State extends funding for 2 senior centers
Funding for programs serving senior citizens at two Oahu centers has been extended through June 30, 2004, Gov. Ben Cayetano announced.Funding for Lanakila Senior Center and the Moiliili Community Center was set to expire on June 30, 2003, when the state shifts money to Kupuna Care home services for the frail.
The centers receive $125,000 and $105,000, respectively.
"Our seniors rely on the services provided by these centers, which play a vital role in keeping older people healthy and active in the community," Cayetano said yesterday.
The Lanakila center, which has about 2,500 senior members, is run by Catholic Charities Elderly Services, which provides an additional $125,000 to keep the center afloat.
The Lanikila center was to close if it lost state funding. And the Moiliili Community Center, which serves about 1,500 seniors, would have lost five paid employees.
Programs at both centers include classes, games, singing and socializing for seniors.
Statistics show there are about 201,000 people in Hawaii older than 60 and that number is expected to grow to almost 300,000 by 2010.
Agricultural project seeks applicants
Applications are now being accepted from farmers and ranchers for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Environmental Quality Incentives Program.The deadline to submit an application is Wednesday.
Ken Kaneshiro, state conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Hawaii, said, "With the passage of the 2002 Farm Bill, additional financial funds are available to agricultural producers to cost-share up to 75 percent of the eligible expenses for implementing practices which treat targeted natural resource concerns."
Selected farmers and ranchers can receive up to $450,000 for a contract, Kaneshiro said. Also, the Natural Resources Conservation Service "will provide technical assistance to help agricultural producers design, plan and implement their conservation systems," he said.
In Hawaii, projects that install conservation practices to address animal waste, noxious weeds or sedimentation problems are eligible.
For more information, call the Natural Resources Conservation Service at 541-2600.
2 receive awards from Japan for their service
A 36-year veteran employee of the Japanese Consulate in Honolulu received an award Friday for her work as a clerk in the Consular Affairs section.Nancy Nagai received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays, at an Imperial Decoration Presentation ceremony at the consulate. She was one of two former employees who received the award for the spring term.
Minoru Ueda, a member of the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce for more than 20 years, also received the award.
Ueda accepted the award at a ceremony earlier this year at Japan's Imperial Palace.
Relay for Life has free donor registry
Free bone marrow registration will be conducted as part of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life from 6 to 10 p.m. tomorrow at Magic Island, Ala Moana Beach Park.The St. Francis Medical Center Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry matches donors with patients who need bone marrow transplants because of terminal blood diseases.
The Relay for Life will feature overnight events to celebrate cancer survivors and support research and programs.
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>> John Siofele, who was killed in a traffic accident early Monday, was a former all-star defensive lineman at St. Louis School. In a story on Page A-3 Tuesday, he was incorrectly labeled as a linebacker. Corrections and clarifications
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Managing Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
PLANE'S FUSELAGE RECOVERED
GARY T. KUBOTA / GKUBOTA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The fuselage of a single-engine airplane was hoisted out of an East Maui forest yesterday by Pacific Helicopter Tours Inc. The Cessna Cardinal 177 was on a private tour Saturday when it crashed, killing Maui businessman Stephen Betsill and three relatives. Workers used power saws to cut a clearing for the retrieval of the airplane.
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[THE COURTS]
Man accused in attacks along Ala Wai indicted
An Oahu grand jury indicted a 48-year-old Waikiki man accused of attacking three people along the Ala Wai Canal last month, one of whom was knocked into the water, struck his head on the rocks and died.Cline Kahue was charged yesterday with second-degree murder in the death of former Star-Bulletin free-lance sports writer Jack Wyatt, and second- and third-degree assault for the attacks on two women.
A District Court judge had ordered a mental examination of Kahue last month to determine whether he can understand the proceedings against him and is fit to assist in his defense. Doctors were expected to report their findings at a hearing today, but because of the indictment, that hearing has been canceled.
Kahue, whom records show has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was arrested for four counts of misdemeanor assault in 1997, but he was acquitted by reason of mental incapacity and committed to the Hawaii State Hospital. He was released last year.
Guilty plea in baby's death by malnutrition
HILO >> A Big Island woman pleaded guilty this week to manslaughter in the malnutrition death of her baby in 1999.Saraswati Mulder, 24, had been indicted for "murder by omission" in the death of her 2-month-old daughter Manjara. She has since married, is now known as Saraswati Lacasse and had another child.
In 1999, two of Mulder's three previous children had died, and Mulder suspected a doctor injured Manjara at birth, although doctors noted that the child was normal, court documents said.
When the baby developed diarrhea and vomiting, Mulder took the child to a chiropractor. She fed the baby "almond milk" consisting of water strained through crushed almonds.
After the baby died, Mulder did not pick up the body, said she wanted an independent autopsy and said she was saving for the $2,000 cost at the rate of $2 per month, documents said.
In pleading guilty to manslaughter, Mulder said in a written statement, "I failed to perceive the severity of illness my daughter was subject to and relied on alternative treatment, which disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that her death would occur."
Sentencing is set for Sept. 6. Under the plea agreement, the state may seek one year in jail for her, and Mulder may ask the court for no jail time.
Suit alleges negligence in death at care home
The family of a man who died in January 2001 is alleging gross negligence by the operator of the residential care home where he had lived for less than a month.The suit, filed in Circuit Court by the wife and children of Gaudencio Nuesca Gamayo, claims Vivian Fortin failed to administer heart medication and bring him to the doctor as required within a week of his discharge from St. Francis Hospital.
Fortin could not be reached for comment.
According to the complaint, Gamayo was discharged from St. Francis on Dec. 30, 2000, and brought to Fortin's home. Fortin was instructed that he needed 400 milligrams of heart medication per day and needed to visit the doctor within one week of discharge.
The suit alleged Fortin failed to give Gamayo any medication for 10 days, from Jan. 9 to Jan. 20, 2001, after his initial supply was exhausted. Gamayo began suffering heart seizures by Jan. 25, 2001, and was readmitted to St. Francis, where he died six days later, the suit said.
The state Department of Health investigated Gamayo's death and found last October that Fortin lied about having him examined by a doctor within a week of discharge, and when she claimed she had given him his required medication and had not missed any doses.
The state Department of Health found that Fortin violated administrative rules governing the administration of medications and compliance with doctor's orders, and revoked her license.
