Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: I want to register as an organ donor, but I don't know how to do it. Can you help? Tell family of intent
to be organ donorAnswer: There is no organ donor registry now in the state.
The Organ Donor Center of Hawaii can provide you with a donor card that you can carry in your wallet, said Executive Director Robyn Kaufman.
Or you can state your wishes on your driver's license, state ID card or living will.
"But the most important thing is to tell your family about your intent to donate, because when you die, your family must give consent for your wish to be carried out," Kaufman said. "To assure that occurs, you need to let your family know."
She said the No. 1 reason people decline to donate "is that they don't know what their loved one wanted. So it's really important to share your wishes; it just makes that decision easier -- it takes the burden of guilt off your family."
Call the Organ Donor Center, 599-7630, or write to it, 1000 Bishop St., Suite 302, Honolulu, HI 96813.
Q: I attended the University of Hawaii-West Oahu and enjoyed the little campus with all its trees and plumeria. Recently, I noticed many of the trees were gone. I checked with several state agencies and no one could tell me why the trees weren't just replanted. Why is the school being so reckless with the environment? Trees take so long to grow and to not try to replant the trees is a sin.
A: The trees were removed as part of the renovation and beautification of old West Oahu quarters for Leeward Community College's Office of Continuing Education and Training, said director Lucy Gay.
The West Oahu faculty and staff moved out of the portable buildings last year and are in "new temporary quarters" at the opposite end of the campus, she said.
The trees were removed to get at an aging irrigation system, parts of which were nonfunctional, Gay said. The area you cite "was one such area. There was no water service to plants around there," she said.
In the process of digging through the roots, the trees could not be saved, she said. She also said some plumeria trees were infested with whiteflies.
New sprinkler systems were installed, and compost and soil conditioners were brought in and mixed with existing soil. New plants -- on an approved master plan plant list -- have been planted, Gay said.
Auwe
Re the Thursday item about expired vehicle safety check stickers: There should be a hotline you can call when you see violations, so a police officer can follow up. For the most part, violators drive around with impunity and nobody does anything. -- W. R.
Mahalo
To Keith and Deborah, at the Waikiki post office on Saratoga Avenue, for their efficient and speedy action in retrieving an unsealed envelope containing an important document, which I inadvertently dropped in my residential postal box. Deborah helped me to complete the required form and Keith traced the envelope. Within an hour, he called to say it was found. -- Mrs. D. of Waikiki
Auwe
To the owner of a brown pit bull who attacked a dog twice on June 28 at the Diamond Head Bark Park. You should have put him on a leash after the first attack! Luckily, the dog wasn't badly injured, but you did not even apologize. Read the park rules. "Tough" dogs are not allowed there -- No name
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com