JUNE 1, 2016 - VOLUME 31, ISSUE 22
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
Community Plan Update in Final Stage By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor
T
he Molokai Community Plan has begun the final step in the update process. In May, the Maui County Planning Department transmitted the draft document to the County Council for review and adoption. Once completed, the plan -- a comprehensive blueprint for the island's economic and environmental resources, infrastructure and cultural values -- will help guide Molokai's future over the next decades. This is the final step in the process for updating the 2001 Molokai Community Plan that began more than a year ago. Revisions to the plan were initially prepared and recommended by Planning Department staff, then reviewed by the Molokai Community Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC), a 13 member committee of Molokai residents, which provided its recommended revisions during public meetings and workshops held from March through October 2015. The draft plan was then passed on to the Molokai Planning Commission, whose members added additional revisions and heard public testimony, wrapping up in March. During a six-hour community meeting that month, community members presented an updated East Molokai Policy Statement that was included in the draft plan, and Maunaloa and Kaluakoi residents also came together to present a West Molokai Policy Statement. These policy statements represent collective descriptions and regional visions from area residents that together, constitute an additional chapter in the Community Plan. Now that the draft plan has been handed over to the County Council, Planning Director Will Spence stressed that the Planning Department is no longer in charge of the process. "Once we transmit it to County Council, it becomes their kuleana," said Spence. "They will hold meetings on Maui, but... they are also required to hold meetings over here [on Molokai].... The community will be very involved in the whole thing." Those meetings have yet to be scheduled, but in the meantime, Spence recommended residents contact the County Council directly during the remainder of the process with any written testimony, concerns or questions, and particularly reach out to Molokai's council member Stacy Crivello. Spence said changes to the draft plan take place throughout the process from beginning to end, but any changes that are made during the council's phase will be shared with the public and discussed at the upcoming Molokai meetings. At that time, community members will also have the opportunity to offer additional testimony and recommendations. "The ultimate changes that the council will make, historically, have been small," he said of other plan up-
Plan Continued pg. 2
MOLOKAI PAD D L E R S TAKE ON WORLD SPRI NTS Photos courtesy of Molokai paddlers
By Molokai Dispatch Staff
M
olokai paddlers were wellrepresented at IVF Va`a World Elite and Club Sprint Championships held last month at Lake Kawana in Australia. Molokai paddlers Penny Martin and Camie Kimball joined forces with other Hawaii women in the Island Masters team, winning four gold medals in their division in events such as the Masters 60 Women V6 500 and 1000 meter races. Six women from Wa`akapaemua
Canoe Club paddled together as the Molokai Masters team, consisting of Louann Moser-Reyes, Annette English, Stefani Bush, Janice Kalanihuia, Donna Paoa and Choppie Kalama. Competing in the three Master 60 Women events, the crew paddled against the other 23 crews from Australia, California, Canada, Hawaii, New Zealand, and the Pacific Northwest. Though they did not medal, they made the island proud, placing sixth place in the V12 Double Hull 500 meter race with Kamehameha Canoe Club of Hilo; 10th place in the
Molokai Musicians: Bob Underwood By Roberta Cross | Community Reporter
V6 1000 meter and 13th place in the V6 500 meter races. To qualify to be part of Team Hawaii, crews had to finish in the top six at the Hawaii Trials held last November. With successful racing at the trials, the Molokai crew practiced together three days a week for the past four months before heading to Australia, according to Paoa. Molokai paddlers Jerome Kalama and Doc Davis also represented at the event.
THIS WEEK’S
Dispatch
Editor's note: In a series highlighting Molokai musicians, the Dispatch asks local artists about their roots, passions and influences.
B
ob Underwood was born in Indiana, grew up in Pensylvania and Colorado, and moved permanently to Molokai in 2003. He is a first grade teacher at Kaunakakai Elementary School. Underwood spent the first 20 years of his musical life performing all kinds of pop and jazz music. He plays many instruments, although bass is his main instrument and guitar his second choice. “I can play decent violin, but I wouldn’t hire me as a violinist,” he said with a laugh. A few years after arriving on island, he began teaching instrumental music. He has founded two musical groups -- Molokai Strings (violin and bass) and Community
Report Finds Health Benefits from Mo`omomi CBSFA
Band. He continues to teach and lead both groups, that welcome musicians of all ages and levels. Question: What’s your very first musical memory?
Student Spotlight: Coral Gonzales
Musician Continued pg. 2
Why I fly with Makani Kai Nathan says he flies with Makani Kai because, “You guys have good pilots and nice planes, and the area here (our terminal) is beautiful.” Nathan, a heavy equipment operator for Goodfellow Brothers, became handy on big machinery at a tender age, “My uncle had three backhoes and he’d let us operate them. I think I was about ten at the time. He’d let me and my brothers dig holes and fill ‘em up.” Nathan also likes Makani Kai’s simple pricing, “No need worry about taxes and fees, we like the fifty dollar fare.”
From topside Molokai to Honolulu or Kahului
$50 online fare, every seat, every flight, every day. MakaniKaiAir.com | (808) 834-1111
The
Molokai Dispatch
P.O. Box 482219 Kaunakakai, HI 96748
Nathan Tancayo Molokai Born & Raised
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