State says it will HILO >> The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has decided not to enforce a Tuesday deadline to evict members of the Viernes family who have been living without permits at South Point on the Big Island.
not evict family
on Big Isle
Hawaiian Home officials hope
to resolve a dispute over
the South Point landBy Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.comInstead, department officials will meet with the family during the first week in February to discuss the situation, said DHHL spokesman Francis Apoliona.
The family, perhaps a dozen adults and children, has been living at a long-abandoned Army site for about a decade without permission from the department, Apoliona said.
Na Maka o ka Aina, which represents the family, has been engaged in a publicity effort to keep the family on the land, writing to county, state and federal officials, including President Bush.
Apoliona said a previous group, Ka Ohana o Kalae, was given a license to take care of the area, but they have since left. The department wants to discuss a new caretaker arrangement, he said.
The area has deteriorated during the presence of the Viernes family, including accumulations of trash, Apoliona said.
The department has also received complaints of family members asking for payments to guard cars of people visiting the remote area. Some drivers who have not paid later have found their cars broken into, he said.
Na Maka o ka Aina, in a written statement, said it conducts cultural programs for children at the site, but Apoliona said that has not happened for some time.
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