|
Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
|
Visitation tomorrow for dead pilot
Visitation will be held tomorrow with the family of 40-year-old Katsuhiro Takahashi, pilot of the Cessna 172M tour plane that crashed on the slopes of Mauna Loa on June 17.
Born in Japan, Takahashi came to Hawaii in 2005 and began working for Island Hoppers on the Big Island.
Takahashi was an active member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and National Association of Flight Instructors.
He is survived by his wife, Takako, of Kailua-Kona; parents Yutaka and Atsuko Takahashi of Japan; and brother Kenji.
Visitation will be held 2 to 5 p.m. at the Kona Church of the Nazarene in Kailua-Kona. No service will be held at that time. The visitation is open to the public.
Also killed in the crash were passengers Nobuhiro Suzuki, 53, and his wife, Masako, 56, of Urayashi, Japan.
The Island Hoppers plane left Kona about 10:15 a.m. June 17 on an around-the-island tour and was last seen sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
The Cessna was spotted 5:53 a.m. Sunday by county pilot David Okita eight miles due west of Pahala at about the 5,200-foot elevation of Mauna Loa amid tall trees and thick vegetation.
Isle teens fifth in car competition
Two Hawaii students won fifth place yesterday in the prestigious 2008 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.
The competition pits high school student teams from each of the 50 states against each other in a written exam and a hands-on finale in which students must diagnose and repair a "bug," or deliberate defect, in a Ford Focus in the shortest time possible. Winners compete for the national repair title and $7 million in scholarships and prizes.
Maui High School students Louel Valdez, 18, and Rodney Gazman, 16, represented Hawaii at the competition. As fifth-place winners, they receive a trophy and a choice from among a $750 general education scholarship from Ford Motor Co. and AAA, a $13,000 tuition scholarship to Lincoln College of Technology, a $10,000 tuition scholarship to Ohio Technical College, a $8,500 tuition scholarship to University of Northwestern Ohio and a $1,000 scholarship to Nashville-Auto-Diesel School.
Free staph lectures change venue
"How to Protect Yourself and Others -- The Bug, the Host and the Interface" will be the topic of the Summer Staph Institute tomorrow, with a change in location.
The free weekly lectures are moving from the University of Hawaii John A. Burns Medical School to the Queen's Conference Center, 510 S. Beretania St. The talks are held every Thursday except July 3 from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
This week, Dr. Alan Tice, University of Hawaii professor and infectious-disease specialist, will discuss how and why staphylococci can cause serious infection and how some people are more susceptible than others. Bob Havrilak, environmental engineer, will present a problem-solving approach known as the "infection triangle methodology," which nonprofessionals can use with some training to increase awareness of infection risk and reduce it.
Limited parking is available at the Miller Street parking garage. Parking will cost $5 with validation at the meeting.
|
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
|
Officer hit while directing traffic
A police officer was struck by a vehicle yesterday on Likini Street in Salt Lake while directing traffic outside a high-rise building fire.
A spokesman from the Emergency Services Department said the officer was taken by ambulance in stable condition to Hawaii Medical Center East.
Police said the officer was treated and released.
The fire call came about 3:50 p.m. and the officer was struck at 4:30 p.m., police said.
Fire Capt. Earle Kealoha said the intentionally set fire started in a second-floor apartment of the Country Club Plaza, 5090 Likini St.
No one was home at the time, but the sprinkler system helped control the fire within the unit, Kealoha said.
HONOLULU
Police hunt man in Salt Lake arson
Police are looking for a 39-year-old man in connection with an arson case in Salt Lake.
The fire was reported at 3:51 p.m. yesterday at the Country Club Plaza on 5090 Likini St. Firefighters forced their way into a second-floor apartment.
Fire spokesman Capt. Earle Kealoha said no one was home at the time, but the sprinkler system helped control the fire within the unit. The fire caused about $50,000 in damage.
Police said the suspect is wanted for investigation of first-degree arson.
WAIKIKI
Juvenile sought in sexual assault
Police are looking for a juvenile male who allegedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl Monday in Waikiki.
Police are investigating the girl's report that she was sexually assaulted at about 8 p.m.
Man is arrested in shoplifting
Police arrested a 25-year-old man who was caught allegedly stealing merchandise from a Waikiki department store.
Police said the suspect was in the store about 9:20 a.m. Monday. Security personnel in the store saw the suspect take two wallets and a belt, with a total value of $642, police said.
Store security stopped the suspect and called police, who arrested the man on suspicion of second-degree theft.
LEEWARD OAHU
Tip leads officers to prison escapee
A 31-year-old prison escapee was arrested about 9 p.m. Monday in Kunia when an anonymous tipster reported that the suspect was sitting in a parked vehicle at a public school.
After the man was identified, officers arrested him for suspicion of second-degree escape from a state facility.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Help find Big Isle assault suspect
Big Island police want help in finding a 28-year-old man suspected of sexually assaulting a girl Sunday morning in Puna.
Police are looking for the man, who lives in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision.
Police said that other than the sexual assault, the girl was not physically injured.
The suspect is described as 5 foot 6 inches tall, about 180 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair.
The public is advised not to approach him, but to call police if he is seen.
Anyone with information concerning his whereabouts is asked to call Detective Alston Kimura at 961-2278 or the police nonemergency line at 935-3311.
Anonymous tipsters may call CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.