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Kokua Line

By June Watanabe

Sheriffs’ dogs make
noisy neighbors

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Question: What is the state Health Department doing with dogs at their Waimano Home Road location? They are apparently chained or penned outdoors and bark all night long. This is a recent problem, starting about three weeks ago, but it seems to be getting worse as more dogs are being added. Isn't the Health Department accountable for the same noise and nuisance laws everyone else has to follow?

Answer: The dogs -- about four of them -- are part of the state sheriffs' canine unit.

Keith Kamita, acting deputy director of the state Department of Public Safety, said the dogs have been housed at the former site of Waimano Training School and Hospital for more than a year.

He said he's been told the barking is "sporadic," generally prompted when stray cats or mongooses go near the dogs. Kamita has notified canine unit officials "to see what they can do. But it's like any home dog. If there are cats and stuff, they're going to bark."

One step that will be taken, however, is to "control where the dog food is" so as not to attract other animals. "We're going to see what we can do," Kamita said. If the problem continues, call him at 587-1280.

Waimano Training School and Hospital closed on June 30, 1999. Various state agencies , as well as private nonprofit providers for developmentally disabled adults, are housed there.

Auwe

To one young man helping to collect money for the Salvation Army outside Kaimuki Longs Dec. 7 who said sarcastically as we left, "Wow, $3 -- high rollers!" Every year my children look forward to giving to the bell ringers. These $1 donations can add up to as much as $36 for a two-day weekend as each child gives $1. Someone should teach that young man that he should keep such thoughtless remarks to himself. He should learn that no donation is "too small," especially in this time of economic difficulties. -- Disgusted Parent

(Salvation Army Hawaii officials apologized for the rude remark and quickly looked into the situation to make sure it doesn't happen again.

("We depend on a lot of volunteers because the Salvation Army is a nonprofit organization," said spokesman Daniel de Castro. Volunteers have an orientation, but if that's not possible, supervisors are given brochures detailing how bell ringers should behave, such as treating the public with courtesy and acknowledging each gift with a "thank you" and "Merry Christmas."

(But volunteers, especially younger ones, sometimes get "overzealous" in trying to see how much they can collect, he said. "Sometimes, they don't realize they are doing something that might be hurtful."

(He wanted to reassure you that "we are doing everything we can to train our volunteers to be very thankful for whatever they are getting in the kettles. ... We will try to impart among the supervisors to be a little bit more cognizant" of the bell ringers' behavior.

("Hopefully, this will not discourage people from giving," de Castro added. "This time is very critical for us. We've lost quite a few kettle sites, and it is much more important now that we come up with the donations to help hundreds of families in need this holiday season.")

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Useful phone numbers

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Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
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