Statue outside school damaged ADVERTISING Statue outside school damaged WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — Authorities opened a criminal property damage investigation after the head was knocked off a Father William Chaminade statue. Officials at St. Anthony Junior-Senior High School said a
Statue outside school damaged
WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — Authorities opened a criminal property damage investigation after the head was knocked off a Father William Chaminade statue.
Officials at St. Anthony Junior-Senior High School said a teacher discovered the damage to the 83-year-old statue outside the school Monday morning.
“It was beheaded; the pieces were all shattered,” said Art Fillazar, director of admissions at the school.
He added that a vandalism report was filed with police.
Officials are not sure whether the damage was caused by vandals or a 3.6-magnitude earthquake that struck the island early Monday.
“I understand that the head fell off, but nothing else happened to the statue,” said Betsey Gunderson, the head of the school.
“It wasn’t painted or graffitied or anything else, and it’s a very tall statue.”
Damage to the statue, which was installed at the school in 1933, was estimated at $750. School officials were working to determine next steps for getting it repaired.
“It is a beloved icon,” Gunderson said. “He stands for a lot of what we believe in terms of family spirit and adaptation and change and doing good for the world.”
Blessed William Joseph Chaminade was a French Roman Catholic who survived persecution during the French Revolution, according to the Catholic Online website. He founded the Society of Mary, which has had a large influence on the St. Anthony school.
Father Chaminade was beatified by Pope John Paul II in September 2000, a step toward sainthood.
ACLU, state agree on dispute about photography
HONOLULU (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union says it will not sue the state after officials agreed to stop citing people for taking photos from a sidewalk near the Honolulu International Airport.
The ACLU of Hawaii said Tuesday the agreement reached with the state attorney general’s office affirms the First Amendment right to take photographs in public.
The dispute stems from a state sheriff citing an amateur photographer for photographing airplanes along Lagoon Drive without a permit.
The ACLU says the attorney general’s office is ensuring state sheriffs are aware of the right to public photography. Hawaii Administrative Rules are being amended to clarify that photography in public spaces doesn’t require a permit.
State Attorney General Doug Chin says his office acted promptly to correct the issue.
