Help the cause
You may have heard that W.H. Shipman Ltd. is about to prohibit the feeding of the abandoned kitties that are living at the Keaau Transfer Station.
You may not know that dedicated volunteers not only feed but also spay and neuter, vaccinate, de-worm and de-flea, test for disease, and have found homes for hundreds of these cats. In addition, these volunteers constantly trap and remove the chickens dumped there and bring in humane traps to remove the feral pigs that are attracted by the garbage. They also pick up trash around the feeding stations, weed-eat overgrown areas and monitor and report illicit activities they observe in the surrounding jungle. All FOR FREE!
This successful program has been going on for over six years, with the blessing of the county, the mayor and the landowner, Shipman.
So what has changed? Why was this restriction added to the lease, causing devastation and suffering to the kitties and their caretakers? No one will meet with us to explain. No one will listen as we try to share the good things we do for the animals, the county and the public. FOR FREE!
Even if you don’t care about cats, you should be concerned that the county, at taxpayer expense, will now have to deal with starving and diseased animals that uncaring people will still abandon at the dump — cats that will no longer be spayed or neutered, so will be breeding out of control, along with dozens of chickens and feral pigs.
If you agree that Shipman’s policy makes no sense, is unfair, cruel and costly, please speak out. Please write and call Shipman’s office (966-9325; 16-523 Keaau-Pahoa Rd, Keaau, HI 96749), the county Department of Environmental Management (961-8083) and the mayor (961-8211).
Elaine Partlow
Pahoa
About Goodwill
Last Wednesday’s edition of “Your Views” cleared up the fact that Goodwill Industries of Hawaii is still strong and growing, but … the website “Charitable Navigator” states that Goodwill is owned and run by CEO Mark Curran, with profits of $2.3 million a year.
Goodwill is a very catchy name, where you donate items to his business and then he sells the items for a PROFIT. He paid nothing for these products, and he pays most of his workers minimum wage. Zero money goes to help anyone but Mark Curran.
Your item does get recycled, but you could donate to better charities.
Jack Renauer
Kalapana
