40 parks firefighters join California effort
VOLCANO, Hawaii >> Forty firefighters from six Hawaii national parks and American Samoa flew to California late last week to help battle the McNally fire in the Sierra Nevada.The firefighters joined 1,500 others working to douse the fire in the Sequoia and Inyo national forests, according to Mardie Lane, a spokeswoman for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island.
The reinforcements will relieve and replace firefighters who have been on the line for the past two to three weeks, she said.
The fire, ignited July 21 by an illegal campfire, has covered 142,815 acres, destroying nine structures, but was 85 percent contained, Lane said yesterday.
Fire suppression costs are estimated at $36.8 million, she said.
Maui Humane Society executive director quits
KIHEI, Hawaii >> Saying he has not been able to generate the kind of funding he would like, the executive director of the Maui Humane Society has resigned.Keith Pocock's last day will be Wednesday.
"I think you need to be a real salesman," Pocock said. "For me that's been very difficult. I haven't been able to produce. It's just not me."
Adrienne Caron, who was Pocock's executive assistant, will serve as interim director while the society searches for a permanent replacement.
Carolyn Pavloff, the humane society's board president, said she was saddened to see Pocock leave.
"He's been a very positive force with the humane society," Pavloff said. "We don't want him to leave."
Pavloff said she believes Pocock has done an "excellent job" at the humane society and that the responsibility of raising money for the nonprofit agency cannot be carried out by just one person.
"It's everybody's responsibility," Pavloff said.
The Maui Humane Society operated this past fiscal year on a budget of $1.5 million. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, the agency's budget will be at $1.7 million, but Pocock said that is still not enough to meet the society's needs.
The agency fell short at its biggest fund-raiser of the year in June, garnering $23,000, half of what it netted the year before.
Pocock said donations have been affected both by the economic downturn that followed Sept. 11 and a negative public reaction to the $48,000 rescue effort by the Hawaiian Humane Society on Oahu of a dog stranded at sea.
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>> Volcano Island Honey Co. will be featured on the "Wolfgang Puck Show" Sept. 13 on the Food Network. A story on Page D4 on Thursday incorrectly stated that the company would be featured last Friday. Corrections and clarifications
>> Eldon Franklin is an assistant chief with the city Wastewater Division. In a story on Page A6 yesterday, he was misidentified as an assistant fire chief. 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
HONOLULU
Prisoner apparently hangs himself at OCCC
A 30-year-old inmate died Saturday night after he was found hanging in his cell at Oahu Community Correctional Center.Police said the inmate was found at about 8:40 p.m. hanging unconscious from a cord made from a torn bed sheet. A security guard administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the inmate.
He was taken to Queen's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Boy, 4, claims father sexually assaulted him
Police arrested a 51-year-old McCully man at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday for allegedly sexually assaulting his 4-year-old son.Police said the boy informed his mother that his father was sexually assaulting him.
The case is pending further investigation.
LEEWARD OAHU
Escapee caught during alleged burglary
Police caught a prison escapee Saturday night as he was allegedly attempting to burglarize a Waipahu apartment.Kristopher Kealoha escaped from the Waiawa Correctional Facility Aug. 10 at 6:15 p.m. after he failed to report to the watch commander's office as ordered, police said.
He was serving a sentence for first-degree terroristic threatening and second-degree auto theft, police said.
Kealoha was allegedly involved in a burglary in progress at the Waipahu Street apartment complex at about 6:15 p.m. Saturday when police arrested him.
He was taken to Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, where he was treated for injuries he received prior to the arrest, police said.
Knife incident at mall leads to man's arrest
Police arrested a 19-year-old man Saturday night after he allegedly swung a knife at a Pearlridge Center security guard.A shopping-center store manager summoned the security guard regarding a possible fraud incident.
As the store manager was giving a description of the suspect to the security guard, the suspect walked by the store, police said.
The suspect ran from the security guard and was later stopped inside another store, police said.
The suspect then pulled out a knife and swung it at the guard, police said.
Police arrested him for first-degree terroristic threatening and then released him pending further investigation.
Police say man used Internet to lure girl
Police are seeking first-degree sexual assault charges against a 22-year-old Waianae man who allegedly had sex with an underage girl.The man met the 13-year-old girl online and had a relationship, police said.
The two had sex on several occasions before Thursday, police said.
WINDWARD OAHU
Cardiac arrest blamed in death at Makapuu
The medical examiner is trying to confirm the identity of a 55-year-old man found Saturday afternoon floating in the water at Makapuu Beach Park.The man had suffered cardiac arrest, said an emergency medical service official.
Lifeguards pulled the man out of the water, and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. Police said there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances.
He was taken by ambulance at 2:52 p.m. to Castle Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
CENTRAL OAHU
Crash into utility pole slows rural traffic
Traffic along Kamehameha Highway near the Dole Pineapple Pavilion was backed up for hours Saturday night as crews cleared several downed utility lines.Police began diverting traffic through the pavilion parking lot at about 4:30 p.m. after a vehicle crashed into a utility pole.
Traffic backed up into Haleiwa until the lines were repaired later that night.
NORTH SHORE
Armed man holds up store in Waialua
Police are searching for a man in his 20s who robbed a Waialua store Saturday night.The suspect entered Paalaa Kai Store at 66-945 Kaukonahua Road about 5:40 p.m. brandishing a handgun and demanded money from a 33-year-old male store employee, police said. He fled in a small foreign car with $697, police said.
