Stranger’s kindness
I would like to thank the wonderful person who found my car keys and gave them to the counter person at Hilo Post Office. Your kindness was appreciated.
Thank you so much.
Patricia Tollefson
Mountain View
‘Par for the course’
I wasn’t at all surprised to read the Oct. 9 article, “County looks to reappropriate $8.4M in unspent fuel tax funds,” which details the money amassed for local roads projects that the county is racing to spend.
It wasn’t surprising, as I’ve watched county roads division paving an already paved road in a private subdivision. Opua Road, a private road in a private development in Pepeekeo, now has a nice smooth blacktop courtesy of Hawaii County.
Meanwhile, the farmers along Old Mamalahoa in Pepeekeo-Honomu travel a nearly impassible roadway. Our section of Old Mamalahoa is unpaved and contains numerous large potholes (some the size of a car). But, we are merely farmers, apparently unimportant in the eyes of the county.
During paving, county workers parked their machines in the roadway and dumped aggregate as well, significantly limiting access to our homes and livelihoods on Old Mamalahoa.
When the Honomu Stream gulch is blocked by landslide or fallen tree, which is a routine occurrence, our only route out is the unimproved disgraceful dirt road. We asked if the county would pave the dirt section of Old Mamalahoa, but were told there are no plans to improve the roadway, and we had no recourse to get it paved.
Somehow, paving a paved private road takes precedence over the safety of residents on a public road. Par for the course for Hawaii County.
Brittany Anderson
Honomu
Cleaner oceans
My name is Kainoa Raymond, and I am currently taking classes at Hawaii Community College in Hilo.
Fishing and diving is one of my favorite things to do in Hawaii. However, over the course of the past five years of fishing and diving from the shoreline, I noticed an increase in floating trash along the coast of Hamakua, Kohala, Waikoloa — trash is everywhere.
I took an interest in the article, “Dutch inventor says his ocean cleaning boom is now working.” The mission to save the environment has become popular, which is ironic since nobody seemed to care until now, when we realize our Earth is suffering.
I think it’s important that educators and newspapers bring attention to this issue to the public. Social media is one of the fastest ways to find out, and sometimes the only way to find out what’s going on in the world. Although the media brings attention to an issue, a big percentage of people don’t do anything about it. I think it’s great that Tribune-Herald shared the story of Boyan Slat, the inventor of an ocean-cleaning device.
I believe when people read articles about an individual’s journey to make the world better, people get inspired to go out in the world and do the same.
Inventions like this will save our coral reefs, which means our oceans will be cleaner and healthier for our future generations to come. I pick up so much trash from the spots that I fish at and leave it cleaner than I found it. I like to encourage people to take out more trash than you came in with.
Kainoa Raymond
Hilo
