Patrols employ laid-off workers
For members of the Hawai’i Army National Guard who’ve been laid off from their jobs or had their whose work hours slashed as a result of dramatic drops in visitor arrival counts, airport duty may be just the tonic.
As early as this Sunday, guardsmen in green, armed with M-16 rifles and 9-mm pistols, will be patrolling the Lihu’e Airport terminal , providing “a visible deterrent” to any would-be terrorist action, said Maj. Charles Anthony, a Hawai’i Army National Guard spokesman.
The mobilization may also provide badly needed employment to reservists whose regular full-time jobs in the visitor industry have either evaporated or been reduced because of tourism slowdowns since the terrorist attacks Sept. 11.
It’st those soldiers the Guard wants to volunteer for the airport duty, where they will augment existing security personnel, Anthony explained.
The deployment could be short-term (days or weeks) or longer-term, perhaps for months, Anthony said. He wouldn’t disclose actual numbers of guardsmen at airports.
The pay for active-duty work depends on individual rank. For businesses which could be negatively impacted by the loss of workers called up as military reservists by President Bush, the U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the availability of disaster loans.
The loans help cover eligible small-businesses’ operating expenses that would ordinarily be met, but can’t be due to the loss of an essential employee called to active duty.
“We all recognize that Hawai’i has a high military presence and a high percentage of reservists and veterans,” said Andrew K. Poepoe, Hawai’i district director for the Small Business Administration. “These loans are very important to our community.”
Small businesses can apply for up to $1.5 million. Funds can be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills.
The loans carry a 4 percent interest rate, with a maximum term of 30 years. Business owners can file the paperwork the date the essential employee is ordered to active duty, and have until 90 days after the date the employee is discharged from active duty to file applications.
The Small Business Administration also has free, confidential counseling for firms seeking advice on financial assessment, loans, cash flow analysis, marketing and other management issues.
The Hawai’i Small Business Development Center at Kaua’i Community College can expand hours and services to help Kaua’i firms, Poepoe said. Additional information is available at 1-800-488-5323 or www.sbahawaii.org.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
