Letters to the Editor
Wednesday, August 14, 1996

'Love thy neighbor'
has new meaning in Mililani

I read with great sadness the articles on the Mililani shooting. People will be talking about this incident for a week or so, but next month it will be a forgotten drama.

However, let's not forget the two innocent children left behind and the impact this will engrave upon their young minds. They will be forever without their mother and father to guide them throughout life's ups and downs.

Regardless of who is to blame in this sordid mess, in this era of hostility toward each other and the "get-even" attitude, we are vividly reminded that when there is violence, there are no winners. It brings to mind this saying: "Love thy neighbor."

Gayle Nakama


Council honored wishes of public
on Camp Kailua

Thanks to the City Council members who voted to pass Bill 39, repealing the ordinance that set cabin camping as city policy.

John Henry Felix represents the district that has lived for so long with the Camp Kailua controversy. He quite properly supported with his leadership and vote the wishes of the Kailua community as expressed through the strong vote of the majority of its neighborhood board.

Felix was joined in approval of Bill 39 by Chairman John DeSoto and Council members Andy Mirikitani, Jon Yoshimura, Rene Mansho and Mufi Hannemann. They showed their respect for the wishes of Kailua citizens and their belief in the principle that a community should have a voice in local decisions. The constituents of these members of the Council can be confident that their wishes will be respected.

Allen M. Best


Demolition of cabins was
a shameful act

Like many others, I mourn for Camp Kailua. It served many needs, and brought joy to generations of users. It replenished and changed many lives. As Dave Shapiro, Star-Bulletin managing editor, concluded in his column of July 27, "If they tear down Camp Kailua for a park, a lot of people surely will enjoy some very nice days at a very nice beach. But there are lots of beaches where you can do that. How many places do we have where people can enjoy experiences that change their lives?"

I have heard priests, ministers and many others echo the same sentiment. Then why was Camp Kailua destroyed? Why did the mayor stubbornly refuse to use the appropriated money to fix the camp and instead let it decay? The answer we have so often heard is "because it is an inappropriate use of the beach park." I believe that it is far more inappropriate and short-sighted to destroy a resource that changed lives and that offered disabled and elderly people their only option for a beachside overnight camping possibility. That is morally wrong, not merely inappropriate.

The mayor and the City Council members who voted for the demolition, especially my Council representative John Henry Felix, should be ashamed of their lack of heart and vision. My special thanks and admiration go to Councilman Steve Holmes, who worked long and hard to keep the camp and stood for what is right till the bitter end.

Rose Miltier


Republicans better rethink
their stance on abortion

The recent Republican platform regarding abortion makes it sound as if the Christian Coalition owns the GOP. This couldn't be further from the truth. The coalition is just more vocal, and that will change as those of us who support equal rights for women stand up and speak out!

I am a woman who has had two children. Equal rights could never force me to have an abortion. Equal rights gives women the right to bring children into the world who are loved and wanted. Forced motherhood denies women the opportunity to be loving, nurturing mothers.

Lack of birth control takes away opportunities in life that men take for granted, like graduating from high school because they are pregnant, furthering their education for expanded career choices, etc.

Some women are caught in the middle with men who are uncomfortable with birth control and aren't responsible enough to want safe sex. Abortion is many times the only response when a woman doesn't have the resources to bring another child into the world.

Equal rights should not be a campaign issue. Abortion is an equal rights issue.

Carolyn Golojuch


GOP picked right side
in battle over good and evil

Editorial page columnist Anthony Lewis is critical of a religious influence on the Republican Party, complaining that all issues are seen "through the lens of the Bible," (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 10). He claims that these religious folks tend "to see everything in rigid terms of right-wrong, good-evil." My, my, what IS this world coming to?

Janice Pechauer


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