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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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Hilo resident's body found in river
HILO » The body of Jan Callahan, missing since Sunday afternoon in Hilo's Wailuku River, was found and retrieved yesterday by a Hawaii County Fire Department helicopter, department officials said.
The body was found below the river features called Boiling Pots, about half a mile downstream from where Callahan entered the water, the department said.
A Hilo resident recently arrived from Utah, Callahan, 29, had been in a group of people going down a natural water slide in the smooth rock formations of the Wailuku above Peepee Falls.
Witnesses told Fire Department personnel that Callahan appeared to go down the slide safely, as others had, but then she disappeared downriver.
The site where her body was found indicates Callahan had been washed over the roughly 100-foot-high Peepee Falls, across a series of relatively calm pools, down through a narrow gorge where the Boiling Pots are located and finally to a large pool 200 yards below Boiling Pots.
Callahan's body was airlifted to a staging area where she was identified by a friend, according to the Fire Department.
Owner has attacking pit bulls put down
Two pit bull terriers involved in the attack of a 73-year-old Waipahu man were euthanized Wednesday at the Hawaiian Humane Society, a humane society spokeswoman said.
The wife of the owner had arrived while the man was being attacked and pulled the dogs off, according to a neighbor who witnessed the incident. She remained at the scene and asked about the victim, a neighbor said.
Police cited the woman for a dangerous-dog violation. She brought the dogs to the humane society that morning, asked that they be put down and paid for their euthanization, said humane society spokeswoman Darcie Scharfenstein.
The victim, Masao Kakazu, was taken in serious condition to the Queen's Medical Center, where he underwent surgery to his legs, according to his son. He suffered bites all over the front of his body but especially to his arms and legs, a neighbor said. She described one injury as a gouge to the thigh and that he was bleeding profusely.
The humane society has received complaints in the past regarding dogs at the address of the owner, who lives on Honowai Street, not far from the scene of the attack at 94-152 Haaa Street.
There were no prior citations at the owner's Honowai Street address, Scharfenstein said.
4 finalists remain for liquor panel post
The Liquor Commission is down to four finalists for the administrator's position left vacant since last year by the departure of Wallace Weatherwax.
Chairman Dennis Enomoto told the City Council Executive Matters Committee yesterday that a new administrator could be named within the next two weeks.
Enomoto said there were 13 applicants for the job and that the commission whittled down the list to four finalists after interviewing all of them last week.
A series of controversies during Weatherwax's watch led to him stepping down as liquor control administrator. During his term, eight former liquor inspectors were convicted of bribery, and a city audit critical of the agency's management was released.
Enomoto appeared before the Council committee as part of his confirmation hearing for another five-year term on the commission.
In approving his nomination on to the Council for a final vote, members of the committee praised Enomoto's work in trying to reign in the embattled agency.
"I do think the commission is moving in the right direction," said Councilman Charles Djou, a frequent commission critic.
Kualoa water main work lasts into night
Board of Water Supply repairmen continued making repairs yesterday evening to a 6-inch water main near Kualoa Ranch.
The water main broke at 6:04 p.m. Wednesday, according to the board.
Repair personnel ran into problems, and one lane of Kamehameha Highway had to be blocked and traffic contra-flowed yesterday.
Board of Water Supply officials said they hoped to complete repairs last night.
Water service to 10 homes fronting Kualoa Ranch was affected by the break.
What's inside your Star-Bulletin this weekend:
Sunday
TODAY
Isle eyes on the Grammys
Hawaii's Grammy nominees prepare to put on the glitz in Los Angeles for Wednesday's awards ceremony. It's the second year that a Hawaiian music Grammy will be handed out, and surfer-singer Jack Johnson is up for two pop music awards.
BUSINESS
Japanese find swap meet
It will soon be easier for Japanese tourists to hit the Aloha Stadium swap meet: One of the largest Japan package-tour operators to Hawaii will make it a tour stop.
Make mine pepperoni
Pizza-delivery companies are training hard for Super Bowl Sunday, their biggest day of the year.
SPORTS
Big plans for the big game
Yes, it's Super Bowl Sunday, pitting the favored Pittsburgh Steelers over the Seattle Seahawks. Anything can happen -- but before you see what does, a special guide will give fans a rundown of the big game.
TRAVEL
New Zealand's vacation gem
Queenstown, the vacation capital of New Zealand, sits beside Lake Wakatipu with rugged mountains and nature's beauty all around. While most famous for outdoor activities, Queenstown is also a fine town for strolling, full of shops and restaurants in a well-planned area.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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HONOLULU
Tire center fire possibly set on purpose
Fire officials say a fire that heavily damaged the Firestone Tire and Service Center at the Waiakamilo Shopping Center Wednesday night might have been intentionally set.
It is the second fire in a week in the same area, said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Emmit Kane.
Firefighters were called to 1414 Dillingham Blvd. at 8:48 p.m. and extinguished the fire by 9:26 p.m.
The fire originated outside the one-story warehouselike building where old tires are stored, and spread into the roofing structure, where most of the damage occurred, Kane said.
"Each tire has at least a quart of oil," Kane said. "Once they get going, they are a readily ignitable fuel source."
Damage was estimated at $80,000 to the building and $40,000 to its contents, Kane said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Outlet might have caused Salt Lake fire
Honolulu police said a Salt Lake house fire that critically injured an elderly couple might have been caused by a sparking electrical outlet.
Both John and Nellie Takami remain in critical condition at Straub Clinic & Hospital after suffering burns and smoke inhalation in Monday's fire at their Ala Lehua Street home. Police said the couple's two nephews and a girlfriend of one of the nephews told them that they had seen sparks coming from one of the outside electrical outlets they were using in the carport area.
Neighbors said the carport area was used by at least one of the victim's nephews and his girlfriend as a temporary residence. Fire officials said the blaze appeared to begin from the carport area and travel to the roof of the main house. Police said their investigation is not complete and are awaiting a report from Fire Department investigators.
Bystanders able to stop alleged purse-snatcher
Police arrested a 43-year-old man yesterday after he allegedly tried to steal a woman's purse while she was waiting for a city bus in Halawa.
Police said the victim, 46, and her family were waiting along Kamehameha Highway near Aloha Stadium at about 2:15 p.m. when the suspect approached and tried to steal her purse.
After a struggle, the shoulder strap on the purse broke, and the suspect tried to run away but was stopped by bystanders, police said. Police later arrested the suspect for investigation of second-degree robbery.
Couple tells police they drove stolen vehicle
Police arrested a couple who allegedly admitted to driving a stolen vehicle Wednesday night.
A Honolulu patrol officer said he spotted the stolen vehicle parked in a darkened area at 11:37 p.m. and noticed the couple standing next to it. When he asked the couple -- a 35-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman -- how they got there, the couple said they drove there in the vehicle.
The officer said he then went up to the vehicle and looked inside and saw a drug pipe in plain view. He then arrested the woman for investigation of auto theft and both of the suspects for investigation of drug offenses.