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POSTED: Friday, April 17, 2009

Service at Outrigger to honor Keiter

A celebration of the life of veteran sports broadcaster Les Keiter will begin at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Outrigger Canoe Club, 2909 Kalakaua Ave.

A memorial service will be held at 8 a.m. His ashes will be scattered at sea at 10:30 a.m.

The family requests that aloha attire be worn.

Keiter, 89, died Tuesday in Castle Medical Center.

His career as radio and television sportscaster spanned more than 50 years, from sports director of KPOA radio in 1949 until his retirement as sports director at KHON-TV in 1994. He spent several years in New York and Philadelphia broadcasting professional baseball, football, hockey and boxing until his return to Hawaii to become the voice of the Hawaii Islanders Triple A baseball team from 1971 to 1979.

He is survived by wife Lila; sons Marty and Rick; daughters Barbara Keiter, Jodi Keiter Feinstein and Cindy Keiter Reilly; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

 

Navy sailors deploy to Middle East

Thirty-seven Navy sailors from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1 will leave tomorrow for Bahrain to provide diving, salvage and explosive ordnance disposal support.

This is the unit's second deployment to the Persian Gulf island kingdom. The last one was in 2008.

The unit is one of two in the Navy. In February it helped refloat the cruiser USS Port Royal, which was stuck for nearly four days on a reef near Honolulu Airport.

 

Meeting on school closure delayed

A meeting planned for yesterday to help decide whether to close Wailupe Valley Elementary School has been postponed until Thursday, the Department of Education announced.

The Wailupe Valley-Aina Haina Elementary Schools Task Force will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Aina Haina Elementary School's media room, the Department of Education announced. It will recommend to Complex Area Superintendent Ronn Nozoe on whether and when Wailupe Valley School should be consolidated with Aina Haina Elementary.

The task force, appointed by the Department of Education, recently issued a report on the issue that is available at doe.k12.hi.us.

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Star-Bulletin staff

 

Maui residents sue over sewage

A group of residents has filed a lawsuit on the Valley Isle, seeking to stop the county from putting partially treated sewage into its injection wells in South Maui.

The residents charge the partially treated sewage eventually leaks into the ocean, leading to algae blooms. The group, Puko'a o Kama Alliance, is worried about the injection wells' impact on coastal waters, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Maui Circuit Court.

Daniel Kanahele said the pollution from the injection wells affects ocean recreation and fishing.

The county declined comment, pending a review of the lawsuit.

The county owns 18 injection wells — eight in Kahului, four in Lahaina, three in Kihei and three on Molokai. Reclaimed water is pumped into the wells because the county does not have sufficient storage for all of it.

 

NEIGHBOR ISLAND WATCH

Kauai

Kokee » The public is invited to help “;groom”; Kaluapuhi trail to Kalalau Lookout in Kokee State Park tomorrow. The event is organized by the nonprofit Hui o Laka. Tools, training and lunch provided. Call Kokee Museum at 335-9975 if interested. Meet at CCC Camp at 8:30 a.m.

 

Maui

Wailuku » A Maui Circuit Court judge sentenced Lyle Shawn Benson, 45, of Kihei, to one year in jail and five years' probation Wednesday for punching a police officer, the Maui News reported. A jury convicted Benson of first-degree assault for punching the officer who responded to a 911 call at Benson's house on June 24, 2007, the paper reported.

 

Big Island

Kona » Hawaii County Councilman Kelly Greenwell is angry that state wildlife officials conducted a helicopter-borne hunt of feral cattle on Hualalai on Wednesday, according to West Hawaii Today. Greenwell says the state blatantly disrespected a consensus on the council against the hunts. The council is considering a resolution that expresses fears that hikers or others could be injured in the shootings. A spokeswoman for the state says the cattle can be destructive to the natural habitat.