• Path enhances Kapa‘a tourist attraction • If you eat reef fish, you could be poisoned • Outrageous gas tax proposed Path enhances Kapa‘a tourist attraction My wife and I and our four children recently enjoyed a vacation in Kaua‘i
• Path enhances Kapa‘a tourist attraction
• If you eat reef fish, you could be poisoned
• Outrageous gas tax proposed
Path enhances Kapa‘a tourist attraction
My wife and I and our four children recently enjoyed a vacation in Kaua‘i for Christmas vacation. We stayed in a condo in downtown Kapa‘a. We have visited and vacationed on several of the other Hawaiian Islands but this was our first time staying on the beach in Kaua‘i.
I wanted to express our thanks for the wonderful walking path along the beach. The walking path really enhanced our stay and made our visit even more enjoyable. Our children used the path everyday to walk into town, walk to the pool or generally explore the area.
My wife and I ran on the path several mornings and also enjoyed long leisurely walks along the path at night. I understand the walking path is fairly new and I must congratulate you on your investment in your community as from my prospective the path greatly enhances downtown Kapa‘a as a tourist attraction and it very much increases our desire to come back and visit and stay again.
I have read that there has been some opposition to the path. As a tourist and visitor, and a potential future return visitor, I wanted to let you know that the trail is a very strong draw to our family, and a wonderful enhancement to your community.
I might also suggest that the folks in opposition consider visiting other beachside communities similar to Kapa‘a, that have beachside walking trails, and see how it has made the town more attractive and usable to residents and visitors alike.
One town that comes quickly to mind, and one of our other favorite beach towns, Seaside, Oregon, which has a wonderful walking path, very similar to your town’s.
Thanks again for a wonderful stay, we enjoyed the community, we enjoyed the beautiful island, the wonderful people, and thanks again for a lovely beach trail that we enjoyed in so many ways.
Willy Gevers and the Gevers Family, Issaquah, Wash.
If you eat reef fish, you could be poisoned
At the end of last summer I speared a fish and made some delicious fish sticks from it. Two and a half hours after eating them, my wife, Katie, and I became ill and our lives took a tragic turn.
We fell victims to ciguatera poisoning. Ciguatera is the name of a single-celled algae that settles on larger reef seaweeds and dead coral. Ciguatera contains ciguatoxin, an extremely strong poison.
A reef area with ciguatera algae can leave almost all of the fish from smallest to largest laden with toxin. I speared our fish on the Na Pali Coast, a known ciguatera hot spot.
I tested my fish for toxin with the only commercially available test kit. A test kit that even the developer claims is unreliable. Needless to say, the test kit failed. I ate the most fish that night and became the sickest.
Two months in the hospital, some of the time on a ventilator in an induced coma along with two months of nursing and rehabilitation at home leaves me just beginning to walk again and still being racked by residual symptoms.
There are two reasons for this letter, a huge thank you to our caring community members that helped Katie and I and advanced notice of a ciguatera awareness event.
Katie was poisoned too but chose to take care of me, our home and our business instead of seeking treatment. We might not have gotten me home alive or to this point of recovery without the wonderful help of our community.
The love and support we have gotten from family and friends from all over has been truly great. Too many people have helped to list every name but we had help in all kinds of ways.
Long expensive visits from family. Delicious dinners cooked. Volunteers at my side all night, grass getting cut, garbage taken out, extremely generous cash donations. Massage, yoga, grab bars installed in the bathroom, dog washed and fed, house cleaned, lots of energy in Katie’s direction to help her get out when needed.
Plane tickets bought, home doctor visits, medical supplies and groceries bought and paid for, a ramp built on the front of our house, car shipped to and from Honolulu, medical insurance management, and everyone who works for us at our business has stepped up in such a huge way. A simple way to put it is in the meaning of these four words: Lucky we live Kaua‘i.
On Jan. 23, some of our community members up here in Kilauea are holding a ciguatera awareness event and mahalo benefit. This form of poisoning is not well known by most doctors and treatment options are limited. Educating and warning people is the best way we can think of to prevent others from suffering the way we did.
Come join us at the Kilauea ballpark. We will feature the best of North Shore musicians, food from the Hanalei Gourmet and others and an educational booth concerning ciguatera by the Save Our Seas organization.
Aloha and special thanks once again to all our friends for helping give my family the best Christmas ever.
Tom Pickett, Kilauea
Outrageous gas tax proposed
You have to be kidding! We paid these consultants to come up with this plan? Sounds just like our government — they can’t think of anything creative so they just raise taxes! (“Energy plan calls for 50¢ gas tax,” The Garden Island, Jan. 7)
Most of us Islanders are already hurting and you want to hit us with this insane tax increase. This won’t just add to our gas expenses but a rippling effect in our economy. Are we not already paying one of the highest gas tax in the nation? I say go back to the drawing board.
The Garden Island states that the consultants want our comments so please let us know their e-mail and I would be happy to share my thoughts with them.
Renee Harper, Lawa‘i
