The waiting is over

PUA LOKE — Chad Ragsac has been waiting a year for the expo, said Mark Dyos, a vice president with Maruyama, Friday at the M. Kawamura Farm Enterprise property in Pua Loke.

“No kidding,” Dyos said. “Chad’s been really waiting a year for this expo to see what he can use.”

Maruyama is one of the exhibitors to the power equipment expo at the M. Kawamura Farm Enterprise property in Pua Loke.

“What is good about Maruyama is they’re giving back to the island,” said Ed Kawamura, recently selected as Kauai’s Outstanding Male Senior. “Maruyama is donating 50 percent of its proceeds during the expo back to the Kauai Fire Department.”

The Disabled American Veterans maintained a fundraising booth at the expo, led by Retired General Mary Kay Hertog and a corps of volunteers, including the senior Kawamura who made it a point to bring people over to fatten the pot.

Darryl Gerardo and Glenn Alquiza of the Kauai Community College accompanied a group of the college’s groundskeepers, seeking quieter and more efficient means of doing their jobs.

“We are looking at battery technology,” Gerardo said. “A lot of these guys have to work close to classrooms so they need things quiet. There’s a Shindaiwa that has a 56-volt battery, and how does that compare to the Oregon with a 40-volt battery?”

Other manufacturers had lithium-ion battery technology as the Kauai Community College group settled in at the Husqvarna exhibit, one of the crew being chided for raising dust with a battery-powered leaf blower.

Others, including Kauai firefighters, took advantage of the Maruyama offer, the crew from the Kukuiula Development picking up not one, but several commercial grade weed cutters.

“Don’t forget to get some lemonade,” Ed said. “Or, you can have some ionized water.”

The farm expo continues from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at the M. Kawamura Farm Enterprise property in Pua Loke, adjacent to the county’s baseyard.