•Mahalo Senator Hooser •Agor’s death a tragedy •Kids, stop fighting! Mahalo Senator Hooser I feel lucky to have Gary Hooser representing Kaua‘i in the Hawai‘i State Senate. We are fortunate to have a leader representing Kaua‘i, not just a politician.
•Mahalo Senator Hooser
•Agor’s death a tragedy
•Kids, stop fighting!
Mahalo Senator Hooser
I feel lucky to have Gary Hooser representing Kaua‘i in the Hawai‘i State Senate. We are fortunate to have a leader representing Kaua‘i, not just a politician. A leader who stands up for the civil rights of all citizens and votes his conscience.
It would have been more politically advantageous for Sen. Hooser to just let the Civil Unions bill (House Bill 444) die in committee. But he called for a vote on the bill by the full Senate. He did so because the ensuring the rights of all the people of Hawaii, including minorities, matters deeply to him.
I am not gay, but I have friends and loved ones who are. We are not talking about some abstract concept when we talk about equal rights for same-sex couples. We are talking about our friends and relatives. We are talking about the right of a person in a committed, loving relationship, of 25 years or more, being able to be at the hospital bedside of their dying partner. Who but a heartless bigot would deny a person this right?
Thank you, Sen. Hooser for standing up for what’s right. Hawai‘i would be lucky to have such a courageous leader serving as its lieutenant governor.
David Thorp, Kalaheo
Agor’s death a tragedy
How sad and tragic to read of the death of the young man from Waimea, Max Agor. I only knew of Max from watching him play 2nd base for the Waimea High School baseball team.
He was a scrappy, exciting type of ball player — the “motor” that propelled the Menehunes to be the first round champions of the KIF. As a coach, Max was the type of ball player you had to have to be a winner.
So what happened that caused the terrible misjudgment by this young man that took his life and seriously injured his girlfriend? To devastate his family, his baseball team that he was such an integral part of and to leave his young child without a father for the rest of its life?
If speed and alcohol were factors in this tragedy as was reported, then what reason did Max have for playing Russian Roulette with his vehicle and tempting the fate that caused his death and nearly the death of his girlfriend?
By all reports Max was an outstanding student, so certainly he had the brains to keep from being in this type of situation. He was an academic and athletic type made for college — we need more young men like him.
Will other young people learn from this disastrous mishap? Learning means to say no thank you when offered any substance that will impair or cloud the mind from making sound judgments. Alcohol is the major cause of more accidents than any other drug and our young people must be educated at an early age to abstain from using it.
Hopefully Max’s girlfriend will devote her life to keeping those friends and teammates of Max from ever making the same mistake that he did.
Glenn Mickens, Kapa‘a
Kids, stop fighting!
I wonder if anyone else is as outraged as I am after seeing the quarter-page color ad in Thursday’s edition for “Kauai Mixed Martial Arts” showing two very small and very young boys listed as competing in the “State Kid’s Kickboxing Title.” (Editor’s note: Also see “There Will Be Blood” in today’s Sports Section, Page B1)
These are little children who appear to be barely old enough to go to school, yet their parents are entering them in a caged kickboxing tourney to be held in the Hanapepe Stadium (tonight).
Frankly, I don’t give a hoot if the four men pictured in the ad beat themselves senseless or if the nearly bottomless “Ring Girl” gets her kicks out of romping around the area in a provocative outfit, but when it comes to allowing little children to fight each other at such a young age I truly believe it’s time for the authorities to step in and remove these youngsters from their homes and put them where they’ll be safe and properly cared for.
I feel this is a case of child endangerment and improper care. I can’t imagine what their parents are thinking to allow them to participate in such an activity. This isn’t a sport, it’s cruelty by one person to another.
Why are these parents pushing these little boys into such a barbaric activity when there’s so many other good choices out there to consider such as golf, T-ball baseball, tennis and swimming?
I’m sorry that The Garden Island would accept and print an ad for such an activity. Yes, I’m a senior citizen but that doesn’t mean that I can no longer choose right from wrong and no matter how you look at it this is wrong.
No little kid should be allowed to go into a cage and beat up another little kid just so the parents can have bragging rights. If you think I’m wrong, ask your pediatrician what he or she thinks about this type of thing you call “sport.”
Gini Stoddard, Wailua