Newswatch Star-Bulletin staff and wire service

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Ceded lands deal to be discussed

Another community meeting is scheduled to discuss the proposed $200 million settlement the Office of Hawaiian Affairs reached with the state over ceded lands.

The meeting will be held at Kealakehe Elementary School in Kona 6 p.m. Feb. 27. Other scheduled meetings include:

» 7 p.m. tomorrow at King Kaumualii Elementary School on Kauai.

» 7 p.m. Friday at McKinley High School Cafeteria.

» 6 p.m. Saturday at Maui Community College in Kalama Room 103.

» 6 p.m. Monday at the Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center in Hilo.

Additional meetings will be scheduled in Kona and downtown Honolulu when times and locations are confirmed.

The purpose of the meetings is to explain the terms and conditions of the settlement to the public and to gather comments and proposed recommendations that will be compiled in a report and presented to the Legislature.

Storm damage prompts meetings

HILO » Federal and state officials will hold briefings on federal disaster assistance for local governments and certain nonprofit agencies suffering losses in the Dec. 4-7 storms.

The action follows President Bush's Declaration of Disaster on Feb. 6. The aid will be provided on a cost-sharing basis to state and county governments, and private agencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said. The briefings will be at:

» Hawaii County, Civil Defense building, Hilo, at 8 a.m. tomorrow.

» Maui County, Mayor's conference room, Wailuku, 1 p.m. tomorrow.

» Kauai County, Civil Defense center, Lihue, 9 a.m. Thursday.

New management opens Waimea

Waimea Valley reopened to the public yesterday.

The valley closed on Jan. 30 as officials underwent the transition of the valley's operation from the National Audubon Society to Hiipaka LLC.

Hiipaka is the nonprofit limited-liability company established by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to own, manage and operate the valley. The company's executive director is Gary Gill, and its managers are Clyde Namuo and Jonathan Likeke Scheuer.

General admission to the valley under the new management is $10 for adults, which includes a $2 parking fee; $5 for children between ages 4 and 12 and seniors 60 and older. Kamaaina rates are $6 for adults and $3 for children and seniors.

Police, Fire, Courts Star-Bulletin staff

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Driver and horse die in collision

WAILUKU » A security guard on his way to work at Kula Hospital died yesterday after his car struck a horse on the main highway in Upcountry Maui.

Frank N. Williamson, 77, of Pukalani died at the scene of the accident, about a half-mile south of mile post 14 on Kula Highway.

The crash occurred at 4:43 a.m. yesterday on a stretch of highway where there are no traffic lights, said Lt. Robert Hill. The horse also died at the scene.

Hill said he could not recall when a person died in a vehicular-animal crash on Maui, although there have been such collisions.

Williamson's death was the third traffic fatality in Maui County this year, compared with two for the same period last year.

WINDWARD OAHU

Man cut by knife in fight at bar

Police arrested a man in his 40s last night who allegedly cut another bar patron with a knife at a Kaneohe bar.

Police said the bar manager at Whitney's had requested the bar patron, a 46-year-old Kaneohe man, to ask the suspect to leave because he was drunk and disorderly. The suspect allegedly refused and pulled out a knife and swung it at the other man, who fell back.

Police said a scuffle ensued, and the suspect started poking the victim with the knife, causing cuts to his forearm. The victim was taken in stable condition to the Queen's Medical Center.

The assault occurred at about 7:20 p.m. at 45-1034 Kamehameha Highway.

The suspect was taken to Castle Medical Center in stable condition for a small cut to the neck received during the scuffle, police said.

Police arrested him for investigation of second-degree assault.

Teen hiker injured at Maunawili Falls

Fire rescue crews assisted a 15-year-old hiker who fell at Maunawili Falls yesterday afternoon.

Fire Capt. Terry Seelig said the girl is a local resident and received head and neck injuries from the fall but was conscious.

A rescue company, Air 1, and one station responded to the 2:15 p.m. alarm.

Emergency Services Department spokesman Bryan Cheplic said the girl fell 15 feet. She was airlifted at about 3 p.m. to Maunawili District Park, where she was taken by ambulance in stable condition to the Queen's Medical Center.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Teen seriously injured in crash

WAILUKU » An 18-year-old man was critically injured yesterday after the pickup truck he was riding in crashed on Maui.

The Haiku resident was riding with three other teenagers, including the 19-year-old driver, when the crash occurred at 3:31 a.m. northeast of the Plantation Club Drive in Kapalua.

Police investigator Dukie Racadio said the four-door pickup truck was on Honoapiilani Highway, heading in the Kapalua direction, when the driver lost control of the vehicle, veered off the roadway, struck an embankment and overturned onto its roof.

Racadio said the vehicle kept sliding, encroaching onto the opposite lane of traffic before stopping. The other teenagers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, Racadio said.

Racadio said investigators are still looking into whether seat belts were worn, because all the teens were inside the cab.