In Brief

Puna Toastmasters party is Saturday

Puna Toastmasters will celebrate becoming a chartered Toastmasters club with a gala charter party from noon-3 p.m. Saturday at the Eagles Club in Keaau.

The charter party will open with music by the Kinder Gentler Trio followed by a hula by Madie Green. After a brief award presentation, two club members will give comedic speeches and treasurer Tracy Hedgecock will call on members of the audience to participate in several classic improv exercises.

Puna Toastmasters welcomes new members and meets regularly at the Eagle’s Club in Keaau and the Nanawale Longhouse. For more information, call 982-8518 or visit www.PunaToastmasters.com.

County issues tire disposal reminder

The county Department of Environmental Management’s Solid Waste Division reminds the public about the hazards of discarded old tires.

If not disposed of properly, discarded tires left outside collect rainwater, providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes that can be carriers of dengue, Zika, chikungunya and other diseases. If old tires catch fire they create toxic smoke, and the tires are ugly and detract from the natural beauty of Hawaii.

State law requires proper disposal of old tires and bans them from landfills and transfer stations. Old tires must be disposed of at an approved tire collection or recycling company.

For more information, visit www.hawaiizerowaste.org/tires or call 961-8270.

Ku‘ikahi board adds member

Twylla Baptiste, a commercial loan underwriter in Central Pacific Bank’s Hawaii Island commercial banking section, was elected to the board of directors of Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center.

A graduate of Kaiser High School on Oahu, Baptiste worked in the retail and customer service industries at J.C. Penny and Robert’s Hawaii before moving to Hawaii Island in 1997.

Baptiste received an associate degree in accounting from Hawaii Community College and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Hawaii at Hilo. From 2007-16 she worked in the tax department as a small-business specialist with Taketa, Iwata, Hara &Associates.

Walk to Cure Arthritis Aug. 26

Walkers are supporting the Arthritis Foundation’s mission to cure arthritis and help people with arthritis live a full life by participating in the 2017 Walk to Cure Arthritis on Aug. 26 at Lili‘uokalani Gardens in Hilo.

Walk to Cure Arthritis brings together communities nationwide to fight arthritis — the nation’s leading cause of disability — which impacts more than 240,000 statewide.

The walk is nationally sponsored by Amgen.

For more information or to register for the Hilo walk, visit www.walktocurearthritis.org/hilo or call Christina Hunt at 596-2900.