Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
RETROFIT FOR IOSEPA
BARRY MARKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN
Crew member Chad Paishon, standing on the voyaging canoe Iosepa, coordinated a special submarine trailer connected to a bulldozer as it pulled the canoe from Hukilau Beach yesterday. The canoe is being moved so it can be modified and to avoid expected heavy winds this week.
Hawaii inmate fracas reported in Oklahoma
Hawaii inmates broke furniture and windows and caused other damage during an uprising last month at the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Okla., according to a state official."This is a very serious matter when you have this kind of situation," said Frank Lopez, deputy director for the state's corrections division.
About 6:15 p.m. on July 20, an undisclosed number of Hawaii inmates in the C-West unit refused to listen to security guards who called for a lockdown.
The incident escalated, and the inmates broke furniture and windows, used office desks to barricade the doors of the unit and broke into one of the unit offices, Lopez said. Security guards used gas canisters to control the inmates, and the unit was secured at 8:48 p.m., he said.
There were no injuries during the disturbance, but a Hawaii inmate suffered a broken jaw just before it occurred, according to Lopez. He said there was no indication whether the two incidents were connected.
The inmate was treated at Oklahoma University Hospital and returned to prison that night.
Damage estimates to the unit were not available yesterday.
Warden Mickey Liles is continuing his investigation.
In August 1999 at the Oklahoma prison, two Hawaii inmates were believed to have led a riot where five guards and five inmates were injured. In June 1999 nearly two dozen inmates from Hawaii and Indiana were involved in a fight.
The state has a three-year contract with the prison owned and operated by Corrections Corp. of America to house Hawaii's medium-security inmates.
Firm gets $21.5 million Tern Island contract
A Honolulu construction firm is expected to receive $21.5 million in federal funds for improvement projects on Tern Island, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie's office said yesterday.Healy Tibbets Builders Inc. was awarded the contracts to improve the existing boat dock, launching ramp and rock revetment on Tern Island, a 37-acre islet in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands' French Frigate Shoals. The work will be done to control erosion on the island, located 575 miles northwest of Honolulu.
Tern Island is a wildlife preserve owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Army Corps of Engineers is administering the contract on behalf of the wildlife service.
Federal workers receive honors
Two employees of the FBI's Honolulu Division and one from the U.S. Attorney's Office Hawaii District are recipients of the U.S. Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service, the U.S. Justice Department's second-highest service award.Mei Wine, U.S. Attorney's Office Victim/Witness Coordinator, and FBI Special Agents Charles Beckwith and William Denson recently received the award for their work in the investigation and successful prosecution of Kil Soo Lee and his accomplices on charges that they enslaved and brutalized more than 200 Vietnamese and Chinese garment factory workers in American Samoa. The case was the largest human-trafficking prosecution in U.S. history.
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[ TAKING NOTICE ]
>> Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii has donated $2,500 to Waipahu Intermediate School to help sponsor eight students representing Hawaii in the National History Day competition in Washington, D.C.
COURTESY PHOTO
Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii's Natalie Kiehm presents a check for $2,500 to Waipahu Intermediate School Principal Ed Oshiro. From left: Oshiro; teacher Lorena Aping; students Arbie Campuspos, Dominique Dacanay, Monique Albano, Kevin Acacio, Sara-Malia Scott, Kimberly Fletcher, Ricky Tabalno, Austen Hagio; and Kiehm.
>> The Hawaii State Chapter of the American Red Cross has been awarded a $15,000 grant from Hawaiian Electric Co., Hawaii Electric Light Co. and Maui Electric Co. to support disaster recovery assistance to families. The Red Cross also received $10,000 from the First Hawaiian Foundation.
>> The Salvation Army has received $8,000 from the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce to expand its Hana Pono'i program, which teaches self-sufficiency skills to people needing financial and food assistance.
"Taking Notice" runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Please send items to City Desk, Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813.
Police, Fire, CourtsStar-Bulletin staff
LEEWARD OAHU
Ewa Beach fire leaves 4 residents homeless Four people were left homeless yesterday when fire destroyed their Ewa Beach home.
The fire at 91-1183 Kauiki St. started shortly after 8 a.m. The four residents, two men and two women, were home at the time but escaped without injury.
When firefighters arrived, the home was fully engulfed. A neighbor who tried to battle the blaze with a garden hose was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
The blaze caused $140,000 in damage to the house and its contents. Fire investigators said the fire might have started in one of the rear bedrooms.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Single-car crash kills Captain Cook resident A single-car collision killed a 35-year-old man on Napoopoo Road in South Kona on Sunday.
The victim was identified as David Frazier, of Captain Cook.
Kona patrol officers said the accident occurred before 12:12 a.m. Police said Frazier lost control of his vehicle while traveling west on Napoopoo Road near the 8-mile marker. The vehicle crossed the center line, continued onto the left shoulder and overturned off the roadway.
Fire rescue personnel took the victim to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1 a.m.
Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the accident, police said.
Police seek 2 suspects in Hilo home invasion
Big Island police are looking for two men who broke into a Lanikaula Street home and robbed an 86-year-old woman of cash and other items this weekend.Police said that on Sunday before 12:45 a.m., the masked suspects entered the South Hilo home, confronted the woman and stole an undisclosed amount of cash, jewelry, a black leather purse and personal identification and credit cards.
Police said the suspects were dressed in black. One was described as being about 5 feet 6 inches tall with a medium build. Police had no description of the second robber.
Investigators said the break-in was similar to one on Aug. 4 when two masked men broke into a Kanoelani Street home in South Hilo and terrorized its occupants, a 93-year-old man and his 89-year-old wife, before robbing them of jewelry and cash.
Anyone with information about either of the two robberies is asked to call Detective Lucille Melemai, of the East Hawaii Criminal Investigation Section, at 961-2377 or the police nonemergency number at 935-3311. Those who wish to remain anonymous are asked to call CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
