• With aloha and concern for Kaua‘i • Feral cats do not deserve to be euthanized • Our priority to protect endangered birds • Green Harvest With aloha and concern for Kaua‘i I want to take this opportunity to send
• With aloha and concern for Kaua‘i •
Feral cats do not deserve to be euthanized •
Our priority to protect endangered birds •
Green Harvest
With aloha and concern for Kaua‘i
I want to take this opportunity to send KIUC a big mahalo for:
— Assuring us that, no matter what we do, our rates will continue to climb and never fall.
— Negotiating the highest price of fuel for the power plants, making Kaua‘i electric rates the highest in the nation.
— Spending our hard-earned dollars on public relations efforts to convince us what a wonderful co-op you are, including the Currents newsletter and calendar.
— Attempting to encourage energy efficiency by offering a puny $50 rebate on new energy appliances which cost $1,000 or higher.
— Renting us a “power surge protector” for $5 per month to be attached to our meter, with no guarantee that it will work (it doesn’t).
— Contracting with Free Flow Power without going through a legal and transparent procurement process, then telling members that it will cost us over $300,000 to cancel the contract.
— Calling the frequent brown outs in Kalaheo an “act of God,” thereby eliminating any liability to replace computers and other appliances that have been rendered useless.
— Supporting the Port Allen Power Station, which spews black plumes of smoke and silt daily over Port Allen, Hanapepe, and Salt Pond.
— Not initiating furloughs nor layoffs in the wake of the every-increasing costs of running the co-op.
— Using the co-op (a non-profit itself) for the Sharing of Aloha program, doling out thousands of dollars a year to other non-profits.
— Following the cooperative principles of the co-op: Voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, members’ economic participation, autonomy and independence, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for community.
With aloha and concern for our island
Jan Pascua, Kalaheo
Feral cats do not deserve to be euthanized
The recent article printed in The Garden Island on feral cats is a very one-sided report.
There are several volunteers working diligently night after night to trap/spay/neuter/release feral cats. This is not just “one nice old lady”.
The colonies of cats are also fed every night by caring volunteers and once a week are fed food with a birth control in it. I myself have a couple feral cats I feed outside my home and the concept that these animals are being fed and still hunting birds is certainly not true in my case.
Also the report that these animals are slowly, agonizingly dying is not accurate. I have fostered feral cats that were ill, treated them with meds till they are healthy then released them back into their colonies.
We (volunteers for Kaua‘i Ferals) monitor the health of these cats and trap and treat them as needed. We socialize and find homes for kittens, often times capturing kittens a Kaua‘i resident has decided to drop off at Walmart or Saltpond rather then getting their cats spayed and neutered for a mere $5 at the Humane Society.
The major population problems are the individuals that continue to drop off cats and kittens that have not been spayed or neutered, in some cases pregnant females, into the colonies.
These animals do not deserve to be rounded up and euthanized, I am sickened by the one sided report recently published and urge Kaua‘i residents to please speak up.
Cheryl Martin, Koloa
Our priority to protect endangered birds
A very interesting Kaua‘i County Council discussion about the feral cat problem Kauai is dealing with.
In this connection I would like to add our experience with two young feral cats that my wife befriended about three years ago. We had them both neutered and they turned out to be good pets.
From time to time however; no matter how well we feed them, they prey on birds. We have had to stop feeding the birds so as not to make them an easy target.
Our cats seem to attract feral cats around us much to our annoyance so this year we have used the services of the Kauai Humane Society. With a trap provided by KHS we have trapped five feral cats and handed them over to the Humane society. If they can be socialized they are promoted for adoption; if they can not be socialized, they are euthanized. This approach reduces the population of cats that do not have loving homes and supports the welfare of the birds on the island.
It is a priority to ensure that endangered birds are protected and their numbers increase.
I would encourage people to make an extra effort to help reduce the feral cat population on Kaua‘i.
Sid Jacobs, Kapahi
Green Harvest
Just wanted to take a minute to thank some true unsung heroes of Kauai. I’m referring to the brave men of Green harvest.
You brave souls work tirelessly every day to keep our Island safe from that dreaded scourge known as marijuana.
Bravely flying around in your shiny yellow MD-500s you hover over searching for these green devil plants. Waking sleeping babies, frightening children and pets these minuscule details never enter your minds as you hunt for these devil plants.
Upon finding them you calculate your plan of attack. Armed to the teeth you storm in arresting the little old man growing a few plants to help his family.
The people of Kaua‘i can now sleep soundly knowing this animal is behind bars. The fact that marijuana is now endorsed by the American College of Physicians as one of the safest, most medically effective plants known to man is of little concern to you brave lads.
In closing, I want to extend my deepest gratitude for keeping me safe from this evil plant. You guys truly are heroes of the sky.
Andrew Gorsline, Kapa‘a
