But party went on as scheduled The Kamalani Kai Bridge didn’t quite meet its November 4 deadline. But the all-volunteer project was close enough that the scheduled party went on anyway. Bob Leathers, the Ithaca, New York man who has
But party went on as scheduled
The Kamalani Kai Bridge didn’t quite meet its November 4 deadline.
But the all-volunteer project was close enough that the scheduled party went on anyway.
Bob Leathers, the Ithaca, New York man who has overseen 1600 of community-build type projects said volunteer workers are still needed today, Wednesday and Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
But Tim Bynum, one of the bridge’s prime local organizers said the bridge was already structurally sound.
“The bridge is safe so we will be partying tonight,” Bynum said late Sunday afternoon, as rainclouds dampened the site a little but had no effect on the enthusiasm of the many volunteers.
Leathers said that in the past 11 days there have been 35,000 donated man-hours of volunteer work.
Bynum said the high point was Saturday, November 2, when 700 volunteers showed up to help.
“A wide, diverse group of people on Kaua’i all came together to build this bridge. The process is as important as the product. Kaua’i came through,” Bynum said.
Mayoral candidates Bryan Baptiste and Ron Kouchi were both working Sunday as was council member Kaipo Asing. Gary Hooser was spotted on Saturday, along with his wife and daughter.
“We brought our soccer team. This is our third time out. For me this is a bigger project than the playground. Just in square footage and all the work that had to be done,” Baptiste said.
“The people are wonderful. The designer, the organizers, the volunteers are all wonderful,” Kouchi said.
He spent his day carrying lumber and picking up scraps.
“My children got so much out of the playground, I knew I had to come help here,” Kouchi said.
Charlie Pereira, a retired military man who stays busy as the groundskeeper of the currently closed Coco Palms resort said he too was carrying lumber and picking up scraps.
“It’s a beautiful project. The best thing is meeting all these nice people. And,” the Lihu’e-born Pereira noted, “I am seeing a lot of old friends I haven’t seen for years. Kaipo (Asing) is up there. He hasn’t changed a bit.”
The 35-foot tall pedestrian bridge, designed by local children, will be completed next Saturday, according to Leathers.
Leathers said the volunteer turnout on Kaua’i is as good as he’s ever seen.
And Leathers noted he has plenty to compare Kaua’i to, having done 1600 designed and community built projects including the Panda enclosure at the National Zoo in Washington D.C., the Nashville Zoo and projects in seven foreign countries.
“The hardest one was in Israel. We were there during Desert Storm, in Jerusalem doing a project. They were pretty busy elsewhere. Also everybody there works six days a week. So we did the project from 8:30 at night until 3 a.m. (after work). That was an extremely difficult build,” Leathers remembered.
“Also,” he added, “nobody in that country knows how to do carpentry. It’s all masonry. There are about six finish carpenters in the whole country and all they do is hang doors.”
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
