Kauila Clark is a Native Hawaiian who has been the president of the National Association of Community Health Centers for the past two years. He is also on the board of directors of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Community Health Center, the biggest and most successful Health Center in Hawaii.
Kauila is very involved at the federal level with the impact of Health Care Reform on Community Health Centers. He has recently been in Washington, D.C., meeting with our government representatives and will be presenting information about how Health Care Reform will affect Hamakua Health Center.
This is an open community meeting and any patient, family or any other community member is welcomed and encouraged to attend. We are creating fliers to be distributed to our patients and members of the community. The meeting will be held at the NHERC pavilion from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
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A miniature Christmas village created by island painter and Kona resident Martha Greenwell is on display at the Isaacs Art Center at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy through Jan. 4. The Christmas village, affectionately known as “The Mouse House,” made its first Big Island appearance in December 2005 at the Kona Historical Society when the village returned to Greenwell from Oahu after more than 20 years of being part of an annual holiday tradition at the Queen’s Hospital Auxiliary’s “Festival of Trees.”
All of the artifacts featured in the display are from the attic and tool shed of Greenwell’s in-laws, Frank and Violet Greenwell of Palani Ranch. It took Greenwell eight years to assemble the village. “The arrival of the Mouse House in early November is as clear a signal of the arrival of the Christmas season as a reindeer with a red nose or a large stocking pinned to the chimney,” said Gaylord Dillingham, director of the Isaacs Art Center. “For children and grownups alike, Martha Greenwell’s fantastic creation is a ‘must-see’ and we look forward to welcoming keiki young and old.”
The Isaacs Art Center at Hawaii Preparatory Academy is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is free. The Isaacs Art Center will be closed during the Thanksgiving weekend and between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. For information, or to arrange group visits, call 885-5884.
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The Hawaii Preparatory Academy Community Book Club will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in the Dyer Memorial Library, Upper Campus. Community Book Club meetings are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served and participants are invited to bring a snack to share. Lois Inman, Dyer Memorial librarian, and Jaime Johnson, Upper School English teacher, will lead the group. The current book selection is “Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter.
“Beautiful Ruins” has been recognized with numerous awards, including Esquire’s Best Book of 2012, NPR-Fresh Air Best Novel of 2012, Audible and Salon Best Audio Book of 2012, New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and Washington Post Notable Book of the Year. From the moment it opens — on a rocky patch of Italian coastline, circa 1962, when a daydreaming young innkeeper looks out over the water and spies a mysterious woman approaching him on a boat — Jess Walter’s “Beautiful Ruins” is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel.
From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to the back lots of contemporary Hollywood, “Beautiful Ruins” is gloriously inventive and constantly surprising — a story of flawed yet fascinating people navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams. The next Community Book Club meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
The book selection for this discussion will be “The Burgess Boys” by Elizabeth Strout. For more information, contact Jaime Johnson at jjohnson@hpa.edu.
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The State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, DDHL, is advising the Waimea community and motorists of plans to begin work on Kawaihae Road Improvements at South Kohala Distribution Road in the vicinity of Lalamilo Housing Phase 2A, Increment. DHHL Contractor Goodfellow Bros. Inc. is planning to begin construction in mid-November on the South Kohala Distribution Road and on the SKDR/Kawaihae Road intersection.
GBI currently plans to close one lane during construction on South Kohala Distribution Road, and one lane during construction on Kawaihae Road. Project work will be performed in two phases: Phase 1 will begin shortly and last for four weeks. During this phase, work will be done to install water facilities and improvements, including water lines, manholes, boxes, and meters in the area. Work will impact both Kawaihae Road and South Kohala Distribution Road.
The majority of the work will be on South Kohala Distribution Road and includes two nights of work in the Kawaihae Road/SKDR intersection. Water shut-off will also be required on two nights during the Kawaihae Road/SKDR intersection work. Phase 2 will last 12 weeks. Work on this phase includes grading, paving, and constructing drainage and other roadway improvements. Work will impact both Kawaihae Road and South Kohala Distribution Road. Construction on these phases of the project will extend from now to the end of March. Total construction time of this work is estimated at 16 weeks. DHHL Project Manager Jeffrey Fujimoto can be reached at (808) 620-9274 or Jeffrey.Y.Fujimoto@hawaii.gov.
Carol Yurth’s column is published every Sunday and spotlights activities on the Hilo-Hamakua coast. She welcomes items for her column. Reach her by mail (46-1250 Kalehua Road, Honokaa HI 96727) at least 10 days before the requested publication date, call her at 775-7101, or e-mail waiukahenutz@gmail.com.
