Letters for Wednesday, May 14, 2014

• Start a league of your own • KCCC deserves replacement now •  Is Princeville the next Styrofoam-free community? •  Economic fallout from dairy farm

Start a league of your own

 Mr. Mickens, for the past several years you have been writing about AJA Baseball not letting other races be involved in their league. May I suggest that you and the many others you have mentioned in your article open and organize your own league.

Marvin Rabago

Eleele

KCCC deserves replacement now

 Shame on the state for putting the replacement of Kauai Community Correctional Center last on their list of prison replacements. It is the oldest of all the facilities. On the Mainland, it is considered a “model” for other prisons, helping prisoners learn new skills and keeping them from becoming repeat offenders. Why not use the prisoners to help build a new facility? Some already have the skills needed, such as working construction, plumbing and electrical work. Others could be taught a new skill. Perhaps the county could work out something with Habitat for Humanity or form a group of local citizens who are willing to donate time to help build a facility.

We can’t wait any longer for the state to offer their help in five to 20 years!

Heather Riggins

Princeville

 Is Princeville the next Styrofoam-free community?

I was so pleased after running into one of the sweet aunties that work at CJ’s in Princeville. She came up to me and said they read the front page story in The Garden Island about Kilauea being Styrofoam free. Evidently, this story has made some impact, as CJ’s has stopped using Styrofoam for take out as well. Who knows what other businesses have taken on the Styrofoam-free slogan and has realized how bad the substance is for our environment? This action deserves some applause. This action was voluntary. No one had to pass a law to tell the Styrofoam-free businesses to do this. No, as awareness grows, doing the right thing is a choice made from the heart, not the government. That is what makes this change of behavior so rewarding. It is heartfelt change.

So for all the Styrofoam-free businesses out there, and there are many of you, we are grateful. For all the businesses yet to change over, we are hopeful. Thank you CJ’s of Princeville for being one less polluter on the island. Wouldn’t it be great if we could make the entire Garden Island Styrofoam free? We can. One restaurant, two food trucks, at a time.

Pamela Burrell, Zero Waste Kauai

Kalihiwai

 Economic fallout from dairy farm

Much has been written about the environmental impact of the proposed Hawaii Dairy Farm. Many people have expressed concerns about the potential negative effects that the proposed operation could have on land, fresh water and ocean resources. I’d like to look at what could be a near-catastrophic impact on the economy of our beloved island.

Three major side effects appear to go hand-in-hand with the operation of a dairy farm: odor, flies and noise. Koloa and Poipu are only a few miles — directly downwind — from the proposed dairy farm. It is a major visitor destination area, employing thousands of locals. Do visitors want to spend their hard-earned money sitting around a pool smelling cow manure and swatting flies? Hardly! In the Internet age, word gets out fast. Will potential visitors be reading: “Don’t go to Poipu – it stinks and is full of flies?” If hotel, time share and vacation rental businesses tank, one can envision hundreds of local jobs being lost. Real estate values (and county tax revenue) would plummet. HDF has stated they plan on hiring 10 to 15 people. Is it worth risking the vitality of the No. 1 economic engine on Kauai for that?

If dairy farming is such a wonderful business, surely there must be somewhere else in Grove Farm’s 40,000-acre holdings where HDF could be placed without putting the economic interest of so many hard-working locals at risk.

Allan Rachap

Koloa