NEIGHBORHOODS

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Kathleen Fung shows where son Brian's hand had been cut to the
bone. Son Stephen, right, applied his Boy Scout training to stop
the bleeding and get help. The isle family has two other sons,
Kevin, in back, and Jason.

Scout’s quick
action saves brother,
nets national medal

Boy Scouts building new home in Nuuanu

Harold Morse,
Star-Bulletin

Stephen Fung recently received the national Boy Scouts of America Medal of Merit for saving the life of his 6-year-old brother.

Fung, 11, applied first aid after his brother Brian suffered a severe cut from a broken jar.

Tendons, arteries and nerves of two fingers on his left hand were severed. Fung applied direct pressure to stop the bleeding, raised his brother's arm to minimize the amount of blood flowing to the wound, and called out to his mother for help.

Fung spoke this week at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Boy Scouts' new center in Nuuanu. All four Fung brothers were present, along with their mother, Kathy. Their father, Jay, is traveling on the mainland.

Fung learned Scout first aid in 1997 and had gone on a timely camp-fire hike that featured more instruction.

"He had a refresher course a week before the accident," Kathy Fung said.

Two days after the injury, Brian required more than two hours of surgery under a microscope to reconnect the tendons.

"He got all his feeling back," his mother said. "He doesn't have full fine-motor coordination, but he's functional. The doctor expects it to get pretty normal."

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Boy Scouts building
new home in Nuuanu

The Aloha Council's $3 million base
should be completed by summer

By Harold Morse
Star-Bulletin

The deteriorating condition of the "old Russell House" in Nuuanu -- the home of island Boy Scouts for 36 years -- has led the Scouts to blaze a new trail.

A detailed study showed that repairing the house was not practical. The study also showed it would be less costly to demolish the existing structure and build a well laid-out replacement.

So the old house at 42 Puiwa Road was torn down to make way for a new facility. The Scouts held asground-breaking ceremony Thursday for a new $3 million center.

The facility will serve as the Aloha Council's administrative, volunteer, meeting and visitor-welcoming center.

It has been designed to complement the old residential character of Nuuanu, and is scheduled for completion next summer.

"The new facility will allow us to better serve our youth in the new millennium, yet retain the warmth and spirit which distinguished the old Russell House," said Clint Churchill, Campbell Estate trustee and Boy Scout Council president.

Said Terry Trout, Boy Scout Council executive: "Today we break ground for more than just a facility. We are celebrating a greater ability to build the character and leadership skills of more youth."

Plans were completed in 1998, and a capital campaign was organized to raise the $3 million needed to construct and maintain the new center.

Scouts ranging in age from 6 to 18 took part in the ground-breaking ceremony. Representatives from major donors also attended, including the Weinberg Foundation, which put up $900,000, and the Atherton, Harold Castle, Cooke and Long foundations, all of which gave financial support.

The Boy Scout organization has been active in Hawaii since 1910 and now serves more than 27,000 young people here. The Aloha Council also has offices in Hilo and Guam.