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Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Tuesday, May 2, 2000

There's more to come
on Kanaloa tiki

Waianae High School Principal JoAnn Kumasaka said she hopes to resolve a controversy over whether a student-sculpted tiki is a religious or cultural symbol by the end of this school year.

Following a 45-minute session with art students yesterday, Kumasaka said another meeting will be held "to get input from everyone."

The 10-foot-high tiki was carved from a discarded utility pole to look like the Hawaiian ocean navigator, Kanaloa, and erected in front of the school in February. But about a half dozen Waianae residents, including clergy, charged that it was a pagan idol, which led the school to remove it April 14.

It now sits in the back of art teacher Christine Ho's classroom. Ho and Hawaiian artist Pat Pine coordinated work on the tiki.

The state attorney general's office has said the tiki does not carry any religious significance. But critics said it's a religious symbol, like the cross, and should not be displayed on the grounds of a public school.

National college fair
at Convention Center

High school students can get a head start on their college searches at the Honolulu National College Fair at the Hawaii Convention Center on May 9.

Students can meet with representatives from more than 120 colleges and universities to ask about college admission requirements, financial aid, degree programs, campus life and more.

The free event, sponsored by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, will be held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 6-9 p.m.

For information call your college counselor or visit www.nacac.com

Rescuers flock to aid woman on ocean rock

LIHUE -- A woman trapped on a rock offshore of Hanakapiai may have been the world's most thoroughly rescued tourist yesterday. Six aircraft circled her, a local surfer attempted to reach her, a Navy rescue swimmer was dropped from a helicopter until she was finally saved by a lifeguard on a jet ski.

The Kauai Fire Department said it went this way: A tour helicopter spotted someone waving a white towel on Hanakapiai Beach on the Na Pali Coast at about 11:44 a.m. A second helicopter confirmed the sighting. The Fire Department alerted its Air-1 rescue helicopter. An Army helicopter that was in the area spotted the woman as did a Navy fixed-wing aircraft.

A Navy helicopter launched from the nearby Pacific Missile Range dropped a swimmer into the water but he was unable to climb the rock and was pulled out. Just as the Fire Department helicopter left Lihue with a rescue crew aboard, a county lifeguard who heard the radio calls in Hanalei arrived on a jet ski and plucked her off the rock about an hour later. Fire officials did not release the woman's name. They said she had no serious injuries.

Isle diving firm sued over scuba death

The daughter and administrator of the estate for a Japanese visitor who drowned during an introductory scuba dive in September 1998 is suing Alii Divers.

Mitsu Tanimura, of Asaoku, Kawasaki, Japan, died while participating in a dive in waters near Makai Pier in Waimanalo because of the negligence of dive employees, according to the lawsuit filed yesterday in Circuit Court.

The suit seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

Shuzo Soeda, owner and operator of Alii Divers, yesterday declined comment on the lawsuit. Business slowed after the incident and he may consider closing down, Soeda said.

Second 'Pearl Harbor' plane suffers mishap

A second World War II Japanese replica airplane was involved in a mishap after its landing gear collapsed on Ford Island yesterday morning during the filming of the $135 million Disney production of "Pearl Harbor."

A Navy spokesman said the pilot in the "Japanese Zero" was not injured and the plane's propeller gouged Ford Island's runway, but the damage was called minor.

Last month, a replica of a Japanese Val dive bomber crashed on Ford Island during another filming sequence after clipping a tree. The pilot suffered a broken finger and was hospitalized for a few days.

Take a walking tour of water-ful Waihee Tunnel

The city Board of Water Supply will conduct tours to Kahaluu's Waihee Tunnel, one of Windward Oahu's largest water resources, beginning Thursday.

Visitors will be able to walk through a 1,500-foot tunnel to see water captured within a natural geological dike formation that provides millions of gallons of water daily.

Tours will be available Thursdays and Saturdays during the next seven months. Reservations and information are available through the board's community relations office at 527-6113.

Climate experts meet on ambitious global project

About 58 worldwide climate researchers will meet here this week to review progress in understanding climate variability and plan future research.

The scientists are members of a Scientific Steering Group of the Climate Variability and Predictability Project. It is part of the World Climate Research Programme.

The project, involving more than 60 nations, is seeking to learn how the atmosphere, ocean, land and ice masses are responding to natural processes and human activities. A major goal is to understand and predict the climate system's response to increases in greenhouse gases and aerosols.

The University of Hawaii's International Pacific Research Center is hosting the four-day meeting. The opening session is today at the East-West Center's Jefferson Hall.

Free sessions will focus on diabetes research

Current diabetes research will be discussed at free public receptions on Oahu and Maui by the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and Straub Hospital.

The session on Oahu will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Blaisdell Center, Hawaiian Suites.

The research update on Maui will be 6 to 8 p.m. today at the Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Dr. James Hansen, director of Pediatric Diabetes & Endocrinology, Emanuel Children's Diabetes Center, Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital in Portland, Ore., will present the updated information.

