• Kaua‘i High needs Coach Morgado • The people have already spoken on Bill No. 2204 • The conflict must be fought • What are you doing to solve the problem? • Don’t stop with Kealia Kaua‘i High needs Coach
• Kaua‘i High needs Coach Morgado
• The people have already spoken on Bill No. 2204
• The conflict must be fought
• What are you doing to solve the problem?
• Don’t stop with Kealia
Kaua‘i High needs Coach Morgado
I am a 2005 graduate of Kaua‘i High School who played football under Coach Keli‘i Morgado for three years. I am currently a sophomore at MIT, and I was greatly disturbed when I heard the news that Coach Morgado would not return to coach football at Kaua‘i High. I feel that this is a grave mistake on the part of the Kaua‘i High administration.
Everyone knows about how successful Coach Morgado has been at Kaua‘i High: he has won four straight KIF championships and last season took the Red Raiders to their first ever state final. However, Morgado is about more than just winning football games; he is about preparing his players for life.
Playing for Morgado was never easy; he demanded a lot from his players, but he never asked anyone to do anything that was wrong or what they were incapable of doing. He was firm with the players, but fair.
So what if a few people complained about his coaching methods; far more people agree with them and realize that he is a positive influence on the kids he coaches.
Coach Morgado and his staff of dedicated coaches built Kaua‘i High into a powerhouse program, but more importantly they are great influences on the players they coach. They instill the concepts of discipline and hard work into kids who may not get them anywhere else. Forget about the winning and the championships, Coach Morgado produced winning kids. From my personal experience, I can say that playing football under him has made me a stronger person and made me able to deal with challenges. He always told us that if someone “hit us in the mouth,” we had to respond. That belief has gotten me through two years of studying aerospace engineering at one of the hardest schools in the country. If I do poorly on a test, I respond by working harder and making sure that it never happens again. Coach Morgado prepared me for MIT just as much as my math and science teachers did. If he is not retained, then Kauai High will be denying future students a chance to learn under one of the greatest mentors I have ever had the privilege of meeting.
Kaua‘i High needs Coach Morgado, not because he wins football games or because he has completely turned the program around, but because he provides an environment which mentors kids the right way and teaches them things they could never learn in a classroom.
Todd Kane
Kaua‘i High graduate
The people have already spoken on Bill No. 2204
I feel obligated to write in response to Barbara Elmore’s Guest Viewpoint piece in Monday’s edition, which in turn was in response to Mike Hough’s Guest Viewpoint piece last Friday.
I have to say I was rather shocked by the venom in Ms. Elmore’s attack on Hough and his piece, not to mention the hazy logic. And as a member of a middle-class family who does in fact rely on vacation rental income as a portion of our livelihood, I can’t help but take offense at Ms. Elmore’s accusations that we and others with similar stories do not have “real jobs” — whatever that means — or that we are bent on destroying the island for our own profit. In the case of me and my family, we have been a contributing part of this island community for 20 years, and are working hard to get by, just like everyone else.
If Ms. Elmore claims that Mike Hough’s data is faulty, where are her countering statistics, or at least a reasoned argument? Instead, we are given a hate-filled tirade, rife with prejudice and “fightin’ words,” with little basis in the reality of the situation. It would almost be laughable, if the home and livelihood of my family and many of my dear friends, as well as the future of the island, weren’t at stake. The thousands of signatures on the petitions in opposition to Bill No. 2204, as well as the many letters to the County Council, both from on island and off, speak for themselves, as do the facts.
The people have already spoken. Please, let Ms. Elmore keep her hate-filled words to herself.
Sky Roversi-Deal
Kilauea
The conflict must be fought
Re: Jason S. Nichols’ letter, April 3:
Our nation is confronted with a conflict that must be fought whether we want to or not. It is on a battlefield less than ideal yet more to be desired than the one preferred by the enemy. The war in Iraq is not one of our choosing. The combat was initiated by our President but the conflict was envisioned long before in palaces and desert tents.
Trying to link various factions is complex. Understanding their common goal is simple. The common objective is the destruction of the United States, in their minds the Great Satan. Our opponents had chosen the battlefield of our streets. Our President chose the sands of their desert.
To be casual about casualties is to be calloused. Every one changes the world of those related to the one killed. That brings sadness to the nation. If we pull out of Iraq … that will be perceived as weakness and they will come into the United States to continue their conflict. I hope, Mr. Nichols, you understand this part of the equation.
We most assuredly need to pray for our troops, their families, our president and our nation. As we celebrate Easter and the finished work of the cross and the empty tomb signifying victory from Jesus Christ, we also need to pray for changed hearts around the world. May God bless America!
Chris Metcalf
Lihu‘e
What are you doing to solve the problem?
Jason, Jason, Jason. Do you really believe that the simple solution to terrorists is to run away from them, give them money, land, respect?
What, may I ask are YOU doing to solve the problem. Are you using your resources, or just proselytizing, hoping the government does your will while doing absolutely nothing but complaining.
Mike Ensman
Hanapepe
Don’t stop with Kealia
I am thrilled that Kaua‘i now has a bike path that is accessible for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Now what about the rest of the island?
Since I became a wheelchair user from a diving accident, I have been unable to return because the sidewalk near my home is inaccessible. What is remarkable is that the road runs past the high school where excessive speeding occurs. If Mr. McClusky feels so inclined to make Kealia accessible, perhaps he should care about the public school up the road as well.
Sorry, kids, money talks.
Matthew Kaopio, Jr.
‘Ewa Beach, HI
