OHA, Army strike deal on Strykers

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Army announced yesterday that they have settled an OHA lawsuit filed in 2006 over the establishment of a Stryker brigade and its impact on native Hawaiian cultural resources.

OHA representatives and a neutral archaeologist accompanied by Army representatives will survey certain Army training areas, the announcement said.

OHA and Army representatives aim to ensure the appropriate identification and treatment of cultural and historic resources located in the Schofield Barracks region of Oahu and other parts of the state, it said.

“;This agreement will afford OHA the opportunity to have a firsthand look at important cultural resources that would not otherwise be accessible to the general public, and to determine whether they were fully addressed in the Army's prior surveys of areas affected by Stryker activities,”; OHA Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona said.

“;We believe that this is a very significant undertaking for the preservation of native Hawaiian culture and history, and we appreciate the Army's giving us access to verify the completeness and accuracy of prior efforts to identify and protect native Hawaiian sites and other historic resources,”; she said.

Col. Matthew Margotta, commander, U.S. Army Garrison, Hawaii, said the Army values “;this spirit of cooperation and communication with OHA.”;

“;We believe this agreement will build upon our existing robust programs to identify and care for these cultural and historical resources, while balancing the need for soldier training which is so vital to ensuring that America's sons and daughters in our military are prepared for combat,”; he said.

Mites discovered in feral beehive

State agriculture officials found about 60 varroa mites yesterday among some 5,400 bees in a feral hive in a quarry area near Hilo Airport.

Last week, workers found 15 varroa mites in bait traps just a few hundred yards from the infested hive.

“;The close proximity of the feral hives to the varroa mite detections last week render it likely that the hive was the source of the mites,”; said Neil Reimer, manager of the Plant Pest Control Branch.

The state has been concentrating on the Big Island since the first detection in August of the mites that pose a threat to the honeybee industry.

Varroa mites feed on the blood of honeybees and infect and weaken the adults. They also can deform the larvae.

Lum will resign waterworks post

Clifford P. Lum, manager and chief engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, will resign effective Dec. 31.

The Board of Water Supply board of directors accepted his resignation. Lum, who has been chief engineer since August 2005, resigned for personal reasons.

“;We are grateful to Cliff for the service he has provided the board and wish him the best in his future endeavors,”; said board Chairman Randall Chung.

Pile driving at Pearl will be noisy

Test pile driving will cause noise along the waterfront areas of Pearl Harbor beginning today and continuing into mid-December.

Testing will be done at the old Navy Deperming Station or Magnetic Silencing Facility at Beckoning Point, near the entrance to Middle Loch.

Crews will drive 12 test piles as part of an $84 million Navy construction project for a Submarine Drive-in Magnetic Silencing Facility. Testing will provide data about the stiffness and bearing capacity of a foundation pile and help determine future pile-driving actions when the project begins in January.

The project, awarded to Watts-Healy Tibbitts in August, is expected to be finished in October 2010.