Newswatch Star-Bulletin staff and wire service

---

Document-shredding event offers tool to prevent ID theft

To fight identity theft, Shred-it, an on-site document shredding company, CrimeStoppers USA and Wal-Mart are hosting free document shredding on April 29 in Pearl City.

Mobile shredding trucks will be available at the Pearl City Wal-Mart from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to shred personal documents for the public free of charge.

The store is located at 1131 Kuala St.

Community Shred events are being held around the country this month.

Shred-it, a Securit Co., has more than 130 offices around the globe.

Persons can protect themselves by regularly destroying confidential personal and business documents rather than throwing them away in garbage bags or other nonsecure places, where they can be stolen, according to a news release issued by CrimeStoppers Honolulu.

---

UH education dean leaving for Portland

The dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa's College of Education is leaving to become dean at Portland State University's Graduate School of Education, according to a university news release.

Randy Hitz cited his family as the main reason for his departure after eight years. In a letter to faculty, staff, students and alumni, Hitz noted that his two children recently moved to Seattle, and his new job is within commuting distance to them.

Under Hitz's leadership, the College of Education has been ranked in US News and World Report listings as one of the top 100 teacher education schools.

Hitz was also a supporter of the university's P-20 partnership with the Department of Education to help public school students prepare for college.

In the written release, UH-Manoa Chancellor Denise Konan said Hitz "has done a remarkable job to elevate the College of Education to prominence among the country's teacher education programs, and his leadership will be missed."

Merit scholarships go to 3 Hawaii students

Three Hawaii students are among roughly 1,000 high school seniors nationwide who will receive corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.

Matthew Tanaka of Iolani School, who plans to study engineering and computers, won a Computer Sciences Corporation Merit Scholarship.

His classmate Nolan Chung, who will study medicine, won a First Hawaiian Bank award.

Morgen Sullivan of Mid-Pacific Institute, who will study electrical engineering, earned a Novartis Merit Scholarship.

The corporate-sponsored awards, part of the National Merit Scholarship program, are financed by businesses or other organizations and can range from $500 to $10,000 per year of study.

---

UH-Hilo team wins kudos at U.N. meet

HILO » A team of 21 students from the University of Hawaii at Hilo has placed in the top 10 percent of teams competing at the annual National Model United Nations Conference at U.N. Headquarters in New York. The award was given March 15.

A group of conference directors judged the teams on factors such as the quality of the speeches they gave, their understanding of U.N. procedures and how well they portrayed the country they were assigned to represent, said student participant Kealoha Pisciotta. The Hilo team represented Ecuador.

Led by UH-Hilo political science professor Phillip Taylor, the Hilo team was one of 289 participating, including 3,500 students from around the world.

» Dr. Judith Olson, Dr. Melfried Oslo and Claire Okazaki of the University of Hawaii at Manoa have been awarded a three-year research grant of $407,650 from the National Science Foundation Directorate for Education and Human Resources.

Their project, "The Role of Gender in Language Used by Children and Parents Working on Mathematical Tasks," will be conducted during fiscal years 2005 through 2008.

---

Police, Fire, Courts Star-Bulletin staff

---

WINDWARD OAHU

Hauula man arrested in domestic assaults

Police arrested a Hauula man after he allegedly assaulted several family members earlier this month.

Police said the man, 40, got home at about 10:30 p.m. April 7 and accused his brother and brother-in-law of having an affair with his girlfriend. The man then allegedly head-butted and slapped his brother, struck his brother-in-law and sister on the side of their heads with a whiskey bottle, slapped his niece and hit another niece in the face with a bedroom door.

Officers found the man Tuesday during a traffic stop in Hauula and arrested him for investigation of second-degree assault and abuse of a family or household member.

LEEWARD OAHU

4 seriously injured in Waianae bus crash

A crash involving a bus and possibly three cars last night critically injured multiple victims in Waianae, fire and police officials said.

The accident occurred just before 9:23 p.m. at Leihoku Street and Farrington Highway.

Early reports indicated four persons were seriously injured, according to an Emergency Medical Services spokesman.

2 men held in alleged assaults on teenagers

Two men were arrested for alleged sexual assaults on a teenage boy and girl yesterday.

Police said the separate incidents took place in Ewa Beach in January and involved 16-year-old male and female victims. The suspects, 23 and 21, were later identified and arrested for first-degree sex assault, kidnapping and drug offenses.

Alleged screwdriver attack leads to arrest

Police arrested a 43-year-old woman after she allegedly attacked another woman with a screwdriver Sunday.

Police said the women were arguing at about 11:25 p.m. in Waianae when the suspect threw the screwdriver at the victim, 25, striking her calf. Police said the suspect also threatened to stab the victim if she ever saw her again.

Patrol officers arrested the suspect for investigation of second-degree assault and second-degree terroristic threatening. The victim was treated for a minor laceration.

EAST OAHU

Kahala resident gives description of burglar

Police want help in identifying a male suspect believed to be a Kahala serial burglar.

Police said the man fits the description of suspects in several daytime burglaries of Black Point homes.

A resident returned home at about 11:50 a.m. Monday to find a man in the living room, police said. When confronted by the resident, the suspect fled, jumping over the back wall and dropping a bag containing items stolen from the home, police said.

The man was last seen running on Papu Circle, police said.

He is described as 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds, with a medium complexion. He was wearing a white sleeveless athletic shirt, blue denim shorts and white tennis shoes.

Anyone with information on this suspect is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cell phone.