Newswatch

Police, Fire, Courts

Star-Bulletin staff and wire

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Laser system to test at Haleakala Ranch

WAILUKU » Textron Systems Corp. has won a $49.9 million contract for laser-radar research related to Maui's Space Surveillance Site atop Haleakala.

The Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate announced the five-year contract to the Wilmington, Mass., firm.

Laura Ulibarri, a project officer within the directorate, said Textron will develop technology to better identify what space satellites are doing. Textron also will be developing an imaging system capable of directing and firing a laser from a ball turret on an aircraft.

The Air Force said integration of that system will be done at Textron's facilities in Kihei, and testing will be performed at nearby Haleakala Ranch.

Gas Co. and union to resume negotiations

Negotiators with the Gas Co. and Teamsters Local 996 will meet this morning for another round of contract talks.

On Friday, 151 of the company's 206 unionized employees on the Big Island, Maui, Kauai and Oahu voted against the company's last, best and final offer.

Major sticking points were wages and a medical cap.

The workers' contract expired May 1, and employees have been working under an extension of that agreement.

A Teamsters spokeswoman said officials from the Gas Co. and union will meet at 9:30 a.m. today at an undisclosed location.

Waianae YMCA gets grant for construction

The Waianae YMCA has received $129,223 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the construction of a new fitness facility, swimming pool and community meeting room. Construction is expected to begin early next year.

Don Anderson, president of the YMCA of Honolulu, said the facility would "benefit tens of thousands of children, teens, adults and families."

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

CENTRAL OAHU
Family of 5 faces night lost in woods

Firefighters were using a helicopter last night to search for a family of five, including three children, who got lost in the eastern range above Wahiawa.

None of the family members was injured, according to Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Kenison Tejada.

The children are 5, 7 and 10.

At about 7:30 p.m. yesterday the father of the family called 911 and reported that he and his family were lost.

He put the family's location at two miles into the trail at an elevation of about 700 feet.

Tejada said that if the family was found overnight in a clear area or near an access road, they could be helped out by firefighters. But if they were in an area thick with trees, they would have to stay overnight in the woods and be pulled out at first light, Tejada said.

The father told firefighters he had no supplies except his cell phone, which was running out of power, and his watch.

Alleged fight sends man through window

Police arrested a 24-year-old man for allegedly throwing another man through a plate glass window during a fight that broke out after a party early yesterday morning.

Police said that "a drinking party among young adults" was held Saturday night at a Mililani home. An argument occurred, and the partygoers were asked to leave.

Just after midnight, at least three of the partygoers returned to the home, and a fight broke out. Police said that one man threw the 23-year-old son of the homeowner through a window, causing major cuts.

At 1 a.m. one of the suspects appeared at Wahiawa General Hospital to be treated for lacerations to his hand. Police said the suspect was identified by a witness. Police arrested him for first-degree assault.

LEEWARD OAHU
Alleged stick beating leads to teen's arrest

A 16-year-old was arrested for assault and criminal property damage after allegedly beating a man with a stick, hitting the man's mother and smashing a car windshield.

Police said that early Saturday evening, the 16-year-old "went to another male's residence to fight." The suspect allegedly broke the windshield of a car parked in front of the home at 87-100 Hakimo Road.

Police said that when an 18-year-old came outside, the teenager hit him with the stick he had allegedly used to smash the windshield. When the victim's 35-year-old mother came outside, the suspect allegedly assaulted her but did not use the stick.

Police found the suspect down the road and arrested him for second- and third-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal property damage.

HONOLULU
Fire guts apartment, leaving 3 homeless

A fire gutted a one-bedroom apartment at 1516 Haka Drive last night, leaving three people homeless.

The American Red Cross of Hawaii was assisting the residents yesterday, including two adults and a 4-year-old.

Firefighters got to the scene at about 7:46 p.m. It took 18 firefighters about 13 minutes to get the fire under control.

None of the home's occupants was injured in the blaze. Fire officials had not determined the fire's cause or damage last night.

Men held in alleged assault on 2 officers

A 23-year-old man allegedly assaulted two police patrol officers Saturday night at the Sand Island Boat Harbor.

The man was arrested for attempted murder and two counts of assaulting an officer.

The incident occurred at about 8:50 p.m. Saturday when the suspect was acting in a "disorderly" fashion at the harbor. The man allegedly held one officer's head under water and punched another officer when they tried to arrest him, police said.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Maui man hospitalized after blaze at cottage

Fire destroyed a Makawao, Maui, home yesterday afternoon, causing more than $75,000 in damage.

The home's resident, a 55-year-old man, was taken to a nearby hospital for smoke inhalation. His condition was not immediately known.

About 12 firefighters got to the scene at 12:08 p.m. yesterday. The blaze was under control by 12:31 p.m.

The 500-square-foot cottage sustained $50,000 in structural damage. Damage to its contents was estimated at $25,000. Investigators had not determined the cause last night.

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