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Kokua Line

By June Watanabe

Wednesday, October 20, 1999


Response to report
frustrates 911 caller

Question: I live in Foster Village and recently saw someone run a stop sign, then speed in excess of 35 mph in a 25 mph zone. I called 911 and I might as well have been talking to the moon.

The person was somewhat friendly, but needed to know my address and where the car was located. I got one of the streets, but I didn't know the cross street. I was trying to be a good citizen and had the make, color and license of the car, the time and the exact location where it happened and that was not enough. So what good is it to be good citizen if that's the response we're going to get from 911?

Answer: Despite your frustration, your report did not go unheeded.

"If a person calls and reports a violation with the description of the vehicle and license number, we will follow up with an informational letter about traffic safety" to the owner of the vehicle, said Capt. William Chur of the Honolulu Police Department's Communications Division.

He wasn't sure exactly what happened in your case, but Chur said he thinks you misunderstood the dispatcher in believing no action would be taken.

Even if you did not know where the vehicle was at the time of the call, "normal procedures" would still have been followed, Chur said.

Also, dispatchers, as a matter of routine, request a caller's identification and address, he said. But if the caller wishes to remain anonymous, he is not required to identify himself.

Q: I have concerns about the mailbox at the Kapalama post office. The mailbox drop is extremely high. Twice, I have had muscle spasms reaching out my car window to try to reach the box. I ended up having to get out of my car. Can something be done about this?

A: "It is a stretch," acknowledged U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Felice Broglio.

The mailbox is the standard, regulation size so it cannot be altered, she said.

However, there are plans to repave the parking lot, at which time "they would raise that section so that it would be at a better height," Broglio said. The bad news is that work isn't scheduled for a couple of years.

In the short term, the Kapalama postmaster is looking to somehow lower the slab on which the mailbox sits to make it more accessible, Broglio said.

Found

A men's gold wedding band Oct. 9 on Waikiki Beach. Call Brad Morrison, 423-3878, and identify.

Auwe

To the reckless female driver of a car who deliberately ran a stop sign on Keala Makai Street (between Alapai and Ward) about 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 7. You rushed onto King Street, between two pedestrians and nearly struck them in the Keala Makai crosswalk. Slow down and observe stop signs before you cause an accident! -- No name

Mahalo

On Friday, Oct. 1, I was one of 38 Wahiawa Rainbow Club seniors who caught a morning flight to Hilo. I didn't realize it, but my ID wallet slipped out of my pocket. As I was seated in the plane, an Aloha Airlines employee called my name. I thought something had happened to the family. But when I pressed the button to let them know where I was, a gentleman brought my ID wallet to me. He made my day. -- Jane M.





Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com




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