• Officials for island’s good • Lifeguards’ efforts heroic • Dodgeball tournament full of fun • Kaua‘i’s dirty water Officials for island’s good In past times, people wrote about the current county government and the need to change the system.
• Officials for island’s good
• Lifeguards’ efforts heroic
• Dodgeball tournament full of fun
• Kaua‘i’s dirty water
Officials for island’s good
In past times, people wrote about the current county government and the need to change the system. This year is an election year and we need to think clearly about those candidates who are running for election. Clear for me, the current county government system is not broken, as some would want you to believe. I disagree. The problem is that those we elect to office are perhaps not the right people.
We need to elect those who will provide good decision-making for the betterment of our island community. Choose carefully and sieve out empty promises and personal gains for the individual who is seeking political office. Remember what candidates have provided harm to our community in the past. Remember what was done to make our island community suffer from wrongful decisions and actions.
As one who has retired from local government, I am very much aware of what the system has brought and what can be done for our island community. While I am not running for elected office, I would like to see those who are elected to be those who can bring about positive and fruitful decisions for us who live on Kaua‘i.
I am still in favor of electing a mayor who is accountable to the population rather than someone who will perhaps be accountable to those who appoint them to their position to run the executive branch of local government.
Our duty then is to choose carefully those candidates who are currently running for elected office.
Thank you very much and hopefully we shall elect those who will serve us as best as they can for the island’s good.
Sonny Gerardo
Lihu‘e
Lifeguards’ efforts heroic
I would like to take this opportunity to provide a few more facts and shed some more light about the recent drowning of a woman at Tunnels Beach, July 16.
I am the bystander who called 911 and I know for a fact that the lifeguards were on the scene within moments of the woman’s being pulled from the water. I was dialing 911 as another bystander was still pulling the victim from the water. In fact, the lifeguards were on scene and providing oxygen to the victim before I was even off the phone with 911 thus making the timeline, at most, three minutes from when the victim was pulled from the water to the time the lifeguards arrived on scene.
I would also like to clarify that the victim was pulled from the ocean by a bystander on the beach, not a “male friend” as indicated by an eyewitness in the article “Woman pulled from water at Tunnels, resuscitated” that appeared in The Garden Island, July 18.
Thank you to the courageous bystander on the beach who pulled the drowned woman from the water and the other bystander who started CPR. And let’s not forget to say “job well done” to the lifeguards who continued CPR for several minutes until the ambulance arrived and the paramedics who were able to establish a pulse.
Katie Warner
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Dodgeball tournament full of fun
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your coverage of the Fun in Fellowship Dodgeball tournament at All Saints’ Church in Kapa‘a last week. This event is a wonderful example of the hospitality and fun that Kaua‘i is known for all over the world, and as a new member of the community, I was excited to see the people come out for a Saturday full of fun.
The tournament serves as a wonderful chance for All Saints to give back to the community, but we often find that by opening our doors to Kaua‘i, we are the ones who are blessed. The work was hard, but the reward of providing a safe and joyful day is too great for words.
Special thanks to you and your staff for recognizing the hard work of the players and volunteers, especially Faith Shiramizu and Sybil Nishioka, the tournament co-chairs. Under their direction, the hard work of the church volunteers paid off to make the tournament a huge success and we look forward to the future.
Ben Nelson
Kapa‘a
Kaua‘i’s dirty water
The Garden Island reported the following on July 29: “Kaua‘i beach among most polluted.”
According to the article: “In a beach water quality report to be released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Hanama‘ulu Beach County Park tied for 10th place with two Mainland beaches in a list of polluted beaches in the nation that exceed national standards.”
The article goes on that human feces is the number one pollutant.
I used to swim at Lydgate park in the man-made lagoon — the snorkeling is great — and I was able to get my exercise and bonus therapy thinking that the salt water was therapeutic. Every time I would swim at Lydgate I would feel nauseous. This would occur about 10 minutes into my aquatic saltwater workout and usually within 24 hours I had the symptoms of a sore throat.
There is a sewage treatment facility within walking distance of our number one swimming hole (Lydgate lagoon) on Kaua‘i. I believe there is sewage seepage regularly that brings unwanted harmful bacteria to the waters surrounding Lydgate park. Ironically many locals and visitors flock to Lydgate like it is the Garden of Eden.
I have taken to swimming in public pools, although I do not like chemically treated waters. I would rather swim in chemically treated waters than water contaminated with human waste.
Kimo Rosen
Kapa‘a
