• Dog fees too high • Laws the benefit of many, not the few • Fire victim’s thanks • A modest proposal Dog fees too high I think the fines for recovering a lost dog from the Kauai Humane Society
• Dog fees too high • Laws the benefit of many, not the few • Fire victim’s thanks • A modest proposal
Dog fees too high
I think the fines for recovering a lost dog from the Kauai Humane Society should be as high as they are in other communities (TGI, July 1, 2013).
Fines of $150 for an unaltered dog and $45 for a “mandatory” microchipping of all dogs (if necessary) is exactly what’s needed here. However, I don’t agree two-year dog tags should cost as much as Bill 2490 proposes. I think the fees should be somewhere between $7.50 to $10 for altered dogs and $15 to $20 if they aren’t. My reasoning?
If dog tags cost too much to begin with (especially for unaltered dogs), many owners will simply take their chances. Even at $6 per dog, many islanders already accept that risk. Their only worry is when an owner gets involved with the KHS. No one else really cares.
Mandatory microchipping is only one of the components necessary for enforcement to work. Otherwise, some owners will simply deny they own an animal and accept the loss (as will the KHS).
Discounts should be provided to low-income dog owners for tag fees and fines. I think dogs altered under these circumstances have already been addressed at the KHS by charging fees at low or no cost. In many cases, senior citizens can’t afford $50 or more for their only companion(s) in life.
I also think cat owners should be treated exactly the same as dog owners as they are in hundreds of municipalities across our nation. I don’t think it’s fair for dog owners to subsidize the maintenance costs for cats in Kauai County.
Treating their owners exactly the same will keep dog tag fees lower than what Bill 2490 proposes. Cat care takers should be held accountable for cat tags, too.
The moment someone begins to maintain a cat, they should accept full responsibility as its defacto owner. Currently, cat owners, defacto or otherwise, are receiving a form of reverse discrimination. They are getting a free ride at the expense of Kauai dog owners islandwide.
Vince Cosner, Lihue
Laws the benefit of many, not the few
It is the responsibility of our elected officials to create policy that benefits the whole rather than just the few. It is a great universal truth that whatever benefits the whole ultimately benefits the few. This truth can be applied to any situation.
If GMO farming were good for the whole then it would not be so dangerous for the few. Those whose lives are affected adversely by the chemicals sprayed on the fields either from a health issue, from a loss of property value or from a decrease in quality of life are being deprived of their God-given right to the pursuit of happiness for the benefit of a greedy few who have placed their own self-interests ahead of the interests of the whole.
It does not balance the scales to employ citizens and claim that you bring jobs and revenue to the community if just as many or more people are being affected adversely.
If in building your own wealth you destroy the wealth of the whole, then you haven’t benefited the community, you have taken advantage of it.
The environment belongs to the wealth of the whole, which includes all future generations. If you destroy or deplete the environment, then you haven’t benefited it, nor have you benefited from it. You have exploited it. And therefore, have exploited the people along with it.
These are the factors that our elected officials should be considering when deciding what is truly for the benefit of the whole. If labeling food products is good for the whole then it is also good for the GMO.
Anaha Lion, Anahola
Fire victim’s thanks
On June 29, 2013, my family experienced a most traumatic incident. Our house at 5491 Waipouli Road burned to the ground, but luckily no one was physically hurt.
It will take weeks and maybe even months before all the legal and insurance matters can be settled but everything good will happen in due time.
The Thronas family would like extend a big thank you and mahalo to the Kauai Fire Department for extinguishing the fire, the American Red Cross for their emergency assistance program, the Kauai Police Department for keeping the fire scene safe and organized and also for their continuing investigation in the cause of the fire, the staff and management of the Aloha Beach Resort for housing my family members who were displaced because of the fire and especially to our many friends and family who offered their help in our time of need.
It is truly overwhelming to be the beneficiary of the love and unselfish offerings of assistance during this horrific incident. Many tangible things, some with special meaning, were lost in the fire but nothing is more precious than life itself and for that we are very fortunate in that none was lost in this devastation.
The Thronas family truly thanks the community at large for your concern and we will remain strong and we will come back with an even stronger commitment to make Kauai better. God will continue to watch over all of us.
Mary K. Thronas, Kapaa
A modest proposal
I applaud the council for drafting Bill 2491 to “protect the public from any direct, indirect, or cumulative negative impacts on the health and natural environment of the people and place of the County of Kauai.”
However, it falls too short in protecting us from ourselves. All big box stores, golf courses, hotels, exterminators, and the county itself should divulge total pesticide sales/use. Employees of these entities should submit to mandatory blood, fecal, urine, and hair tests to identify cumulative impacts.
In addition to GMOs, what about other poorly understood technologies the council irresponsibly allows on our island? Cell phone use has spiked unchecked in the last decade. What about tumors, and how do we know that shearwaters’ flight patterns are not affected by these electromagnetic waves?
Pharmaceutical residues also endanger our environment. While the declining monk seal population may benefit from excess Viagra released in sewage from Baby Boomer filled hotels, we have a right to know what is the cumulative negative impact on our ocean.
To ensure compliance with these moratoria, I propose that the county set up two or three temporary relocation centers for residents during the EIS study period. The ranks of Kauai PD will have to be increased to secure the boundaries of these relocation centers, so this bill generates jobs too. The bill does not provide any real plan on paying for any of this, but I’m sure the council will figure it out. They’re from the government, they’re here to help.
Rich A. Flickshon, Lihue
