We are a community of volunteers who contribute, on a daily basis, for the betterment of the youth and kupuna: for social, educational and sports purposes. We have youth mentors at Friends of Waimanalo Library, Hui Malama O Ke Kai, Ke Ola Hou, God's Country, Hawaii Job Corps, Boy Scout Troop 45, Family and Youth Collaborative and Teen Center. Many sports teams have coaches who have given many years of service to spend with the youth to train, develop and guide the younger athletes to improve.

  We also have tolerant neighbors. Many graduation parties, weddings, birthday parties, luaus and other celebrations are held in Waimanalo because most neighbors do not complain about the noise. Many of the parties are really for friends and relatives of our Waimanalo residents.

We are still a “;country”; community. We have fought the state's efforts to widen our two-lane highway to four and six lanes. We picnic in the park, go to the beach and attend big events like carnivals, Sunset on the Beach and Cancer Relay for Life. We recognize our friends and neighbors, since we have all grown up together. After storms, we try to help those needing house repairs.

We have archeological sites everywhere. There are so many historic sites in Waimanalo, mostly consisting of village terraces, lo'i terraces, burial sites and well-known areas that we are trying to retain in original forms. Our history shows that we were a very large Hawaiian village.

OUR TOP ISSUES

Military occupation on crown lands:
The Air Force at Bellows Air Force Station is no longer using the base and its property for the original purpose that the land was taken. Its desire to change the base to a military vacation resort defeats its original purpose: fortification, coastal defense and military training. Waimanalo is a small, coastal community that can appreciate the return of the excess land.

Elementary schools failing AYP requirements:
Our elementary schools have an unsatisfactory rating for the students' performance. The schools are working to improve. Our new principals are working hard but progress comes slowly.

The homeless:
We need to care for the homeless children to get them to school and give them proper medical care. Hard-core homeless are vandalizing the parks and restrooms. We need to support residents who have hit on hard times, have no medical care and who rely on our volunteer food donations.

Crimes such as theft, burglary, truancy and drugs:
We may need to reform neighborhood watch groups, have more active police involvement and educate the community on areas being affected by crime. We need to trace the sources of drug use and sales to assist the neighborhood in safety. It is known that drugs are synonymous with theft and burglary to help foster the habit.

Unemployment:
As a neighborhood already suffering a low economic status, the loss of jobs from construction workers, truckers, union members, clerical workers, housekeeping and hotel workers, airline employees and across the board makes it difficult for our residents to pay bills, keep up with their mortgages, eat out at restaurants and do many of the activities they used to do. Each day you can see people earning money from recycling cans and bottles, for extra cash.

Unsafe traffic:
Even though we have a two-lane highway, there is a lot of careless driving in Waimanalo. There are many accidents related to speeding and drunken driving, even causing people to be killed. We approved safety measures for highway improvements more than 10 years ago and are only now seeing improvements. Ignoring these needs has cost us valuable lives.