DECEMBER 3, 2014 - VOLUME 30, ISSUE 48
The
Molokai Dispatch T H E I S L A N D ’S N E W S S O U R C E S I N C E 1985
Learning the Business of Farming
Running the
Rainbow
Photos by Catherine Cluett
By Colleen Uechi | Staff Writer
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group of Molokai farmers were looking to cultivate something beyond bananas and broccoli on Nov. 20: their business and marketing abilities. About a dozen local farmers and ranchers gathered at Hikiola to attend the Agriculture Business Development Training workshop to refine their skills at winning customers and securing funding. With the county moratorium on genetically engineered crops currently on hold, many farmers are uncertain about the possible effects on their businesses. Although the workshop’s guest speaker, Nicole Milne, didn’t have concrete answers, she said laying out and following smart plans will keep farmers on the right path. “I feel like people’s goals for their businesses and their farming ideals are fairly secure,” said Milne, associate vice president for programs for The Kohala Center, a Hawaii Island-based research and education organization. “People have their beliefs and they’re farming to them.”
Finding the Money As Molokai resident Ivan Kawamae prepares to start his own farm, he said that the initial finances required present a challenge. “It’s not [my] first time attempting to do business, it’s just the hurdles that we gotta cross over,” said Kawamae. “… It takes money to make money.” Milne agreed that finances can be a headache, both for beginning farmers and those already in the business. Many farmers seek grants because, unlike loans, they don’t require repayment. However,
By Catherine Cluett | Editor-In-Chief
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By Catherine Cluett | Editor-In-Chief
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overed in powdery colors of the rainbow, more than 300 participants of all ages laughed their way through the five-kilometer Turkey Rainbow Run/Walk at Kualapu`u School last Saturday morning. Participants of the first-ever Rainbow Run let out a cheer and filled the air with a palette of powders as the event kicked off, while a natural
bow arched fittingly overhead. “I’ve never seen this many people run a 5K race and be happy about it!” said Marshall Joy, a Kualapu`u School teacher. “It’s great to see all the smiles.” Ty McComas, Registered Nurse at Na Pu`uwai, helped spearhead the event with the assistance of fellow Na Pu`uwai staff member Komela Horner. McComas said he has partnered with Kualapu`u’s physical education program before, and the idea for a color run came from a brainstorming session. The event was a collaboration between Kualapu`u School, Molokai Middle School and Na Pu`uwai, and McComas said they’re already planning to include Kaunakakai School next year to “make it even bigger.” “It’s fitness, fun and family,” he said, summing up the morning. “It’s just a fun event to promote healthy lifestyles.”
Farming Continued pg. 3
THIS WEEK’S
Dispatch
Heroes Among Us: John “Longie” Dudoit By Colleen Uechi | Staff Writer
Photo by Colleen Uechi
F Aka`ula School Fundraiser
Pg. 2
New DOE Position for MHS Grad Pg. 2
Bullet Shot Through Molokai Home
orty years after he left the Army, Vietnam veteran John “Longie” Dudoit can rattle off his military identification number without hesitation. “RA67190651,” he says, swiftly and surely. Because even though are some memories Dudoit would like to forget as a veteran of one of the most controversial wars in American history, these memories, like his military number, are seared into his mind. It was the photographs that first drew Dudoit into the Vietnam conflict. Wanting to know if the war pictures he’d seen were true, he joined the Army fresh out of Molokai High School and was deployed to Vietnam in 1968. It turned out to be worse than he’d expected. Dudoit and his platoon traveled upriver in the Navy’s tango boats, jumping onshore for “search and destroy” missions that sometimes lasted several days.
He slogged through the rice paddies of Kien Hoa province with the Army’s 9th Division, looking for enemy targets that military intelligence had picked up. As an infantryman, Dudoit said he was sent to the front lines. During patrols, they often came under fire. He saw fellow soldiers shot through the head by snipers’ bullets. He dragged wounded comrades through canals under a hail of bullets. He and his platoon lived with the overhanging threat of Napalm and
Veteran Continued pg. 3
west Molokai couple woke up to an alarming surprise last month, when a bullet was shot into their home during the night. The homeowners, who live at the north end of Papohaku Beach, said they are not looking for an arrest, but want to share a message of hunting safety. “I think it’s great if someone wants to get meat for their family,” said the homeowner, who wished to remain anonymous. “I’m not anti-gun. I grew up in rural Montana and went to my first hunter safety class when I was six years old. One of the first things we learned is to be aware of your background – know where your bullet is going to go.” About midnight on Monday, Nov. 17, the homeowner said his wife awoke to what she thought was the sound of glass breaking. First thing Tuesday morning, they were shocked to find that a bullet had gone through their outdoor, motorized screen, a chair on their lanai, and shattered their plate glass door into “a million pieces.” The bullet didn’t stop there. Inside their house, it splintered a dining room chair, destroyed a desk, and ricocheted under the couch, according to the homeowner. As an engineer who said he worked hard to buy eight acres in 2001 and spent years saving to build their house in 2008, the homeowner said based on his own experience with firearms, the bullet was shot from about 1,000 feet. He said he and his wife are lucky to be alive. “If a person had just changed the angle a quarter of a degree [from that distance], it would have gone through our bed,” he said. “That’s what scared me so bad.” Having lived on Molokai since 1996, the homeowner said he’s heard of a bullet hitting the outside of a home but never going through a house. And he’s not pointing a finger at locals – it could have been anyone, he said. “There’s no good thing about hunting at night, and if you’re going to do it, go someplace where there’s no house within 100 acres,” he said. “There are thousands of acres that are not in close proximity to homes.” The homeowner said although he and his wife often hear gunshots at night and see campfires on the north end of Papohaku, they have never called the police. “I think that might change,” he admitted, after the incident. That morning, police came to investigate the bullet entry into their house and took photos. He told police he doesn’t want to press charges. “I am so respectful of how the community works – I don’t want to know who it was,” he said. “In my experience living in a small community, the kupuna will talk to [whoever did it and take care of it.]” Molokai Police did not return requests for comment.
Bullet Continued pg. 3
Why I fly with Makani Kai “This is my first time flying with Makani Kai,” says Godfrey, who learned about us through his parents. “They like it here because check in is easy and there’s no TSA.” Godfrey, who is preparing for a future as a firefighter, says he also appreciates the fact that parking is free. “Plus, when everyone’s here, we go. There’s no waiting around.” We trust that all went well for Godfrey on his inaugural flight and that he becomes a regular with us.
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The
Molokai Dispatch
P.O. Box 482219 Kaunakakai, HI 96748
Godfrey Akaka Molokai Born & Raised