Letters for June 1, 2015 KHS making a difference for pet owners The Kauai Humane Society pet food bank Gomez’ Galley was formed to help families who are facing economic hardship to keep their pets with them at home. Starting
Letters for June 1, 2015
KHS making a difference for pet owners
The Kauai Humane Society pet food bank Gomez’ Galley was formed to help families who are facing economic hardship to keep their pets with them at home. Starting one year ago, KHS began a free pet food distribution once a month, in conjunction with St. Catherine’s Food Pantry in May 2014.
This past year through St. Catherine’s Food Pantry, the KHS has helped over 160 families feed 594 pets. The KHS has two other pet food bank distribution locations, one at St. William’s in Hanalei, and one at the shelter in Puhi. These distributions are intended to help keep pets in their families homes, where they belong.
The KHS also has a low cost spay and neuter program, vaccine clinics, Pet Behavioral Helpline for folks who need assistance dealing with companion animal issues, and a low cost micro-chipping service which everyone should utilize in case your pet gets lost.
St. Catherine’s Food Pantry and our clients have all had a wonderful experience in dealing with the extremely dedicated volunteers and staff doing everything they can to improve the quality of life for Kauai’s animals. Mahalo all for your support.
Mark Whitson
Operations manager,
St. Catherine’s Food Pantry
Kapaa
Address concerns at Humane Society
Regarding the Kauai Humane Society’s difficulties, I do not know anyone involved in the internal strife that is currently in the headlines.
Here’s what I do know: If 33 percent of employees anywhere sign such a petition, something is radically wrong.
The 33 percent of employees know they are risking their jobs.
It was my experience during over 50 years in the workforce that when such a petition surfaces, there are many other employees who agree, but who are afraid to risk their jobs.
Employees may not be fired outright, but they will be harassed. They will either be harassed until they quit or fired for any cause the employer can manufacture. That’s a general truth and it stretches across all working situations. Anyone who remembers attempts to organize unions — anywhere — knows this is true.
What that means is this: Those employees care enough about the situation to risk their livelihoods.
Since Ms. Cistaro is to be retained, the board would be well advised to hire an outside conflict resolution company to help to resolve the obviously serious problems in an organization that almost all of us on Kauai care about.
The Humane Society is hugely important to many people on Kauai.
It is worth all the effort it takes to resolve the internal conflicts that have surfaced.
Mary Mulhall
Kapaa
Shuttle was cost-effective deterrent to traffic congestion
On one hand, I feel it was the right decision for the council to cut the funding for Kauai Experience shuttle service. And on the other hand, the shuttle service is a private for-profit business and if it was supposed to receive county funding, then why does that not happen with every new business idea?
With no major funding available for more roads and infrastructure, the shuttle businesses are a great way to get rental cars out of our daily traffic flow.
I read that Coco Palms developers are going to fund two new shuttles from the hotel to Lihue airport and other popular destinations.
What’s needed is for all major hotels/resorts, as well as any other accommodations, to have a fleet of shuttles to meet their “sized” needs to cover transportation for their guests.
I would say the success of this and the costs are going to be a combination of the resorts, tourists, support businesses and the tourist industry sharing the expense and profits of an islandwide private business service with no taxpayer funding.
Steve Martin
Kapaa