Waikiki Aquarium offers coral reef slide show

"Coral Reef Restoration: A Case Study" will be the subject of a talk and slide show May 10 at the Waikiki Aquarium.

The lecture, by Jim Maragos of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is part of the aquarium's 2000 Natural History Lecture Series, "Ocean Issues, Ocean Answers."

It will be held in the foyer, beginning at 7:30 p.m. A $4 donation is requested. Doors open at 7 p.m. Exhibits may be seen before the lecture.

A Pacific coral reef expert, Maragos will discuss results of a case study of a coral reef in American Samoa that suffered damage from a ship grounding in 1993.

The pristine reef was damaged by the breakup of the ship and fuel spill. It has been studied for more than six years.

Maragos will report on the clean-up and response of the coral reef ecosystem to the restoration attempt.

Transportation Dept. to subsidize island flights

The federal Department of Transportation will subsidize a dozen one-stop round trips between Kalaupapa and Honolulu each week, it was announced.

Air Nevada, operating as Pacific Wings, will provide service on an 8-passenger Cessna 402 aircraft. The subsidy is a result of the passage of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act of the 21st Century.

The $272,807 subsidy relieves the state of the $136,403 it paid previously to cover half the cost of subsidizing the flights.

Victims' program to get $2 million grant

Hawaii's Crime Victim Assistance Program will be funded until 2003 by a $1,991,000 grant from the Office for Victims in the U.S. Department of Justice.

The funds come from fines, penalty assessments and bond forfeitures collected from convicted federal offenders.

The federal program provides crime victims with services such as crisis intervention, counseling and emergency shelter.

Corrections Scoping meetings on Navy plans for Ford Island are at 7 p.m. today at Washington Middle School and 7 p.m. Thursday at Makalapa Elementary School. An article yesterday incorrectly said the meetings take place next week. The governor's technology adviser would not have the ability to consolidate the state's high-tech agencies, according to a bill approved by a legislative committee Friday. A story Saturday incorrectly reported that such language appeared in the bill. A.A. Smyser's column Thursday on an interview with Gov. Ben Cayetano incorrectly described the state administration's request to the state Supreme Court on the Rice vs. Cayetano case. The state asked whether the current trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs could serve out their full terms, not whether only Hawaiians could serve as trustees. The telephone number to call to report suspected tax fraud is 587-1795; a Newswatch item yesterday on welfare and tax fraud included an incorrect number. The photo on A-1 yesterday shows a six-acre farm in Kamilonui Valley; it was incorrectly described as a being a 17-acre farm on the slopes of Koko Head.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

Cruise worker charged in crash that killed four

WAILUKU -- A 30-year-old waiter from Istanbul, Turkey, has been charged with four counts of second-degree negligent homicide stemming from a one-vehicle accident in Kahului that killed four people.

Davut Duman, being held on $25,000 bail, was also charged yesterday with four counts of second-degree negligent injury and speeding and reckless driving.

Duman was allegedly the driver of the sports utility vehicle that failed to negotiate a turn on Hana Highway, struck a coconut tree and flipped over Saturday morning.

The people killed in the crash were identified as Claire Breasney, 27, and Sharon Smith, 28, both of England, and Huseyin Karacik, 29, and Inan Hir, 21, both of Turkey. Another passenger, Levent Yilmaz, 24, of Turkey, was treated at Maui Memorial Hospital and released yesterday.

All worked aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas, which had docked in Lahaina.

Kihei house fire leaves $175,000 in damage

WAILUKU -- A fire did $175,000 in damage to the structure and contents of the garage and kitchen of a three-bedroom home in south Maui.

Assistant Fire Chief Donald Moniz said officials are still investigating the cause of the fire yesterday morning at 2724 Ohina Street in Kihei. Moniz said firefighters took about 11 minutes to control the blaze after the receiving the alarm at 10 a.m. It was extinguished 2 hours later.

82-year-old escapes fire engulfing Kaneohe home

A fire yesterday at 45-148-B Lilipuna Road in Kaneohe left an elderly couple without shelter and killed three pet birds.

The 82-year-old man, who had been asleep in a rear bedroom of the two-bedroom home, escaped without injury. His wife, 83, was not home at the time.

The 11:14 a.m. blaze was under control at 11:27 and extinguished at 11:54. Fire Capt. Richard Soo said arriving firefighters found the single-story, wooden-frame home fully involved with flames visible. The burned-out home -- damage estimated at $75,000 to the building, $25,000 to contents -- was deemed a total loss.

Investigators determined the fire started in a front storeroom. The cause is undetermined.

Two suspects arrested in counterfeit $100 scam

WAILUKU -- The number of west Maui merchants who received counterfeit $100 bills has reached eleven, Police Lt. Lenie Lawrence said yesterday.

Two men arrested Saturday in Lahaina are being held as suspects.

Charged with multiple counts of forgery and one count of second-degree theft were Ian Smith, 24, of Kihei and James C. Tabor, 34, with no local address.