• Wally Yonamine • Community bonds • Are you too stupid to vote? • KIUC is not exempt Wally Yonamine Don Chapman just wrote a fine story in MidWeek about a sports legend, Wally Yonamine, who recently passed away. For
• Wally Yonamine • Community bonds • Are you too stupid to vote? • KIUC is not exempt
Wally Yonamine
Don Chapman just wrote a fine story in MidWeek about a sports legend, Wally Yonamine, who recently passed away. For you sports fans on Kaua‘i, please let me expand on honoring this great athlete.
In 1950, I signed a pro contract out of UCLA with the Hollywood Stars, the Dodgers AAA team in the Pacific Coast League. They optioned me to Class C Billings in Montana in the Pioneer League.
Salt Lake was one of the eight teams in that league, and Wally was one of their outfielders. Though I didn’t join Billings till June, I still got to face Salt Lake and Wally a number of times. Our club did well and we won the pennant and the playoffs and, for me, Wally was the best hitter in the league and, he may have won the batting title.
Now, fast forward to 1953. After 2 years in the Army, I was sent to AA Ft Worth in the Texas League. I was having a fine year and in July the Dodgers called me to Brooklyn.
The club had about eight sports writers covering them, who all needed a different story to write about, so they were continually asking the players many questions. They asked all the pitchers on the club who was the toughest hitter they ever faced — including Don Newcombe, Carl Erskine, Preacher Roe, John Podres and myself.
Having just joined the club and not faced one big league hitter yet I quickly answered “Wally Yonamine!”
AP picked up on the story since it had “color,” and in the next days, sports pages across the country had Wally Yonamine’s name in the headlines. Obviously, I was completely sincere since Wally was the best hitter I ever faced.
In 1959, when I went to Japan to play pro ball (I was there for five years), I ran into Wally (he was also a legend in Japan, being a player and a manager), and told me that the story made him a celebrity.
He has left us way too soon, but his legacy in the sports world (baseball and football) will never be forgotten, especially by me.
Glenn Mickens
Kapa‘a
Community bonds
I recently attended a very thought-provoking community forum. The theme was “Creation Care” — our mutual responsibility to safeguard the sustainable future of our planet — with a particular focus on the emerging importance of electric transportation.
The speaker explained the evolution of today’s car and its insatiable appetite for fossil fuel. Hearing the particulars of hybrid and electric cars inspired a lively discussion, as participants began to imagine how this information could be actualized on this island and in their own lives.
I came away from that evening feeling enlightened and inspired to up my game in the realm of personal environmental responsibility. But the even more indelible impression of that evening was this: When we talk story together about issues that concern us, community bonds are strengthened and change can happen.
Margaret Mead said it best: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
I encourage you to join this new community outreach forum, held at Koloa Union Church the third Tuesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. Visit iwekauai.weebly.com for the schedule of topics.
I believe you will find it stimulating to really listen to the voices of your neighbors, and to feel how affirming it is to have them listen to you.
Robert P Merkle
Koloa
Are you too stupid to vote?
It frightens me at times to read the opinion letters in the paper. It reinforces my belief that Alexander Hamilton was correct when he stated the American public is too stupid to vote.
If you question that logic, just look at who we have representing us now. I rest my case.
Joseph Lavery
Kapa‘a
KIUC is not exempt
Senate Bill 1045 and House Bill 815 would not, as The Garden Island reported Monday, exempt Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative from “complying with many laws,” nor would they be “pulling the plug on co-op’s compliance with state laws,” as the headline erroneously states.
The bills are simple and straightforward and easy to find on the legislative website. Contrary to what The Garden Island reported, they don’t provide any sort of automatic, blanket exemption from state law or Public Utilities Commission oversight.
The PUC, the Consumer Advocate, the Kaua‘i County Council and Kaua‘i’s legislative delegation all support this legislation, which would simply enable the PUC to consider our status as a member-owned, non-profit cooperative when reviewing regulatory issues.
Jim Kelly
Communications manager
Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative
