• Sacred Falls trail poorly marked • What’s up in prosecutor’s office? • Mahalo to cancer volunteers • Color of people doesn’t matter Sacred Falls trail poorly marked My husband treated me to a kayak/hike last year at Secret Falls
• Sacred Falls trail poorly marked • What’s up in prosecutor’s office? • Mahalo to cancer volunteers • Color of people doesn’t matter
Sacred Falls trail poorly marked
My husband treated me to a kayak/hike last year at Secret Falls for my birthday.
We rented a kayak from a lovely Hawaiian family who gave us a map and then we were on our own as we were not with a tour group.
We kayaked in and beached it and from the map we were supposed to follow the trail in to the falls. We missed the turnoff to the falls as the trail was very poorly marked. There was only one sign, it was brown and blended it with the habitat. We were hopelessly lost in there and had no idea where we were.
We turned around and shortly after that we found a tour group and they allowed us to follow them in to the falls.
Our point is the trails to the Secret Falls are very poorly marked and it is very easy to get lost. You can keep walking for hours and think you are going somewhere but in fact you are going deeper into the forest. We were fortunate to find our way back out.
Maybe the poor soul from Utah got lost and could not find his way out. I will say that the one plus was that we enjoyed the most amazing bird calls the farther we hiked into the forest. That, however, would be a big price to pay if you are lost in that beautiful wilderness.
Cecelia Kennelly-Waeschle, Kilauea
What’s up in prosecutor’s office?
Why is our esteemed prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho complaining about not having enough positions to process cases? Doesn’t she realize that there has been an exodus of quality attorneys from her office and maybe she should work on retaining staff and building a core team before asking the county government for more money and positions?
I must be the only person surprised to see former deputy prosecutors now running for the hills. I think a couple of them ended up at the County Attorney’s office and are now growing well in their legal careers. Others are now thriving in private practice — and what happened to her first deputy? Has the prosecutor taken steps to even fill that position?
I think it’s a waste of our taxpayer dollars to throw at a prosecutor who doesn’t know the first thing about first working with what she has. Before she asks for more money, the council should be asking about her performance as an office manager and whether they can trust her to expend personnel funds accordingly.
Andy Klimkowski, Kilauea
Mahalo to cancer volunteers
During this National Volunteer Week, the American Cancer Society wants to thank each and every one of its volunteers islandwide for helping lead the fight against cancer. Together, we are making a difference by helping people stay well, helping people facing cancer get well, investing in research to find cures, and fighting back through legislation. Our volunteers are the lifeblood of the American Cancer Society, especially during Relay For Life season. We want to thank each and every one of them for all they do to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Mahalo nui!
Mary Williamson, Millie Curtis, staff, ACS Kaua‘i Field Office
Color of people doesn’t matter
Ms. Estes, in your Letter to the Editor of April 18, 2010, discussing the “whiteness” of TEA Party goers, you ask “What does that tell us?” You note that most of the people in the photo were white. Unfortunately, Mr. (Dennis) Fujimoto’s schedule did not allow him to get to the April 15 TEA Party around noon when his photo would have shown about 100 plus people of all races. But I fail to see why the color and birthplace of the participants is important — they are all Americans!
You go on to say that you have never attended a TEA Party. Why don’t you go sometime? You will meet Depression and post-Depression-era babies and veterans who have worked very hard all their lives to be able to enjoy a comfortable retirement in Hawai‘i. Most have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and never took a dime from their neighbors — no free health care, no free college tuition, in other words, no free lunches. Now they are deeply concerned that there will be nothing left but debt for their children and grandchildren — a public debt that is presently $41,785 for every U.S. citizen. When it comes time to pay off this debt, Ms. Estes, the tax man does not look at color or location. And if you think it is only the rich who will be affected, think again.
You might learn that TEA Party goers are not Timothy McVey wannabes as former President Clinton suggested, but good, kind, law-abiding citizens concerned about the growth of government and the erosion of individual freedoms. They are no longer buying the Washington line, whether they be Democrat or Republican. Most have never participated in a protest against the government of any kind. All they are asking is that our government take their concerns seriously. I understand that our president was “amused” by the TEA Party protests. In the latest Rasmussen polls, 24 percent of Americans now support the TEA parties and the number keeps growing. Wait until the November elections and we will see if he still finds it amusing.
By the way, I seem to recall that most of the protesters against the superferry were white. What are we to make of that?
Ada Koene, Koloa
