• Use common sense • A wish come true • Pig hunters should be paid • Ocean safety Use common sense When it comes to firearms, why does all logic and reason leave the discussion. “Irresponsible,” “unconscionable,” “keiki gun porn.”
• Use common sense • A wish come true • Pig hunters should be paid • Ocean safety
Use common sense
When it comes to firearms, why does all logic and reason leave the discussion. “Irresponsible,” “unconscionable,” “keiki gun porn.” Really? Why? It was a “TOY,” not real!
Kids of all generations have played cowboys and indians, cops and robbers, army, etc. They have used toy guns, fingers, rubber band guns, pea shooters, water pistols, etc., to play and have fun.
When discussing firearms, let us use reason and fact, not personal emotional rants. It was a “TOY!”
Let’s use a little common sense. Though I am really sad to see, common sense isn’t so common anymore.
Christian Ogawa
Lihue
A wish come true
As the very proud mom of the courageous leukemia fighting Kytin, I thought this article was absolutely the most phenomenal story of a wish come true for my 7-year-old son.
Although he was published publicly on the front page of Sunday’s Garden Island newspaper (July 7) with the amazing efforts of the Kauai Police Department, I awoke this morning to two separate negative comments posted in the letters section of the local newspaper.
This story was not intended to offend anyone but to solely fulfill the wish of an innocent little boy in hopes to become a SWAT/KPD officer one day.
There were times I didn’t even know if my son would wake up the next day? Today, he will be in remission by month end!
As his mother, I’m so blessed and proud of him, battling and fighting an illness with the most positive and amazing uplifting spirits anyone could ask for. Never complains, goes with the flow as if he was a normal little boy like his peers.
If we had offended anyone with our Make A Wish story, sincere apologies in advance as this was clearly not our intentions!
May your day be filled with uplifting, inspirational, positive and kind thoughts.
KarLyn Sukehira
Kapaa
Pig hunters should be paid
Have you ever had a pig dig up your yard? Have you witnessed the erosion caused by wild pigs and goats? I asked a naturalist how many pigs were on the island and he answered, “I would guess about 300,000.”
Fences are being established to try to prevent pigs from trampling plant species that are found only on Kauai.
Fences cost a lot more money than what will be raised by adding more expensive licensing to dogs owned by pig hunters.
We need our pig hunters. They are paid little for a valuable service. Adding another expense to the maintenance of working dogs may cause fewer pig hunters to be available. Certainly a pig hunter needs five or six dogs and will kill an average of 28 pigs per year during weekend hunting. Let’s encourage these hunters to help save our mountains and rare species. Let’s not make licensing of hunting dogs more expensive to those who are legitimate hunters.
Pig hunters are a valuable asset to our island. Let’s encourage them to pursue this activity rather than discourage them. A special lower fee for licenses of a reasonable number of dogs per hunting group is in order.
Marjorie Gifford
Princeville
Ocean safety
The July 1 article “Family Distressed” paints a very disturbing picture for those of us who love Kauai’s beaches.
I’ve re-read it several times, simply to make sure I’ve understood it correctly. By far, the most upsetting feature is the description of Ms. McCabe’s attempts signaling for help, yet still “seeing no response from the lifeguard.”
Ostensibly, Ms. McCabe could plainly see the lifeguard tower. It would follow that she, and the clearly distressed persons around her, would be in the line of sight of the guards in the tower as well.
The picture grows increasingly grim when Ms. McCabe is forced to engage the help of random bystanders in signaling for help.
“At least 40 hands were raised,” she states. Simple math dictates that an astounding 20 people, at least, were involved in this signaling effort, all at once. How on earth did a mass effort of this size go ignored for so long?
Even with this mass effort underway, still more time elapses. During this period, Ms. McCabe is tasked with calming her family, while her daughter-in-law pulls one of the near-victims to safety. That is a significant measure of time.
What upsets me the most, however, is how Ms. McCabe’s post-incident question is handled by the County of Kauai. “How did the lifeguards miss these attempts to get help?”
Fire Department Chief Westerman’s answer is that “the county would look at ways to improve signage, including updating our advertisements on radio.”
Signage, advertisements and radio? None of these are responsive to Ms. McCabe’s question. The issue of the 40 raised hands going unseen by lifeguards somehow manages to go unaddressed. Why is this?
Certainly, water safety education before a potential emergency occurs is beneficial. Yet even the best readers among us can still find themselves in peril, through simple misunderstanding of the warning, possible language barriers, etc. Not everyone who finds themselves in need of rescue willfully ignores signs and radio advertisements beforehand.
Hopefully, the county will consider responding directly to Ms. McCabe’s query. Unfortunately, neither a sign nor a recently updated radio spot is of much use to 20 people begging for help.
Emily Goldbach
Kekaha
