SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 - VOLUME 30, ISSUE 37
The The
Molokai M olokai 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
Community Plan Extension Granted
By Catherine Cluett | Editor-In-Chief
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division. The team is coached by Keola Kino. Crew members were Lehua Greenwell, Teave Heen, Sydney Kalipi, Jodie Diener, Bobbi-lee Morris, Sybil Lopez, Emili Janchevis, Liliana Napolean and Kaala Wright. Crew members said they had a great line set by their escort drivers and all paddlers pushed hard from start to finish. It was a very exciting race! The Wa`akapaemua men did well also, with a seventh place overall finish and fourth place in their iron glass division with a time of 2:11:38. The men's
olokai has been granted some extra time to prepare the island’s Community Plan, which will guide the island for the next decade. Over the past six months, the Community Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC) has been in the first stage of updating the plan, reviewing and making recommendations to the draft. However, following several cancelled meetings due to weather and increased interest from residents, the CPAC requested an extension to finalize their feedback before the process moves to the next phase. The County Council granted the request earlier this month, moving the deadline for the CPAC’s review from Sept. 8 to Oct. 30. The next meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 16 and Thursday, Sept. 17, starting at 5 p.m. at Kulana Oiwi. County Planner Jennifer Maydan, who is leading the community plan update process, said the extension will allow the committee to “revisit any unfinished items, hear additional public testimony, and review a revised draft of the plan” before it continues to the Molokai Planning Commission for a sixmonth review. “An extension would help us make a good plan great,” said CPAC chair Steve Chaikin at their Aug. 19 meeting. At the Sept. 4 County Council meeting, 12 Molokai residents testified in favor of the extension, including three CPAC members. The 13-person CPAC had been divided in its support of an extension, and while many committed to doing whatever it takes to make the best plan possible, others shared the challenges of scheduling the frequent and lengthy meetings – some exceeding six hours – while still maintaining their personal commitments. An influx of public testimony also arrived late in the game. While community input was welcomed at each meeting since March, it wasn’t until midAugust that residents began to take an active interest. “Even if we're late in this whole scheme of things, please do not disregard us for being here at the last minute,” testified resident Kanoe Davis on Aug. 19, supporting an extension. “Please give us a chance to look over everything... and speak so you can hear our voices.” The Aha Kiole Island Council requested the opportunity to gather additional input around the island in round-table discussions that would be summarized to include in the plan update. "Personally I would be committed to doing whatever is necessary... to ensure that our final product represented community input," said CPAC’s Greg Jenkins. "It would be very remiss and irresponsible that we create a final product that did not adequately reflect the needs that were presented by our community members."
Canoe Race Continued pg. 3
CPAC Continued pg. 4
Photo by Giesha Nunez
Cheerleading Makes a Comeback By Colleen Uechi | Staff Writer
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n floodlit high school fields across the country, fans pack the bleachers to hear the clash of football pads, the chants of cheerleaders and the trumpeting of the band on a Friday night. For Nichol Kahale and her husband Mike, it’s a scene they envisioned for Molokai High School years ago. This summer, Kahale revived cheerleading on Molokai after the program’s 13-year absence, and with football well established on island, they’re one step closer to that “Friday Night Lights” dream. “Back when I was in school in the 80s we had the whole shebang,” said Kahale, who attended both MHS and Kamehameha Schools. “The bleachers were filled, [we had] band, cheerleaders.” For the past five years, Kahale had been searching for someone to restore cheerleading but could never find an advisor and was told there wasn’t enough
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money. Students had also been expressing interest. Sophomore Star Kaahanui said she and her sisters got interested in cheerleading from watching movies. “The stunts attracted me to cheerleading,” she said. “And the spirit that it brings back to the school. That’s what inspired me to join this cheer squad.” They began asking the school for a cheer program when Kaahanui was in eighth grade but, like Kahale, found there was no one to coach it. Up until that point, Molokai was the only school in the Maui Interscholastic League without a cheerleading team, said Kahale. Kahale finally decided to take charge and formed the Cheer4Llife program under the federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, which MHS received earlier this year. While Kahale doesn’t have a cheerleading background, she’s joined by assistant coaches Melinda Yamashita,
Cora Eustaquio and Louise Manley, all of whom have cheerleading or dancing experience. The Molokai Cheer and Dance Squad practices nearly every day, learning dances, memorizing chants and stretching for basic stunts like the splits. While Kahale said she’d like to find a gymnastics coach to teach them tumbling and more complicated moves, for now they’re following the low-risk route. Manley said cheerleading is “a very disciplined sport” that involves both physical and emotional investment. “You’re cheering standing up for two hours [straight] at a game, and your focus is to try to engage the crowds to work with you to bring spirit,” she explained. “That’s emotional energy that has to be put out there, and you have to have physical endurance.” Kahale said they’ll be cheering at
Cheerleading Continued pg. 2
Molokai Paddles at Long Distance Race
Photo courtesy Wa`akapaemua
After Hiatus, MHS Hires New Trainer Pg. 2
By Rick Schonely | Community Reporter
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Save with Food Coupons Pg. 10 & 11
he open women’s crew of Wa`akapaemua Canoe Club raced on Hawaii Island last weekend at the 2015 Queen Lili`uokalani Long Distance Canoe Races. The races are organized and hosted by the Kai 'Opua Canoe Club, a member of Hawaii Island's Moku O Hawaii Outrigger Canoe Racing Association. The race was held Sept. 3-6. Wa`akapaemua women had a time of 2:16:50, putting them in eighth place overall and first place in the nine open
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Mildred (Ocampo) Pollard Molokai Born & Raised