• Tropic Care Kaua‘i • The Tumua I know • Industry science Tropic Care Kaua‘i Tropic Care Kaua‘i: I would like to thank all who gave their time for this opportunity for Kaua‘i people and the love they gave in
• Tropic Care Kaua‘i • The Tumua I know • Industry science
Tropic Care Kaua‘i
Tropic Care Kaua‘i: I would like to thank all who gave their time for this opportunity for Kaua‘i people and the love they gave in what they have done for us all. I am so grateful for what they have done.
Words can’t express the feeling my heart carries for all of them. I thank the Lord for bringing these people to us and taking their precious time out of love.The Army, the Navy, the Air Force — much mahalo, and I love you all for the blessing that was bestowed upon all the people of Kaua‘i.
Gayle Medeiros, Kapa‘a
The Tumua I know
I was not a witness to the incident last week on the Kapa’a High School campus involving Tumua and KPD officers. I will not comment at all about what transpired that morning.
My purpose in writing this letter is to shed light on the Tumua Masaniai Jr. that I know.
I have been a high school teacher for 13 years and a football coach for 16 years, employed at both Kaua’i High School and Kapa’a High School.
Each year I work with approximately 140 students in my history classes and 100 football players in my JV and Varsity football programs.
Over the years, I have taught and coached thousands of teenagers and have yet to meet one who is perfect. In fact, I haven’t met a perfect human being yet, myself included.
In the field of education, we see how teenagers can make foolish decisions, almost on a daily basis.
If you are, or have been, a parent of a teenager, you know exactly what I am talking about. Every individual learns in different ways and at different rates. Some learn quickly, where others take longer.
It is important to teach teenagers the skill of accepting the consequences of their actions, learning from them, and growing from them. One of the greatest benefits of working in the field of education is to witness kids learning to make appropriate decisions and, in the process, mature into young adults.
I have worked with Tumua for four years as his football coach, and he has made more than his share of poor decisions. I have also known him to accept the consequences of his actions, reflect on his behavior and make appropriate adjustments in future situations.
During the past four years, I have seen progress in Tumua’s decision-making skills. He has also improved on his attendance in school, his performance in the classroom, his overall work ethic and his leadership skills.
This past season, he placed the needs of our team before his own and helped lead us to achieve many of our collective goals. I have witnessed Tumua growing up this year, and I am very proud of him.
I know Tumua. He has a big heart and a good soul. It has been an honor and a privilege working with him.
Commitment, work ethic, leadership, appropriate decision making — these are among the many attributes we hope our youth can display by the time they graduate from high school, with the hope that they will find success in life.
I feel confident in saying that I have seen Tumua display a grasp of each of these attributes and because of it, he will be a success in life and a contributing member of our society.
That is the Tumua Masaniai Jr. I know.
Keli‘i Morgado, Kapa‘a
Industry science
There is something I will call “industry science” that is undermining the very concept of the word “science.” Industry science is bought and paid for by the very company that seeks to use it to get approval for a product, for instance.
This approach gives it an agenda, a bias that is not like any real science which is neutral and only seeks to reveal the true character of something.
Independent studies that are not funded by industry (and therefore have no agenda), are often disregarded.
Any literature containing anecdotal evidence regarding the safety of something may be deemed as having “no science.” This is the argument used to attack the credibility of those who would question it, but I was very surprised to hear it coming from a KIUC representative, Mike Yamane, when talking about the safety of smart meters at the Kaua‘i County Council meeting on Feb. 8.
When I say I was surprised, it is because KIUC has the word co-operative in its name and boasts about being “member owned,” so I expect certain neutrality.
When referring to any member opposed to the installation of these mandatory meters, Yamane, who had been listening to public testimony against such an installation, described them as people who have been misinformed and misled by those that are trying to create controversy: “They use anecdotal references.” “They have no science.”
Reports and testimonials by people describing their negative experiences with smart meters, in their quantity alone, mean something and have more of an impact to me than the conclusion of some guys in lab coats getting paid to say what they need to in order to get something approved as safe.
But most of all, these anecdotal references are not influenced by money interests. Everything that was said by Yamane, on the other hand, sounded like propaganda. And if KIUC is installing mandatory smart meters that may pose a risk to my family’s health, I think, why?
This is not science talking; this is money talking. What I look for in a co-operative is an opportunity to vote on big issues like these. Installing smart meters? I vote no.
Danitza Galvan, Puhi
