Hawaii
Farmer rescues co-worker from flood in Waialua
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A former firefighter, Chris Greer, did not hesitate when his co-worker needed him after being trapped in flood water Saturday at their workplace, Laulau Solutions farm in Waialua.
“She just called me screaming, like ‘we need help!,’ and I was like, let’s do it,” Greer recalled. “Just kind of, in those moments, you just kind of go. I mean it was kind of crazy, the current coming out with the water rushing out was pretty tough. But, I know this lo’i, kind of the back of my hand.”
Greer’s familiarity with the taro farm allowed him to track down his co-worker and her pet piglet.
“Threw her pet on a little surfboard and pushed it out. Kind of took like 30 minutes to get out of here, but we’re thankful everyone’s alright,” Greer said.
But other animals were stuck.
Farm owner Joey Cadiz said the flood killed one of his pigs and two chickens.
“We put time and invested time and energy into taking care of these animals, so that’s always, devastating too, in and of itself,” Cadiz said. “Quite dangerous, so we just had to evacuate and get out of there with whatever we could carry.”
Cadiz added the equipment that did not make it out, including a farm truck and lawnmowers, were thrown around and extensively damaged.
A part of one of the lo’i, taro patches was destroyed.
Cadiz estimated repairs and replacements will cost about $6,000.
“Every time something like this happens, it sets us back quite a bit and that’s probably what hurts us the most, is making all this progress and having to start over in some areas again,” Cadiz said.
The non-profit organization that aims to educate community members about sustainability relies on volunteers like Leialoha Cambonga.
While Cambonga called the destruction at the farm “devastating,” she also said, “It also inspires us to come together and bring it back to life and find the solutions to maybe mitigate some of the damage in the future.”
Cadiz is seeking volunteers to help him clean the farm over the coming days. He is also accepting donations.
Click here for more information.
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Three convicted sex offenders were arrested on Hawaii Island last week for allegedly failing to comply with sex offender registry requirements.
Multiple law-enforcement agencies conducted checks in Kona on registered sex offenders who had been identified as potentially out of compliance with the state’s Sex Offender Registry laws, according the Department of the Attorney General.
As a result of the three-day operation, several individuals were brought back into compliance, and three West Hawaii men were arrested for allegedly failing to comply with the requirements.
The three men who were arrested are Joseph Debus, 56, of Kailua-Kona, Garth Coleman, 53, of Holualoa and Alexsandr Skelcey, 34, of Kailua-Kona.
Debus was convicted of second-degree sex assault in Hawaii in 1993 and sentenced to five years probation with a year in jail. Coleman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for first-degree assault in 2000 after a jury trial in Hawaii. And Skelcey was convicted in Michigan in 2012 of assault with intent to commit sex assault.
“Sex offender registration requirements exist to protect our communities and ensure law enforcement knows where convicted offenders are living,” Tom Alipio, chief of the AG department’s Investigations Division, said in a press release. “Compliance operations like this send a clear message that we will actively monitor the registry, investigate violations and work closely with our law enforcement partners to hold offenders accountable when they fail to meet their legal obligations.”
HPD Chief Reed Mahuna said, “Operations like this allow us to verify that offenders are maintaining strict compliance with registration laws and those who aren’t will be addressed immediately. We will continue to leverage these multi-agency partnerships to keep our island communities safe,”
Members of the public can look up publicly available offender information and subscribe to notifications at sexoffenders.ehawaii.gov/coveredoffender/.
Anyone with information regarding a registered sex offender who may be violating registration requirements is encouraged to contact the Department of the Attorney General’s Investigation Division at (808) 586-1240 or their local law enforcement.
A brush in North Kona, near the Ulu Wini Apartments, has closed a portion of Hina Lani Street, between Route 190 and Ane Keokalole Highway.
According to Hawai‘i Island police, the road is expected to be closed for the next three hours and motorists are advised to avoid the area.
Hawai‘i Fire Assistant Chief Chris Carvalho confirmed at least two engines, two brush trucks, Chopper 2 and a medic vehicle responded to the blaze that started in some bushes.
No evacuations or injuries have been reported at this time.
At 11:09 a.m., an AlertWest camera, installed by Hawaiian Electric in wildfire-prone areas, showed smoke billowing above the Keahuolu Courthouse. As of 12:06 p.m., that smoke appears to have dissipated.
This is a developing story. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
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