LIHUE — Gina Malia Nobrega-Olivera arrived at Hanapepe Hawaiian Cemetery Sunday afternoon. What she found, angered her. The cemetery had been trashed and the flowers covering the gravesites thrown about. Her stillborn daughter — her only child — and her
LIHUE — Gina Malia Nobrega-Olivera arrived at Hanapepe Hawaiian Cemetery Sunday afternoon. What she found, angered her.
The cemetery had been trashed and the flowers covering the gravesites thrown about.
Her stillborn daughter — her only child — and her father were recently buried there. She said she tries to visit the cemetery daily to pay respects to her loved ones.
“I still can’t talk about it without tearing up,” she said referring to her daughter, Kaaioohelo Nobrega-Olivera who was buried in the cemetery on June 27. “What has been done is so disrespectful to my baby!”
When she went to the cemetery Saturday, it was fine. But when she arrived 24 hours later to place flowers on a grave, splintered vases and artificial flowers covering some of the sites were scattered in the middle of the lot instead of covering the heads of monuments of the deceased.
Broken PVC piping, cracked spigots and shattered posts surrounded the cemetery.
Norbrega-Olivera, a Hanapepe community leader, contacted police and rallied her community.
Families are considering putting up a combination-locking gate that would surround the entire cemetery — whether or not the county would fund it.
Norbrega-Olivera is the president of the salt maker’s group at the salt ponds and her family has had close ties to the Hanapepe community for many years. Her grandfather was the group’s first president in 1964.
Although it’s county property, Hanapepe families have been caring for cemetery for many years, Nobrega-Olivera said.
“We do all the weed whacking,” she said. “One of the elders planted all the flowers. We do all the daily maintenance.”
This isn’t the first time the cemetery has been vandalized. Nobrega-Olivera said it’s been happening for a several months.
Nobrega-Olivera said although this is the first time she’s filed a police report, she’s seen suspicious individuals there before.
She said she’s seen all kinds of drug paraphernalia, including heroin needles, scattered about the lot.
“We do know druggies like to hang out there,” she said. “There’s weird people hanging out there and we don’t recognize them.”
Kauai police said they are aware of the issue, but have no suspects.
The cemetery is a public place where families spend time with their deceased, Norbrega-Olivera said. They are upset that the cemetery was vandalized again, she said, and are determined to put up a fence to protect the hallowed grounds.
Nobrega-Olivera also called Parks and Recreation Director Lenny Rapozo to inform him that Hanapepe residents were tired of the vandalism and would be putting up a combination-locking gate as early as Saturday.
A community member will provide the gate and the county would not have to pay a dime to maintain it, Nobrega-Olivera said.
“He was quite supportive of us taking it in our own hands,” she said of Rapozo.
Rapozo said the county is willing to work with families in Hanapepe to erect the fence at the cemetery.
“It’s wonderful that the community is looking to privately fund it, but there would be other factors to consider. There may be other requirements, such as building and/or other permits, that we would need to research,” he said. “And our highest priority would be ensuring access to those who wish and deserve to visit the cemetery. Ideally, our public cemeteries would remain open to the public to come and visit with their loved ones whenever convenient.”
Police are asking anyone with information to call 241-1711.
