Jim Alalem, a coach for the Pu‘uwai children’s canoe club, got tired of hearing about money. Every time, he said, that he asked a state representative to cut down a dangerous tree on the Wailua River, they cited budgetary constraints
Jim Alalem, a coach for the Pu‘uwai children’s canoe club, got tired of hearing about money.
Every time, he said, that he asked a state representative to cut down a dangerous tree on the Wailua River, they cited budgetary constraints as the reason not to do the work.
So, on Sunday, he cut it down himself.
“If you don’t have the money to pay (to cut down) the tree, how are you going to pay for the lawsuit when someone gets hurt?” Alalem asked.
But all that’s moot now.
Alalem said that the kamani tree, which stretched over the Wailua River nearly underneath the Kuhio Highway bridge, was used by local youths to swing into the river.
But, depending on the tide, it could be as shallow as three feet. Kids who swung on its branches could be seriously hurt if they misjudged the river’s depth, he added.
He also said that the mysterious fish that has been biting paddlers near the tree would likely find a new place to feed without the shade supplied by the kamani.
Two trees, only a couple of feet away, had already been cut down, leaving stumps surrounding the kamani.
So Alalem took his chainsaw and went to work, taking the tree down piece-by-piece.
On Sunday, he cut down the trunk, tying it up so that it wouldn’t slip into the rivermouth and into the ocean.
But, by Monday, the rope was gone, and Alalem said he wants it back.
Meanwhile, he cut the tree down, and cut it into small chunks to move it away.
