WAILUA — Six people were arrested, Wednesday as the county attempted to transition the Lydgate Beach Park out of its Shelter In Place camping permit program.
“The Kaua‘i Police Department has been assisting the county’s Parks Department with enforcing their rules, and the closure of Lydgate Park for the restoration of the park,” said KPD Patrol Services Bureau Assistant Chief Mark Begley. “Illegal campers were warned repeatedly over the past few days about the closure of the part and their need to relocate. The county and its partners offered various options and assistance to help the campers relocate. When police arrived at the part this morning to assist County Parks, several campers refused to leave. Following repeated warning, and refusal to leave, six individuals were arrested.”
One of those arrested was Michael Daly who has been filming the closing of the park as well as camp life in the other county designated Shelter In Place sites.
He told TGI reporter Sabrina Bodon that he was arrested at 6:30 a.m. and detained until 8:30 a.m. when he was released without posting any bail.
Torrie, a resident at the Shelter in Place site for about a year, said Napuanani McKeague was arrested — twice.
“The police came early in the morning and arrested her,” Torrie said. “She came back to the camp, and they arrested her again because she did not want to leave this place. The park rangers were here on Monday, telling everyone they had to move and taping off areas that had items for disposal. They came back, Tuesday and told everyone that this was their last chance to move.”
No other information was available on the other people who were arrested.
Kaua‘i Police Department officers maintained a closure point at the entrance to the Kamalani campground while the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation team surveyed the area for restorative work following a year of occupation by the houseless community. Eventually, boulders were placed at the campgrounds’ entrance to prevent cars from getting in and out for the next three weeks or more while restorative work takes place.
The county announced it will start to allow public recreational camping at the county parks, and will discontinue its Shelter in Place camping permit program starting in March.
“Through emergency provisions in place since the beginning of the pandemic, five of our county beach parks were identified as safe areas for houseless individuals to shelter in place,” Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami said in a mid-February announcement on the transition of the Shelter in Place closures. ‘We are now at a point in our recovery where we feel confident in concluding this program, and our team will continue to make every effort to help connect individuals with assistance and resources.”
Since then, the ‘Anini and Anahola beach parks, and the Lucy Wright Park in Waimea closed with no major incidents, and recreational camping is scheduled to open at Lydgate Park from June 25.
A coordinated outreach services program focusing on housing, social service programs, and medical services will be held Thursday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Salt Pond Beach Park to help that Shelter in Place residents transition out of the program.
The Salt Pond Shelter in Place site is scheduled to close on June 30 with recreational camping being allowed from July 23.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
They have completely trashed that area. I doubt it will be open on the 25th.
Put Hawaiian lands in Z-hands, yeah! Narcissistics vs Empaths have no color or creed. Next, Fauci Z, Gates, Huntah and epsteininian hui will being playing Hollywood’s “set-up” movie, with Hooser and his hui as the directors. ‘The Undoing’ HBO movie champions their agenda and Derik can use his new Go-Pro to obtain the first cut!
What????
You’ve been shown compassion and generosity this past year, while we have been denied the use our beautiful parks. Our thanks is to be shown criminal defiance and contempt. Accept the help which is offered. Stop using drugs and alcohol!!! Transition into a better life of independence and freedom.
All they did was move them to the other side of the rocks. They have taken over the parking lot by the soccer fields, and we have now lost another whole section of our park. Sad, embarrassing, dangerous, unsanitary, no enforcement. When are we going to fix this and get our parks and beaches back?
Delighted to see these people forcibly removed. It is what they wanted because they were warned. Their actions prove, if you try to help them, you are doing more of a disservice than a service! What do they expect? Do they expect us to adopt them?
How are you viewing this? Help out or happy for those bums to be removed. The only way to clean up Kauai is to get tough. Set ordinances. No bums allowed on Kauai.
This past Wednesday Strip steak restaurant was hiring in Waikiki. To the bums, this jobs is too difficult. But not for us. For us, too easy and not worth the effort. If you’re an employer, how do you deal with it? That is the problem.
I agree with Debra… I think. In any case, give me two of what she’s drinking. I looks fun.
Homeless is a social problem that will probably never be resolved. I pray for a path that will accommodate the truly needy and motivate the rest…
But where are they supposed to go? It seems like a real solution needs to be created to help people with problems because people with problems don’t go away just because you said so.
With the ever increasing cost of a roof on kauai, becoming houseless is a very real and easy situation to stumble into for our working class and really anyone outside of the previously established & wealthy.
Lift them up don’t push them out. Provide shelter, teach them to farm, pay them to pick up ocean plastic, do something constructive.
There are solutions if we try, we don’t need to treat our neighbors like refugees because they don’t have as much money yet.