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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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Neighbor's stinky cats testing limits
Question: Can you think of a nice way of telling a neighbor that their yard stinks (literally)? My neighbor has five cats in a kennel, and depending on which direction the wind blows, it emits a very pungent order. I'm not sure if I should call the state Department of Health, Hawaiian Humane Society or just go over and tell them that the kennel needs to be cleaned. I cannot believe that they cannot smell it in their own house.
Answer: A lot depends on your neighbors and your relationship with them as to what "a nice way" might be.
But if you're not comfortable approaching them, call the Health Department's Vector Control Branch at 483-2535.
People periodically call the Hawaiian Humane Society with similar complaints, but because this is "a smell issue" and not necessarily animal cruelty, callers are told to contact Vector Control, a spokeswoman said.
"We work closely with their investigators," she said, so if they see any animals distressed, they would contact the humane society to follow up with its own investigation.
Meanwhile, a complaint to Vector Control would first result in a letter being sent to the owner of the property in question.
A complainant is advised to wait at least two weeks after a letter is sent to see if there is any improvement. If not, the complainant can call back and ask that an inspector be sent because the problem persists.
"On the second complaint, we do send an inspector out," a Vector Control worker said.
Complainants may remain anonymous.
While Vector Control will look into odor problems related to the cats, or any other possible associated vector issue, such as flies, it was emphasized that it does not get involved with either the number of cats or the care of the cats.
Complainants are advised to direct any concerns about the abuse or neglect of the animals to the humane society.
Q: Where can we drop off packaged shredded white paper for recycling?
A: There currently is no recycling market for shredded paper on Oahu.
"Shredded paper is difficult to recycle for two reasons: The shredding lowers the value of the paper considerably, and it creates a voluminous mass of paper with little weight," explained Suzanne Jones, the city's recycling coordinator.
For now the low value of shredded paper, and the high costs of handling and transportation, "make it fairly challenging to capture it cost-effectively in a recycling program," she said.
While recycling might become more viable down the line, for now, Jones said, "it seems smarter" just to burn the paper at the HPOWER "waste to energy" plant.
Mahalo
To the gentleman driving the No. 6 bus (No. 748) going from Chinatown to Ala Moana on Saturday, May 27. He was very, very polite and considerate to senior citizens. God bless him and all the drivers like him. -- No Name
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