said that the county should consider more non-gated communities to ensure public access to more places. Some of the residents said the road has no public use, while others expressed concern about the sale setting a precedent that could block off access to fishing and hunting grounds around the island.
The date for the County Council to consider the resolution to privatize the road will be announced.
TWO VETERANS DAY celebrations are being held tomorrow, Thursday, November 11 at Kilauea Military Camp and Punalu`u Beach Park. The Kilauea Military Camp ceremony is at 3:30 p.m. on the front lawn and will offer a free dinner for all U.S. Active and Retired Military and Veterans who pre-register. A free concert with Hawaiian masters of Slack Key and `Ukulele will take place at Punalu`u Beach from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of the annual Kahumoku music workshop in Ka`u. The concert features kupuna Dennis Kamakahi, Moses Kahumoku, Diana Aki and others.
HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND sponsors a beach cleanup in Ka`u this Saturday. Participants meet at the Kaulana boat ramp and gather rubbish along the coast toward Mahana Bay. Call Meghan at 769-7629 with questions.
INTERESTED IN HELPING WITH THE MISS KA`U COFFEE PAGEANT? Coffee farmers are reaching out to the entire community to become involved with the pageant and the Ka`u Coffee Festival which will celebrate its third year in 2011. To volunteer for the pageant, call Nalani Parlin at 217-6893, Gloria Camba at 928-8155 or Pahala Plantation Cottage at 928-9811. The pageant is planned for Sunday, February 20. Girls and young ladies interested in vying for the pageant titles can also call for entry forms.
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| Ka`u farmers are trying to protect their clean coffee from infestation by Kona coffee borers. |
A QUARANTINE TO BATTLE THE SPREAD OF THE COFFEE BORER will be the subject of a public meeting on November 17 at the Plant Quarantine Station on Sand Island on O`ahu at 1:30 p.m. Coffee farmers in Ka`u are hoping that the quarantine will be limited to places where the coffee borer has been found - from Kona to Wai`ohinu. Should the quarantine include Pahala, green coffee beans from award winning farms here would be prohibited from being moved inter island without fumigation. Such a quarantine would hurt farmers who sell their green coffee beans to roasters on other islands. However, unroasted beans could be shipped directly to the mainland. Since roasting kills the coffee borer, there would be no quarantine for roasted coffee. Another quarantine could restrict how unroasted coffee moves around the island. Should the quarantine include only Kona to Na`alehu, Pahala coffee could be moved, unrestricted to Hilo and to the other islands. Coffee farmers are encouraged to send in their testimony to keep Pahala and other clean areas of Ka`u out of the quarantine area.
The problem with the coffee borer insect is that it lives inside the coffee cherry and eats the coffee bean. It is spread on the tires of trucks, in the clothes and shoes of coffee pickers and in the coffee bags themselves. Agricultural officials are encouraging everyone to wash their coffee bags and clothes in hot water before using them again. 
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