Regarding issues at
E.B. deSilva school
A recent letter to the editor by a Hilo-area resident and neighbor prompts me to offer a humble reply.
In the letter, our neighbor complained about the afternoon pick-up as parents arrive to pick up their child. This is a legitimate complaint!
I have been the principal at E.B. deSilva Elementary School for the past 20-plus years and can verify that the traffic complaint precedes my tenure here. We might respectfully add that afternoon pick-up traffic snarls are common at any of our midsized schools.
One solution to our traffic situation could be that the County of Hawaii develop a turn lane into our campus. We will pursue this option with county officials.
However, the letter writer’s assertion that our school’s student population consists of 75% Geographic Exception-approved children is in serious conflict with the actual numbers.
Twenty years ago when I started as the principal here, we had about 38% GE students. That number today stands at 18%.
There are real-life needs that have prompted Sen. Lorraine Inouye and the late Rep. Mark Nakashima to seek funding for additional classroom space on campus. They added their support to our plea only after conducting a first-hand visit and tour of our campus to view our cramped quarters.
Our cramped campus is due to the ever-expanding needs to house additional student support programs where the children are every day. As we speak, we need at least two to three additional classrooms just for this need.
Also, when I relocated my residence to Ainako Avenue some 26 years ago, the surrounding community largely consisted of retired folks. In recent years, this has changed dramatically as young, family-age relatives find the economic need to move in with their parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles.
This factor limits our ability to accept children on a GE status. So, in short, we are desperately doing our best to provide for the needs of our in-district children, house the growing number of student support programs for our most fragile children, and continue as an elementary school that our community can be proud of.
I am personally inviting my good neighbor, R.J. Wong, to visit our campus in person. It will be my pleasure to respectfully provide a first-hand view of each classroom and our cramped quarters, and will even provide a complimentary school lunch.
Dennis O’Brien
Hilo
Free speech doesn’t
mean lie endlessly
The First Amendment constitutionalizes but does not define free speech, which has been interpreted and used to condone almost anything one wants to say or display, no matter the consequences. We have a “right” to lie, mislead, disparage … but is it right to do so?
Everybody lies now and then, myself included, from fibs to white lies to statements and actions of the harshest, most harmful kind. Some are unintended or just misinterpretations.
But most, while unacceptable, go largely unchallenged and can have serious consequences. Currently, none more so than in national politics.
The presidential race is extremely close, but Kamala Harris’ misspeaks pale by comparison to Donald Trump’s pathological dishonesty. Virtually everything he says is a bald-faced untruth, without proof, never corroborated … and he knows it.
His followers do not seem to care. Sure, responsible media tries to fact check, but facts go largely unheard and are usually disseminated too late to be effective.
Repeat lies often enough and it becomes reality to those who choose to believe them.
We can and do disagree on many things, but good leadership character should prevail. Our politicians, especially the president, should possess the highest integrity, morality, dignity and respect for others.
The irony of it all: Whether Trump wins or loses, he will do so by lying.
Neal Herbert
Hilo
