WELCOME, GATES

Honored guest at command change

Adm. Timothy “;Timbo”; Keating, left, gets a stellar send-off today , as Defense Secretary Robert Gates is scheduled to attend the change-of-command ceremony that signals Keating's retirement and Adm. Robert Willard's ascension to the top of the Pacific Command. The ceremony at Camp Smith is always a significant one, and Gates' attendance adds to the prestige of the day for the military leaders in the spotlight.

HOWDY, ALOHA

A taste of Hawaii in the wilds of Montana

Vili Haunga, a big offensive lineman from Wahiawa, said he wondered two years ago where he was upon arriving in Dillon, a town of 3,500 in Montana. “;I thought I was in the middle of nowhere,”; he told the student newspaper at the town's University of Montana Western. Haunga is among 23 football players on the Bobcats' roster, drawn by recruiter Pohai Lee, a 1984 graduate of Saint Louis High. He also is among 60 members of the college's Polynesian Club at what might be called Montana's “;Little Hawaii.”;

NOT DONE YET

Retired but still active in helping our youth

True dedication, thy name is Florence Teruya.

Though newly retired as principal of Waolani Judd Nazarene School after 30 years, Teruya is still steering kids forward as a volunteer bus driver for the school.

“;We have really great kids,”; says Teruya, who does it for free to fill two vacancies and save the private school money (no Furlough Fridays for this Nuuanu facility). “;I got to know them on a one-to-one basis instead of just as a class.”;

It's educators like Teruya—in both the private and public sectors—who keep hope alive for the future of Hawaii's youth. All aboard!