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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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Kaneohe pool will not be heated soon
Question: In the
March 2 "Kokua Line," you mentioned that 10 of 21 city pools are heated. Can you let us know which pools are heated?
Answer: City pools are equipped with heaters at Central Oahu Regional Park, Kailua, Kalihi, Kaneohe, McCully, Manoa, Moanalua, Palolo, Salt Lake and Wahiawa.
However, the McCully Pool is closed indefinitely for reconstruction, while the heater at the Kaneohe pool is broken (see below).
Q: We read the March 2 column about problems with the heater at Kailua Pool with great interest, because we have the same problem with the heater at the Kaneohe District Park Pool. We haven't had heat for about two years. Can you take up our cause? I'm 80, and there are other elderly people who use the pool and it is a hardship for us.
A: Unfortunately, it will take an estimated $50,000 to repair the broken electric heat pumps at the pool, said Dana Takahara-Dias, deputy director of the city Department of Parks and Recreation.
For now there is no target date for completing repairs, although "we are hopeful to get it repaired before the next heating season," she said.
Because the repair will cost more than $25,000, the project is required to go out to bid, Takahara-Dias said.
Before that happens, the Parks Department will need to work with the Department of Design and Construction on what needs to be repaired and on bid specifications.
Once the specifications are completed, the project will go out for formal bids.
"At this time we do not know how long this would take," Takahara-Dias said.
Mahalo
To the Army personnel involved with the medevac helicopters that are being sent to Iraq. (The 12 Black Hawk helicopters that have been used in medical emergencies will become unavailable beginning April 1.) We have heard about the valuable services they have provided here in Hawaii, but the public might not be aware of other community outreach services they offer. Quite a few years ago, I went with our kindergarten classes at Kamehameha Schools on Oahu on a field trip to the Queen's Hospital. A chance meeting with medevac crew members later led to a crew coming with their helicopter to our school. Many classes gathered on the blacktop playground and watched them demonstrate their capabilities. After they landed on the field, they briefed the children on how they executed their maneuvers and how they transported patients to hospitals. The students were able to check out the helicopter and some equipment. The crew stayed for lunch in the dining hall, where they each sat at a different table so the children could talk to them and ask questions. There are both men and women on the crews, and the girls were able to learn about another career opportunity. Mahalo to them for all the times they have made a difference. -- Betty Demarke, retired, Kamehameha Elementary School, Oahu
Got a question or complaint? Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered. E-mail to
kokualine@starbulletin.com.
See also: Useful phone numbers