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The Hawaii Air National Guard and the Aloha Medical Mission are among local groups providing relief for India's earthquake victims. Hawaii groups providing India aid
A KC-135 jet tanker belonging to the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base refueled a C-5A jet cargo transport last night 100 miles west of Kauai. Another tanker on a deployment to Thailand provided fuel for the cargo jet near India today, a Hawaii National Guard spokesman said.
The transport carried a truck, two 400-gallon water trailers, forklifts and emergency relief supplies such as blankets, sleeping bags and tents large enough to accommodate 50 people each.
The U.S. Pacific Command also has sent a six-man assessment team.
Aloha Mission sends India medical supplies
Meanwhile, Aloha Medical Mission volunteers are sending 26 boxes of medical supplies worth more than $50,000 to India's earthquake victims.The death toll from the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that devastated the cities of Bhuj and Anjar may exceed 100,000, according to reports.
Dr. Ramon Sy, president of the Honolulu-based medical mission, and lay volunteers spent the weekend packing boxes with medical supplies. DHL Co. is shipping the equipment free.
The Aloha Medical Mission, founded in 1983, has sent 54 medical missions to Southeast Asian countries to provide free medical care to needy people. Dependent on donations, the mission will hold a fund-raiser March 16 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Use of hurricane fund for education on hold
The House Committee on Higher Education has deferred action on a bill proposing to use the $175 million Hurricane Reserve Trust Fund as a trust for scholarships for local students admitted to the University of Hawaii.Rep. Roy Takumi, committee chairman, said that while he agrees with the merits of a scholarship fund, he wondered if the money should be derived from the hurricane fund.
The interest on the hurricane fund combined with another fund could provide $12 million in scholarship money -- enough to pay full tuition for 3,000 students attending the Manoa campus, said deputy budget director Wayne Kimura.
The governor's proposed New Century Scholarships Program would provide full scholarships to Hawaii high school students with at least a B average.
Lloyd Lim, acting executive director of the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund, testified against the bill, saying the money should stay where it is.
2,851 poor kids likely missed in '90 census
A Maryland research group believes that as many as 2,851 poor children in Hawaii were missed in the 1990 census, demonstrating the need for an accurate count in the latest census.Nationwide, the U.S. Census Monitoring Bureau said the 1990 census missed more than 2 million children.
The panel said decisions about required levels of funding for children could be skewed if corrected census data is not released in 2001. Federal programs -- such as Medicaid, Head Start, Foster Care and Adoption Assistance -- that provide funding for children in poverty rely on census data.
Three Escape unhurt:
Man draws probation in motorcyclist's death
WAILUKU -- A 28-year-old Wailuku man was sentenced yesterday to 300 hours of community service in the traffic death of an 18-year-old motorcyclist.Sean Aweau pleaded no contest to third-degree negligent homicide in the death of Ross Yamagata-Toma on Oct. 6, 1998.
During sentencing before Maui Circuit Judge Artemio Baxa, Aweau apologized to the Toma family. Aweau, whose driver's license has been suspended, was also placed on a year of probation, ordered to refrain from the use of alcohol, and given credit for 39 days he spent in jail.
Not-guilty plea entered in fatal auto accident
WAILUKU -- A 29-year-old Maui man pleaded not guilty yesterday to manslaughter in a head-on collision in Peahi.Prosecuting attorneys said Guy Werner, 29, had crystal methamphetamine in his system at the time of the fatal accident on April 27, 1997.
Prosecutors said Werner also has three drunken-driving convictions since 1990.
Tomorrow
Some events of interest
11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m., Punahou School: Punahou Carnival.
Correction
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Driver in critical shape after pinned under SUV
A driver involved in an H-1 freeway crash last night that backed up traffic for several hours last night remained in critical condition this morning at the Queen's Medical Center.The victim, tentatively identified as a 40-year-old Aiea man, was pinned under his Ford Explorer, which rolled over near Leeward Community College at about 8 p.m.
Several motorists lifted the sport utility vehicle off the driver, police said.
Police say the driver overtook another vehicle and veered to the left, colliding into the center median wall and rolling over.
Police say speed is a possible factor.
The accident occurred on the freeway's town-bound lanes west of the Waimalu offramp.
Unidentified man's body found by S. Hilo roadway
HILO -- The body of a man who had apparently died of a gunshot wound was found on the shoulder of the roadway of the old Hilo Coast Processing Plant road in South Hilo yesterday afternoon.A passerby discovered the body and called Big Island police at about 5:17 p.m.
A murder investigation was opened.
The identity of the victim could not be immediately established. He was described as about 5 feet 8 inches tall, about 150 pounds, shirtless and wearing black Quicksilver shorts with green trim and Nike shoes.
He had a tattoo of a cross on his left shoulder and a Chinese character on his left shoulder blade.
Kahaluu fire destroys shed where man lived
A fire in Kahaluu yesterday destroyed a storage shed where a man had been living, the fire department said.Fire officials received the alarm at 47-036 Laenani Drive at 12:28 p.m. and extinguished the fire in minutes, said fire spokesman Capt. Richard Soo.
The 500-square-foot storage shed contained the man's personal belongings such as chairs, a bed, a propane tank and a cupboard filled with food items.
Neighbors said the man, in his early 40s, was not in the shed when the fire occurred.
Soo said neighbors heard explosions during the fire and tried to extinguish it with their water hoses.
The cause of the fire is undetermined. Damage is estimated at $15,000 to the shed and the contents.
Man wanted on domestic violence warrants caught
A tip to CrimeStoppers yesterday led to the arrest of Raymond L. Mathewson, 39, wanted on four domestic violence warrants with total bail set at $100,000.Plainclothes officers from the Crime Reduction Unit arrested the Nanakuli man outside a Kaneohe business without incident at 3 p.m. yesterday.
He was also arrested on two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening with a firearm, reckless endangerment and auto theft.
Hydraulic hammer stolen from site near Waikoloa
HILO -- South Kohala police are investigating the theft of a hydraulic hammer from a backhoe in the area of Waikoloa.An investigation indicates that the NPK hydraulic hammer was stolen between 1 p.m. Monday and 7:30 a.m. Tuesday along Route 190 near the 13-mile marker.
Police said the item weighs more than 1,000 pounds, so they believe it took at least two persons to disconnect it and haul it away.
Evidence indicates that the thieves used a heavy truck or a four-wheel drive to carry the stolen hydraulic hammer, which was valued at more than $10,000.
Anyone with information about the theft or identity of the thieves is asked to call Officer Paul Bugado of the South Kohala Patrol at 887-3080 or the department's non-emergency number at 935-3311.
Those who wish to remain anonymous may call CrimeStoppers at 329-8181 in Kona or 961-8300 in Hilo.
