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Kokua Line

By June Watanabe

Monday, November 5, 2001

Punchbowl upturns vases
to remove stagnant water

Question: Punchbowl Cemetery is now discarding all the old flowers every Wednesday, which is fine. But the problem is not with the flowers, but the vases that are stuck in the ground -- the stagnant water sitting in there -- isn't that where the mosquitos would be breeding? What is Punchbowl going to be doing about those vases?

Answer: The vases are removable and are turned upside down to remove any water, said Gene Castagnetti, director of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl.

As for the shells embedded in the ground that contain the vases, "that's like any other hole in the ground. You could have stagnant water down there," he acknowledged. "But there are some things that get beyond our control."

For now, Castagnetti said the cemetery is "doing all that we can to comply and support" the state vector control's effort to prevent the spread of dengue fever. That's by eliminating as much stagnant water as possible, as well as removing each Wednesday those flowers that might have mosquito larvae attached.

"If there are other little spots of stagnant water, we appreciate the public's eyes and ears to alert us to those things and we will take appropriate action as soon as we find them," he said.

Auwe and Mahalo

About 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, we were driving on Ala Moana, Ewa-bound, when an ambulance with sirens sounding sped past us during peak-hour traffic. All the cars pulled over to the right with the exception of one idiot driving a silver car. This driver tailgated the ambulance through many blocks of traffic lights and completely disregarded all facets of safety. She either didn't care or was obviously ignorant of the fact that it is illegal to pursue an ambulance with lights and sirens on. When we got to the traffic light at the Aloha Tower, the traffic was bogged down but she kept driving like a maniac to keep up with the ambulance, completely oblivious to the fact that she came very close to causing another accident. Suddenly, the ambulance stopped and the driver got out and confronted the tailgating driver, obviously giving her a piece of his mind, as well as teaching her the fundamentals of safe driving. She endangered all our lives and I am indebted to this ambulance driver who stopped to prevent anything from happening. I for one want to thank him for his swift and decisive action. As for the woman driver, she stayed far away from the ambulance as it continued its emergency run. -- No Name

People trying to get to the head of the line by tailgating responding emergency vehicles is "definitely a problem" these days, said Donnie Gates, assistant chief of operations for the city's Emergency Medical Services Division.

The obvious danger, he said, is that the emergency vehicle may be exceeding speed limits and "sometimes, they have to make sudden stops or turns." Or, it may go through a stop light. After it passes, someone stopped at the light may pull out suddenly, unaware that there's a vehicle following right behind, he said.

Often, emergency crews will radio for police to nab the errant tailgater, Gates said. "People don't realize how dangerous that is."

Mahalo

To Bob, who found my wife's wallet on Monday, Oct. 22. He was going home to Kahaluu, but because my wife and I don't drive, he made a special trip from Sand Island to our apartment in Salt Lake to return it. He wouldn't accept any gratuities. Mahalo, Bob, for being so nice and honest. -- Paul Ono

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