AUGUST 12, 2015 - VOLUME 30, ISSUE 32
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 198 5
Breaking Ground for Science Labs
Mel Paoa: A Legacy of Humility and Humor By Catherine Cluett | Editor-In-Chief
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ast week, Molokai lost a beloved waterman, paramedic, Hokule`a captain, mentor and family man. Melvin "Mel" Paoa, Jr., who dedicated his career to saving lives as the island's first certified paramedic, was known around the island and the world for his quiet, aloha spirit. Shortly after noon last Saturday, Molokai firefighters responded to a report of a boat floating unattended near Kamalo Wharf. Witnesses said they last saw Paoa, 62, tying up his 26-foot-catamaran in the area, according to fire officials. Rescue crews found him unresponsive, floating about 300 yards offshore and downwind from the wharf. After unsuccessfully trying to resuscitate him, he was transported to Molokai General Hospital, where he passed away.
Police say the cause of his death won't be known until after an autopsy. "Nobody really knows what really happened, he was found floating in the water," said Fire Capt. Henry Lindo. "No one witnessed him fall off.... To work with him for so many years, and find him and pull him out, was really hard." Having grown up on Molokai, Paoa met his wife, Donna, in Waikiki, where she had moved from Colorado to work as a lifeguard. They moved together to Molokai, where they raised their children. Donna became a college professor, while Paoa worked as a paramedic. When he retired in 2013 after 35 years, Paoa was the longest-serving paramedic in Maui County. “He was the first [paramedic] from Molokai,” said fellow American Medical Response employee Scotty
Photo by Noe Yamashita
Schafer at Paoa's retirement. “He’s the one who broke the barrier. All the other guys that went to [paramedic] school, we all owe it to him.” Under difficult and stressful emergency situations, Paoa was known to keep his composure while working skillfully with patients and families, according to his co-workers. "This is not a job, this is a love for the community and the people,” said Paoa in 2013. “It’s really hard to work on Molokai because half the
Mel Paoa Continued pg. 3
Photo by Catherine Cluett
Giving Small Kilohana Welcomes Businesses a New Principal Leg Up By Colleen Uechi | Staff Writer
By Catherine Cluett | Editor-In-Chief
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hen you're a small business owner on Molokai, it can be a challenge to find time to gain enterprise know-how and inspiration. A businesses conference last week brought it all together in one place for one day, with speakers specializing in technology, taxes, customer service, business planning and other topics. "In 2014, we had 333 registered businesses on Molokai," said Jennifer Hawkins, small business advocate at Molokai's Kuha`o Business Center, which spearheaded the event under Maui County's Office of Economic Development. "When you walk down the street, you don't see 333 businesses. Some may have dissolved by now, some may have grown. But what that tells me is we
Businesses Continued pg. 2
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t Kilohana Elementary School, the principal’s new office occupies a space that used to be the maternity ward of `Ualapu`e Hospital. For incoming principal Terri Simms, it’s a sign of a fresh, exciting start. Simms, who ran a hospital while in the Army, is now leading the little elementary on the east end, after former principal Richard Stevens retired in May. While Simms is a newcomer to the Molokai school system, she’s been working within the Hawaii Department of Education’s “Canoe Complex,” which includes Molokai, Lanai, Hana and Lahainaluna, for 12 years. “She’s not brand new to administration,” said Complex Area Superintendent Lindsay Ball. “… She’s fresh and she’s energetic, and she’s got mapped out in her head what she wants to do for the school.” Formerly the vice principal at Princess Nahi`ena`ena Elementary
School on Maui, Simms originally hails from Tennessee and has nearly 20 years of education experience. After serving in the Army as a medevac pilot, she became an educational assistant in 1996. She taught in Italy for a year before returning to Tennessee to be a special education teacher. Her family moved to Maui in 2004, where she worked at three different schools before coming to Kilohana. Simms, who has visited Molokai for school conferences and sailing trips with her husband, said the community has been welcoming since she assumed her new position on July 13. “Being in a small community we’re kinda isolated from town, and
Principal Continued pg. 3
3-D rendering of the completed science building. Courtesy DOE
By Colleen Uechi | Staff Writer
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y the end of next year, Molokai High School (MHS) is set to have a 4,500-square-foot, cutting-edge science facility. For a school whose science students have earned county, state and international honors over the past year—all with no science labs—it’s well deserved, and a long time coming. Since it split from the middle school in 2004, MHS hasn’t had its own lab facilities. However, this month construction began for a twoclassroom science building on MHS’s campus. “It’s really great that you guys … basically get a brand new, state-ofthe-art lab,” said Duane Kashiwai, Department of Education public works administrator. “This is being designed according to the latest sustainability requirements that we have. So you guys will be one of the first ones [to get a building] designed to CHPS standards.” CHPS, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools, sets criteria for energy efficiency in schools across the
Science Labs Continued pg. 3
THIS WEEK’S
Dispatch
Legal Toolkit for Small Business
Top Channel Finishes for Youth in Motion Pg. 3
Why I fly with Makani Kai Kaoli’s a pretty cool guy, a man dedicated to shore fishing who occasionally makes poke from his catch. Poke made from his grandmother’s recipe to sell at the Saturday market. When asked why he likes to fly with Makani Kai rather than Mokulele or Ohana, he says, “It’s easy and simple. A hundred bucks for a round trip isn’t that much. And you don’t have to mess with the TSA.” Which is all well and good, but now we’re hungry for some of that ono homemade poke.
From topside Molokai to Honolulu or Kahului
$50 online fare, every seat, every flight, every day. MakaniKaiAir.com | (808) 834-1111
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Kaoili Place Molokai Born & Raised