LIHU‘E — Having a spray gun is great, and having someone who knows how to use it is even better, said George Ahlgren, the parks operations chief for the county Parks and Recreation Department. Ahlgren was watching as Glenn Rapozo
LIHU‘E — Having a spray gun is great, and having someone who knows how to use it is even better, said George Ahlgren, the parks operations chief for the county Parks and Recreation Department.
Ahlgren was watching as Glenn Rapozo worked with six members of the Lifetime Stand program of the Kaua‘i Community Correctional Center, breezing through the repainting of the dugouts at Isenberg Park, Tuesday.
Clifford Lee of the Hanama‘ulu Hillsiders senior softball team coordinated the effort following the sprucing up of Peter Rayno Park in Hanama‘ulu in time for the team’s first home game last month.
“This is for the kids and seniors who use this park,” Lee said. “There are lots of people who use this park, and if we clean it up, maybe people will keep it clear (of graffiti).”
Lee said since the Hillsiders “adopted” Peter Rayno Park, graffiti incidents have declined, and he hopes that by giving Isenberg a fresh look, the problems will diminish there as well.
“Graffiti happens overnight,” Ahlgren said. “You can clean it up, and overnight it reappears.”
One of the first tasks by the Lifetime Stand members headed by Sia Salausa was to tackle the graffiti which littered the interior walls of the comfort stations.
This was done using new paint, scrubbers for the grout, and a lot of manpower.
“Unfortunately, the county doesn’t have red paint in its inventory,” Ahlgren said. “We had some big-hearted volunteers do the colors of Kaua‘i High School, but the county’s basic inventory is beige and dark brown.”
All of this took place as Rapozo wielded his power paint sprayer, making short work of the dugout, a crew of Lifetime Stand members following to rub the sprayed paint into the wood.
“This is the same crew that goes out during the weekends doing community service work,” Salausa said. “Usually they go out on Saturdays and work with organizations. Sometimes, they go out on Sundays with different church groups to do projects.”
Recently, Salausa said they worked with the Eastside Family Summit to help set up and break down the event at Kapa‘a High School.
Salausa said on occasions when there are no events scheduled, the crew volunteers with the Friends of Lydgate Park to help clean that park.
However, he said the boys especially like going out to help elderly couples tackle housework that somehow took over what they were capable of doing.
“It’s fun,” he said. “The guys like doing this, especially if it’s for the elderly.”
While the volunteers spruced up the park, a crew from Paul’s Electrical Contracting worked to retrofit the lights in time for the first Kaua‘i High School softball home game scheduled for next Wednesday when Waimea comes to play.
“If anything, these new lights will get more light on the field,” Ahlgren said. “And the meter runs slower which is good because we have to pay for it.”
