ANAHOLA — Councilwoman Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho will have a new addition for her office wall. A “No Lifeguard” sign that triggered her into action was removed as the final step marking the blessing and dedication of a new lifeguard tower at
ANAHOLA — Councilwoman Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho will have a new addition for her office wall.
A “No Lifeguard” sign that triggered her into action was removed as the final step marking the blessing and dedication of a new lifeguard tower at the Anahola Beach Park, yesterday morning.
Kalani Vierra of the Ocean Safety Bureau said the tower is a refurbished one from Po‘ipu when the new fiberglass tower was installed.
“Eventually, we’ll have a fiberglass tower here in the same location,” Vierra said. “But we wanted to get the operation going as soon as possible so we put in the refurbished tower and coincided the blessing and dedication with the first day of spring break.”
Located in close proximity to the bathroom and storage facility at the Anahola Beach Park, Vierra said the tower will have an all-terrain vehicle and a truck as well as staff which will enable the tower to be operational seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We put the tower here because of the vantage point,” Vierra said. “It overlooks one of the ‘hot’ spots for this beach, and the tower opens to that ‘hot’ spot so the lifeguards can respond faster.”
Additionally, an opening will be installed in the rear of the tower so water safety officers can get a view of the lagoon as well, Vierra said.
The placement of the tower also gives the lifeguards a view of people entering the water, and combined with the ATV and truck, the water safety officers can patrol the beach to the river mouth, Vierra said.
Iseri-Carvalho said she’s been in Anahola for eight years and uses the park a lot.
“It used to bother me when I came here and saw the ‘No lifeguard’ sign, especially during the breaks when there are a lot of children and families using the park,” Carvalho said.
She said people had a sense of the hidden dangers, and that was made more apparent after several members of a family drowned.
“When I brought it up at the county council, the budget was tight, but there was unanimous agreement for the need,” Carvalho said. “This is the type of project I’m proud of. This is an awesome day.”
Kaua‘i Mayor Bryan Baptiste said he was appreciative of Vierra’s staff for “continually exceeding expectations of the county.”
“I hope this is a feature the community will support, and I hope they never need to use it,” Baptiste said, indicating that Ke‘e Beach will be next in line for a tower.
Lorraine Rapozo, president of the Anahola Community Association, was also grateful for the new tower. She also expressed her gratitude to Dr. Monty Downs of the Kaua‘i Water Safety Task Force, the mayor and the council for approving the funding for the tower as well as for the recent American with Disabilities Act improvements to the main bathroom facilities.
Carl Ragasa will be the senior water safety officer, leading a team which includes Ka‘eo Lopez, Eric Pereza and Kaleo Lopez. Kleve Zarbaugh and Randy Ortiz will be the team supervisors.
Ortiz noted that both Ka‘eo and Kaleo were born and raised in Anahola and their assignment to the Anahola tower is a homecoming of sorts.
“In light of all the tragedy taking place on the South Shore, this is a wonderfully positive event,” Vierra said.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
