Letters for Wednesday, June 4, 2014

• Dustin Barca an inspiration for Kauai • Charging father a waste of resources • ‘Old school’ discipline not a crime • Low levels of chemicals not OK

Dustin Barca an inspiration for Kauai

What a thrill it is to see Kauai-born Dustin Barca running for mayor. His gifts to the community go far beyond the ordinary man. A gifted and focused athlete and advocate for the environment, his determination reverberates beyond the islands. Loved by so many people, his vital political presence will inspire the hopes and dreams of the next generation.

Aloha from Illinois! 

Suzanne Case

Hudson, Ill.

Charging father a waste of resources

I read the story in TGI about the father who made his son walk a mile. I must tell you that I am outraged that any prosecutor would waste taxpayer dollars to punish a father for making his son get some exercise, especially in a time when everyone is crying about obese children. This just makes me sick to see resources wasted. When I was a child, if my father had made me walk a mile for punishment, it would have been a blessing. I would usually get a whipping and be forced to read scripture to teach me the error of my ways. If you wonder why jails are full, this is why. A man tries to be a parent and gets punished by the liberal, nanny state. This is just sad and the governor should expunge this conviction immediately. This is just going to make your community a laughing stock to the rest of America. 

James Vines

Cedartown, Ga.

‘Old school’ discipline not a crime

It’s hard for me to understand the logic behind the Tolbe comment. Old school father punished for “old school” discipline.

So the father parks the car and takes a walk with his son? 

“Hey dad can you buy me some Van’s for this walk?” That’s the problem with liberal thinking. Walking a mile with your son is commendable but for punishment? Give me a break. I was whacked with the belt when I was a child. That’s old school discipline and I turned out just fine. People here used to walk all over this island and some still do. This boy probably walks everywhere on his own like most children unable to drive. Child abuse? Probation? Fines? Dangerous roads, child predators? Name in the paper? This is absolutely ridiculous. Someone needs to stick up for this father, he’s the one getting the punishment, or shall we say discipline? Out of all 50 states, we are one of only four left that will not pass Jessica’s Law but that’s a story for another time. Apparently, probation and/or rehabilitation is the answer to all crime along with a week’s pay!

Larry Dolan

Kalaheo

Low levels of chemicals not OK

Mahalo to the State of Hawaii Department of Health for the recent statewide pesticide study. Although just a momentary snapshot of our waterways, it is very revealing in the fact that all sites tested had pesticides present, some coming many years ago and many sites had multiple pesticides present. Not good. But don’t be fooled into thinking that all is well just because the numbers fell below government standards. Multiple pesticides were in several places and there have been very few studies on the effects of pesticides and chemicals in combination and how they can or can not be tolerated by living organisms.

But more importantly, we need to look at our oceans, rivers and streams holistically and see if and what are the other stressors to a clean and healthy water environment. For example, go to almost any beach on Kauai and run your hands through the sand. You will see small bits of plastic everywhere, it’s the new normal, but please don’t be accepting of that normal. And then there is bacteria, particularly enterococcus bacteria, present in all streams on Kauai, at some ocean spots and, at some of those spots, chronically high. Then there is ocean acidification, over-fishing and now radiation. The health or disease of organisms, including humans, and ecosystems, depends on many factors.

Kauai should be the model of clean and healthy water and we should not settle for even low levels of chemical contamination. This is an election year.

Robert Zelkovsky

Kapaa