• On Jeff’s humility • Life’s a reach, and then you jibe • Love Kaua‘i beaches • Let’s stop animal fighting • Hooray for roads • The bill stops here <<hr> On Jeff’s humility Like Mr. DeTucci from Jeff Ellison’s
• On Jeff’s humility
• Life’s a reach, and then you jibe
• Love Kaua‘i beaches
• Let’s stop animal fighting
• Hooray for roads
• The bill stops here
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On Jeff’s humility
Like Mr. DeTucci from Jeff Ellison’s most recent workplace, (“Kapa‘a man lived for the joy in surfing,” A1, April 12), I knew Jeff for only a short time. As a special education teacher at Koloa Elementary, one of the schools which Jeff serviced as a DOE social worker, I was introduced to him last July, at the beginning of this school year. Rarely have I bonded with a person personally or professionally as quickly and deeply as I did Jeff.
Although we no longer had regular contact, I valued his friendship greatly, and will miss him, as I believe the community will.
Jeff and I collaborated in overseeing the welfare of several elementary students. He was intelligent, witty, humane, insightful, and sensitive.
As Mr. De Tucci states, he did not wear his emotions on his sleeve, but his level of compassion for others indeed displayed the deep emotions he possessed himself.
While we enjoyed much congenial as well as professional conversation, I was not aware of his many and diverse talents. Obviously humility was another of his traits.
Aloha, brother. I know you now reside in the Ocean of Perfect Waves.
Ed Cook
Wailua Homesteads
Life’s a reach, and then you jibe
The Garden Island’s coverage of the Kauai Yacht Club sailing races is very exciting to me. The vivid descriptions of the tactics used by the individual skippers to win are excellent.
When Hawai‘i entered the World War II after Pearl Harbor, I lived aboard a small boat at the Ala Wai boat harbor, which at that time was just a mudhole in the coral. From there, I commuted to Pearl Harbor shipyard where I worked as a machinist helper, Shop 38.
The war had caught a number of deep sea cruising yachts at moorings in the Ala Wai. Their owners lived aboard, and together with the locals, we had a congenial community afloat. There were schooners and ketches, yawls and cutters and a scattering of powerboats of all sizes and descriptions.
This was the home of the Honolulu Yacht Club, predecessor of the present Hawaii Yacht Club.
Because of the U.S. Navy’s need for the facilities at the Kaneohe Yacht Club, the members there moved their Star Boats, S Boats and PCs to the Ala Wai. This was the beginning of the Waikiki Yacht Club.
The Kaneohe Yacht Club, with wide expanses of Kaneohe Bay to sail in, enjoyed the luxury of one design racing. where success depended on the skill of the skipper and the fine tuning of the boat itself.
It’s interesting to note that there are now three Olson 30s at Nawiliwili. In Honolulu, we use to race El Toros or Bullships, which are small sailing dinghies.
It started out as sport for the kids, but was taken over by dads and moms; great fun for all.
Congratulations to Marty Ellis and her fellow yachting enthusiasts for keeping things going.
Harry Boranian
Lihu‘e
Love Kaua‘i beaches
I currently live in Waikiki after moving over from Kaua‘i to finish up with college. Every few months I go back to Kaua‘i to visit with family and friends and to be reminded how great it is to live on Kaua‘i.
The Kaua‘i lifestyle is something one can take for granted if not realizing how good it is. Living in Waikiki, the beaches are constantly plagued with people, the water stirred up, and not much beach to fully enjoy.
What bothers me — and it has ever since I’ve lived on Kaua‘i — is the fact that people take the beach for granted. Why do people feel that it’s OK to drive on the beach?
I would be fine with this if they drove on a certainly area but instead they choose to freely drive wherever they please to, zooming around with their H2s, SUVs and pickup trucks.
I’m surprised that driving on the beach is allowed at all since it ruins the beach with tire tracks. I don’t recall being allowed to drive in parks.
I say take the joy-riding to the off roads and not the beach.
Josh Amas
Honolulu
Let’s stop animal fighting
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act.
The House of Representatives passed the same bill, H.R. 137, late last month by a vote of 368 to 39. What this means is that after an almost six-year battle, the struggle to enact meaningful federal penalties for animal fighting has passed its final congressional hurdle.
The legislation now is headed to the desk of President Bush, who is expected to sign the measure into law.
The new law will take effect immediately.
Which means that anyone who is caught using animals for fighting, will be treated as they should be.
If you find enjoyment in watching animals get hurt, you should really think about that.
Now if Hawai‘i can just join most of America, and the civilized world, and pass a felony law for animal abuse, we would have as much Aloha as the other 42 states that passed the law.
Dennis Chaquette
Kapa‘a
Hooray for roads
Hooray! It sounds like DOT is finally going to smile on Kaua‘i’s road problems.
What took them so long?
Raley Peterson
Pendleton, Ore.
The bill stops here
In spite of Mayor Bryan Baptiste and the Kaua‘i County Council members new bill that buildings should be no bigger than 75,000 square feet, since Wal-Mart owns the property between Wilcox and themself, why don’t they build their grocery department on the empty lot?
It will have the same effect as a Supercenter.
Then, just maybe, we can shop for less sooner. Unless Mayor Baptiste and the councilmembers think of another bill to stop the project.
What about it mayor and councilmembers?
Howard Tolbe
‘Ele‘ele
