Blaze Mastagni uses the new bicycle and pedestrian path almost daily.
But little did the third-grade student at Kapa‘a Elementary School know that his observations while on the popular pathway would result in a new bicycle.
“I wrote about my mom roller blading,” Mastagni said of his essay as he waited for his prize. “I also talked about how she pushes my sister in the stroller and meets and talks with other people for a while.”
Those were points in his essay that produced the new bicycle, a prize in the essay contest hosted by the Path Committee.
But it was not just any bicycle as Jarrett Chytka, the manager at the Big Kmart, arranged to have Mastagni select from several different models in the store.
The 8-year-old did not hesitate, but went right to a powder-blue Huffy featuring oversized front tubes and tires, stunt pegs emerging from its front axle clearly announcing that it was a trick bike.
“It’s the top of the line,” Chytka told the young boy who was speechless from the excitement.
In addition to the bicycle, Chytka also presented the young bike rider with a new cyclist helmet.
“The emphasis is on safety,” Ben Montgomery, one of the Path Committee members said.
As the student wheeled his selection out the door, his grandmother noted the appropriatenes of the presentation because he was getting of the age where he had outgrown his previous bike.
For Mastagni, he was more anxious to get the bike out to the path in Kapa‘a so he could try out the new wheels.
Another essay contest winner will be receiving a bicycle from Wal-Mart in the near future.
James Bilyeu, from Kanuikapono Public Charter School in Anahola, was the 10-14 age group winner.
Kauai Path, the essay contest sponsor, is a non-profit, volunteer organization operating in fiscal partnership with Garden Island Resource Conservation & Development, Inc. Additional information on Kauai Path programs is posted at www.KauaiPath.org.
