• We want a law • A hauoli haole • See for yourself • Incessant barking a problem for pets too We want a law It may be of interest to know how the residents of Maui dealt with the
• We want a law • A hauoli haole • See for yourself • Incessant barking a problem for pets too
We want a law
It may be of interest to know how the residents of Maui dealt with the barking-dog problem several years ago.
In the compact town of Wailuku, if one dog barked they all barked.
A group of citizens urged the Maui County Council to pass an anti-barking-dog ordinance. The citizens were ignored by both the Council and dogs.
With the passage of time the citizens’ group grew so large that it could no longer be ignored by the Council. After more than 20 years of lobbying, the Council gave in and passed an anti-barking-dog law.
The result: If one dog in Wailuku barked, they all barked.
But the residents of Wailuku were happy. There was an anti-barking-dog law in the books.
Jack Stephens, Lihu‘e
A hauoli haole
I was so pleased to read the letter written by Sandy Brodie in the Sunday Letters section regarding the use of the “H-word” as told by Michael Diamant in his letter printed in The Garden Island on Saturday.
Mr. Diamant certainly has his facts all twisted up by insinuating that the word “haole” is a derogatory, demeaning and insulting word used only by Hawaiians when referring to us non-Hawaiians. That’s all wrong.
I’m a haole and proud to be one. I’m not Hawaiian, wasn’t born here, but I did move here 20 years ago and I’m white. That makes me haole through and through not just according to my “local” friends but as described by Mary Kawena Pukui in the Hawaiian Dictionary.
Funny thing is if I were black, yellow or red I’d still be a haole as long as I was a “foreigner,” so I don’t know why Mr. Diamant is so up tight about the use of the word.
None of us object to being referred to as haole and in fact I call myself a haole frequently when speaking with my “local” friends. It’s simply a quick way of saying I’m not Hawaiian.
If Mr. Diamant wants to get quirky about the use of words try the word “kama‘aina.” Once again, I wasn’t born here so strictly speaking I’m not a kama‘aina but when I make hotel and car reservations for use on other islands I request kama‘aina rates and because I’m a legal resident of the state of Hawai‘i I’m granted the special rate.
Words and names can mean just about anything you want them to mean depending upon your own interpretation and attitude so I would hope that Mr. Diamant would relax and as they say “just hang loose” and enjoy his haole life in these beautiful Hawaiian Islands and try to act like a kama‘aina man with aloha in his heart.
Gini Stoddard, Wailua Homesteads
See for yourself
I’m writing this letter in response to ‘Ele‘ele resident Howard Tolbe’s “Shame on you” letter regarding taking off furlough days and scheduling a professional development day.
It was pretty obvious to the ‘Ele‘ele School teachers that you were referring to our school. You will be very proud to know that in spite of all the furlough days off last year, our students made their annual yearly goal.
What that means is that these “shameful” teachers used their own time, and creatively worked with their classes, and supportive parents to meet the mandated requirements from the state.
The students worked hard. They are wonderful, and know that their teachers care for them. That helps motivate them to learn.
You will be proud to know that even though the teachers were given just one day to prepare their rooms because of the two furlough days, on the first day of school the children were met with beautiful, organized, rooms, with their own names on the door, “Welcome” signs, and all their materials ready to distribute. What that means is that these “shameful” teachers came in on their last weekend of the summer to work on their rooms with no pay, or stayed until dark on the days that they were allowed, with no overtime.
You will be proud to know that the ‘Ele‘ele staff is hardworking. Dr. Nitta studies which techniques teach the students the material in the best way, and sees that we learn them on our minimal professional development time.
Keep paying attention. You will see that there are many teachers’ cars that stay well past our pau hana time. You are welcome to come visit and see for yourself.
Respect is one of the character traits that we study each year. You will be treated with respect when you come.
Annaleah Atkinson, Kapa‘a
Incessant barking a problem for pets too
Another note about incessant dog barking… A local veterinarian reports that there is evidence that a dog barking incessantly is not only unhealthy for humans in close proximity.
There is evidence that when the dog is stressed, evidenced by ongoing barking, the cortisol hormone levels are raised in the animal which over time damages the dog and can decrease their lifespan as well.
Ruthann Jones, Watsonville, Calif.
