'Dog' tracks down fugitive rapist

Duane “;Dog”; Chapman, star of the television series “;Dog the Bounty Hunter,”; says he has tracked down a fugitive rapist to El Salvador.

Frank LeFrandt Jr., 47, of Aiea disappeared on Dec. 1, the day he was scheduled to turn himself in for a 10-year sentence in connection with an August sexual assault.

Last month, LeFrandt pleaded guilty to assaulting a 13-year-old newspaper carrier.

The boy said he was sleeping in LeFrandt's van while they picked up papers at the Honolulu Advertiser and that he awoke to LeFrandt assaulting him.

  LeFrandt, an independent contractor delivering papers, was not an employee of the paper.

A circuit judge issued a $5 million warrant for LeFrandt's arrest.

Chapman said he followed LeFrandt through ATM and other records.

“;I feel good about tracking him down and putting the pieces of the puzzle together so quickly,”; Chapman said in a news release.

  “;But this won't really be a victory until LeFrandt is captured, extradited, and put behind bars.”;

Chapman, who was on the mainland yesterday, will return to Honolulu today for a provisional arrest warrant to go after LeFrandt in a foreign country.

Dinner to honor social worker

A dinner will celebrate the naming of the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and raise funds for a scholarship in his memory.

The dinner is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Coral Ballroom, with no-host cocktails and entertainment at 5:30 p.m.

  Proceeds will go toward a new scholarship to be known as the Myron B. Thompson Endowed Scholarship in Social Work.

Thompson received his Master of Social Work degree from UH-Manoa in 1953.

He later headed the Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center, served as administrative director to Gov. John A. Burns and director of the state Department of Social Services and Housing, and as trustee for the Bishop Estate, where he emphasized the importance of early education.

The Board of Regents approved the naming of the school after Thompson at a meeting in September.

UH foundation raises $250 million

The University of Hawaii Foundation reached its initial goal of raising $250 million last month to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the university system, according to a news release from the foundation.

The Centennial Campaign began on July 1, 2002, and will continue until June.

The campaign benefits the 10 University of Hawaii campuses.

  Its fundraising efforts have centered around four priorities: advancing academic excellence, enhancing the student experience, fulfilling the UH research mission and funding additional projects.

So far, nearly 67,000 donors have made more than 153,000 gifts to UH-Manoa, totaling $184 million.

Community colleges have raised $26 million.

At UH-West Oahu, 741 donors made more than 1,700 gifts totaling $426,000.

  UH-Hilo raised $10.8 million with 5,800 donors contributing more than 10,000 gifts, including $3.15 million for the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center.

Feds give UH-Hilo science grant

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $683,808 grant to a native Hawaiian program at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, according to a university news release.

The grant, from the Native Hawaiian Education Act Program, continues the Pathways program conducted by Na Pua No'eau, also known as the Center for Gifted and Talented Native Hawaiian Children. The program helps students pursue education and careers in natural and environmental sciences.

Clubhouse gets roof repair funds

Gov. Linda Lingle has released $469,800 in design and construction funds to re-roof portions of the Waipahu Aloha Clubhouse and to connect its large-capacity cesspool to the city's sewer system.

The clubhouse is one of the five clubhouses on Oahu supported by the state Department of Health Adult Mental Health Division's Community Mental Health Center System. The clubhouses offer rehabilitation program for adults with mental illnesses by helping them improve the quality of their lives through work programs and community support services.

Re-roofing work is slated to begin in March and be completed in July. Cesspool connection work is slated to begin in May and be completed in November.