Share your manao and a meal with neighbors and new friends at the annual meeting of the Hilo-Hamakua Community Development Corporation (HHCDC) that will be held on Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Kulaimano Community Center in Pepeekeo. A potluck dinner
Share your manao and a meal with neighbors and new friends at the annual meeting of the Hilo-Hamakua Community Development Corporation (HHCDC) that will be held on Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Kulaimano Community Center in Pepeekeo. A potluck dinner starts the evening at 6 p.m., with business meeting to follow at 6:30 p.m. Bring a favorite dish to share; beverages and paper goods will be provided. Local products are welcome and are appreciated.
A review of our year’s activities and programs reflect the vision of HHCDC’s organization: “To build a healthy community through economic growth and stability along the Hilo-Hamakua Coast. Through rural community-based efforts the mission of the HHCDC, a CBED (Community-Based Economic Development) organization, is to assist in creating opportunities that preserve our environment, sustain our families and improve the quality of life.”
The Practical Agriculture in Hamakua (PAH) program has just completed its sixth year of providing classroom presentations, field operations classes and local farm tours in Hamakua and in Rural South Hilo. These classes offered information on sustainable agriculture and energy systems with emphasis on farming methods suitable to the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii Island. The biannual Community Organization Development (COD) program seeks to increase capacity within and among our local community groups. Our partnership with the Rural Outreach Services Initiative (ROSI) sought to address local area needs and bring service agencies into the community.
Featured speaker Jeff Melrose of the Hawaii County Department of Research and Development will share the organization’s vision to engage and encourage community participation to help define its goals and direction for the coming year. Also on the evening’s agenda is the election of directors to those positions which will expire.
HHCDC members include individuals, community organizations, businesses and you from Wainaku to Waipi’o. We encourage everyone living, working and/or interested in the coastal region to attend this annual meeting and become involved in building our community capacity. For more information, call 895-1907 or email: hhcdc.org@gmail.com.
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Honokaa Elementary School will hold an “Open House/Chili & Rice Night,” and it is “Free, Free, Free.” This event is on Wednesday, Aug. 28, from 4 to 7 p.m. hosted by the School Community Council (SCC). The afternoon begins with assorted community partners who will be sharing their resources from 4 to 6 p.m. in the cafeteria. Please join other parents at the assembly for a short message from the principal at 4:15 p.m.
Then it’s off to visit your homeroom(s) from 4:30 to 5 p.m., followed by your visit to your SFA classroom from 5 to 5:30 p.m. Open house gives students an opportunity to proudly introduce you to their teacher and give you a tour of their class as they explain what they do in class. This is your child’s time to shine. If you need more visiting time with the teachers, please make an appointment for another day.
Gather at the cafeteria at 5:30 p.m. to vote on your favorite T-shirt design for the HEA T-shirt Contest. Learn more about the School Community Council at their presentation before dinner is served. For any questions, please call Hilda Yagong at 775-8820, ext. 225. (Please return your form ASAP so we can get a count for dinner)
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The Rural South Hilo Community Association will host a special meeting on crime and safety with a special focus on the Pepeekeo community at the Kulaimano Community Center in Pepeekeo on Monday, Aug. 26, at 6 p.m. This meeting is a followup to the July 30 general membership meeting held at Kulaimano Center. General membership is invited.
A representative from the prosecutor’s office will present to the community and report on the types of crimes reported by Pepeekeo residents at the July 30th meeting as well as information from the Prosecutor’s Office on Neighborhood Watch formation. Prosecutor Mitch Roth will be present, if his schedule allows, to introduce our new East Hawaii Community Prosecutor, Glenn Shiigi. If possible, the new Community Policing Officer will attend, to present the status update on criminal activities and enforcement in the Rural South Hilo area that was deferred from the July meeting.
This meeting will allow for a generous Q&A portion, during which citizen concerns will be heard and receive response. At meeting’s end, those who wish to become involved in Neighborhood Watch will be able to exchange contact info, choose block captains, and so forth. Refreshments are welcome. For more information, contact Donna Johnson at 895-1907.
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The Honokaa High and Intermediate School’s 2013 Jazz Band CD, titled “Razzamataz,” is now available. Anyone interested in making a donation and receiving a free CD, please contact a band member, the school office (775-8800, ext. 223) or Mr. Washburn at 775-8800, ext. 287 (Gary_Washburn@notes.k12.hi.us). The Jazz Band is performing on Sept. 1 at the Queen’s Shops at Waikoloa at 4 p.m., and again on Sept. 21, at the Honokaa Peace Day celebration at 4 p.m.
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The North Hawaii Education & Research Center is pleased to announce its Lifelong Learning Fall classes. Instructor Penny Alcoran, formerly with the DOE and Kona Community School for Adults, will be back to teach the noncredit GED preparation class. This will be the final GED preparation class for the year. GED will be introducing a new series of tests beginning in January 2014. The new tests will be computer-based. Students who do not pass the paper-based tests by the end of the year will have to retake all portions of the test in 2014.
Instructor Brad Bordessa is also returning to NHERC to teach a basic ukulele class. He is a graduate of the Institute of Hawaiian Music at the University of Hawaii Maui College, where he studied under the direction of George Kahumoku Jr. This class is open to anyone age 12 and up. Participants will need to provide their own ukulele.
Instructor Marc Boucher will be closing the year with the last two computer classes of the series that started over the summer. In the “Intro to Excel” class, participants will learn about spreadsheets, including formatting cells, adding/deleting rows or columns, sorting data and creating charts. The last class in the series is the “Intro to PowerPoint.” If you’ve ever wanted to learn to put together a presentation for a meeting, or slide show for party, this class is for you. Participants will learn about the different slide layouts, how to insert text, pictures and music, change the background, set the presentation on an automatic timer, and more. For more info or to register for classes, call 974-7664 or email nherc@hawaii.edu.
Carol Yurth’s column is published every Sunday and spotlights activities on the Hilo-Hamakua coast. She welcomes items for her column. Reach her by mail (46-1250 Kalehua Road, Honokaa HI 96727) at least 10 days before the requested publication date, call her at 775-7101, or e-mail waiukahenutz@gmail.com.
