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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Plans for Maui reserve explained tomorrow
The Department of Land and Natural Resources will hold a public information meeting at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow about its plans for the Kanaio Natural Area Reserve on Maui.The department proposes to construct nine miles of fence to keep deer, pigs, goats and cattle out of 1,250 acres of reserve.
The fencing will protect dry forests and shrublands and an assemblage of native plants and animals, including rare and endangered species, from further damage by the hoofed animals.
Contributing partners in the project are the DLNR's Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ulupalakua Ranch.
"We are working hard with the community and neighboring landowner, Ulupalakua Ranch, to protect and preserve this unique dryland forest so that future generations can also enjoy its benefits," said Bill Evanson, DLNR natural area reserve specialist on Maui.
"This is the type of forest that once covered most of the island's lowlands and provided basic materials important to everyday life in old Hawaii, such as kauila, used for spears and mallets, and wiliwili, used for surfboards, canoe outriggers and net floats," he said.
The DLNR is working with community groups, including the Kahikinui Ohana and Living Indigenous Forest Ecosystems.
The meeting is at the Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center multipurpose room, 91 Pukalani St.
For more information, contact Evanson at 873-3506. Comments on the plan can be sent to Maui Branch Natural Area Reserve Program, 54 S. High St., Wailuku, HI, 96793.
Applications available for exchange program
Applications for the 2004 Japan Exchange and Teaching Program are now available.The JET Program, which began in 1987, aims to enhance Japan's relationships with other countries.
Interested youths can apply to be a coordinator for international relations or an assistant language teacher. Three Hawaii residents were chosen this year to serve as coordinators, while 27 were picked to be teachers.
The Consulate General of Japan will hold informational meetings on the program tomorrow at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Campus Center room 307 from noon to 2 p.m. and at Hawaii Pacific University's President's Conference Room from 3 to 4 p.m.
Hawaii Tokai International College will host a meeting Thursday in room 810 from 7 to 8 p.m.
On Oct. 23, a meeting will be held in Brigham Young University-Hawaii Campus' Aloha Center from 10 to 11 a.m.
Applications are due by Dec. 5. For more information, visit www.honolulu.us.emb-japan.go.jp or call 543-3126.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHONOLULU
A 33-year-old Salt Lake man was charged Saturday with the death of his 7-week-old infant son.
Police charge father with death of baby boyPolice charged Derrick S. Smith, 33, of 3030 Ala Ilima St., No. 806, with second-degree murder. Bail was set at $100,000.
Smith told police on Thursday that sometime before 2:15 a.m. he was carrying his son, who slipped from his grasp and hit the floor head first.
Police had reported Thursday that the baby was unresponsive, and that the father called 911 and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The infant was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy was performed Thursday.
Kalihi man arrested in 2 critical stabbings
Police arrested a 23-year-old Kalihi man for critically stabbing two men and assaulting another Saturday night over damages to the suspect's vehicle parked in Kalihi.The suspect found his vehicle's window broken. He confronted the three men at Akahi and Kalihi streets, but was overpowered by them.
He ran to his Akahi Street home and returned with a knife at about 10:10 p.m. Saturday, allegedly stabbing a 19-year-old Pearl City man in the neck and an 18-year-old man, with no address, in the rib cage.
The suspect also critically injured a third man in his 40s in the head and face. All three were taken to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
Police had not recovered the weapon at the time of the arrest.
The man faces charges of first-degree attempted murder and three counts of second-degree attempted murder.
WINDWARD OAHU
An 80-year-old woman escaped a fire that destroyed a Kailua house and two vehicles Saturday night, a fire official said.
Neighbors pull woman from burning houseNeighbors alerted the woman, who was the only one home at the time, said Capt. Kenison Tejada.
Police said the woman had been watching television, and two neighbors pulled her out of the burning house.
About 35 firefighters fought the blaze at 418A N. Kainalu Drive, which began shortly after 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
Damage to the building was estimated at $220,000 and $40,000 to its contents, not including the vehicles.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Tejada said the owners of the house, the woman's son and daughter-in-law, were on the mainland. The woman's 16-year-old granddaughter was out at the time of the fire, Tejada said.
The Red Cross is assisting the family.
Traffic infraction nets suspect in burglary
Police arrested a 42-year-old Kailua woman early yesterday morning for first-degree burglary of a Kahuku home.The resident of the home, a 62-year-old woman, arrived home and confronted the suspect in her house, police said.
The suspect fled, and police put out an all-points bulletin for the suspect's vehicle.
The vehicle was stopped early yesterday morning for a traffic infraction and the suspect was identified at the scene.
The woman also faces charges of fraudulent use of license plates and not carrying no-fault insurance.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
