In Brief | Big Island & State | 12-6-13

Police seek leads in suspicious fires

The Hawaii County Police Department is asking for the public’s help identifying anyone who may have information about the causes of a half dozen suspicious fires during the past two weeks.

The fires were located south of Puuanahulu, along Mamalahoa Highway, between the Daniel K. Inouye Highway in South Kohala and mile marker 24 in North Kona.

At 3:33 p.m. Nov. 25, police and Hawaii County Fire Department firefighters responded to a report of a brush fire on the mauka side of the highway, near mile marker 14, that burned an estimated 500 acres.

At 3:54 p.m. Nov. 26, police and firefighters responded to a reported brush fire on the mauka side of the highway, near mile marker 16. The fire burned approximately 150 acres. As personnel were working to extinguish that fire, another one was reported in the area of mile marker 23. Fire personnel were able to quickly extinguish that fire, which burned approximately 1/4 acre.

At 5:50 a.m. Nov. 28, police and firefighters responded to another reported brush fire on the mauka side of the highway, near mile marker 16. Emergency personnel quickly extinguished the blaze, which burned an undetermined amount of land.

At 4:23 p.m. Monday, police and firefighters responded to a report of a brush fire on the makai side of the highway near mile marker 24. The blaze burned approximately 2,000 square feet of vacant land.

At 6:28 a.m. Wednesday, police and firefighters responded to a report of another brush fire on the mauka side of the highway, near mile marker 17. The fire scorched approximately 4,800 square feet of vacant land.

No structures have been damaged nor were any in close proximity to any of the fires, according to police. The total extent of the burned property has yet to be determined.

Detectives with the Area II Criminal Investigations Section, along with Hawaii County Fire Department inspectors, have deemed the fires as suspicious in nature.

Anyone who witnesses suspicious activity in the area should immediately call the police department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311.

Anyone with information about the causes of the fires should contact Detective Levon Stevens, at 326-4646, ext. 275, or lstevens@co.hawaii.hi.us.

Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 329-8181 in Kona or 961-8300 in Hilo. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.

Mayor traveling to Florida to root for Big Island teams in Pop Warner Super Bowl

Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi will be on vacation beginning today in order to travel to the Pop Warner Super Bowl in Kissimmee, Fla., where he will cheer on Big Island Pop Warner football champion Panaewa Alii, according to the Mayor’s Office.

Kenoi’s son, Justin, is a member of the Panaewa Alii, the first Hawaii Island team to win the Western Regional final and advance to the Pop Warner Super Bowl.

The Mayor’s Office reported Kenoi will also root for the Leeward Steelers Mitey Mites Pop Warner football team, which consists of children ages 7 to 9 from Kailua-Kona.

Kenoi will remain in Florida while the Panaewa team participates in the tournament, according to the office. Managing Director Wally Lau will be acting mayor until Kenoi returns.

Keamuku Training Area open to bird hunters this weekend

Army officials are opening the Keamuku Training Area within the Pohakuloa Training Area for bird hunting Saturday and Sunday, according to the U.S. Army Garrison, Hawaii.

The training area will open for bird hunting from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. The area will be open to shotgun bird hunting only, according to PTA. The use of shotgun slugs is not permitted. Hunting is subject to state hunting rules and bag limits.

All bird hunters must check in and out at one of the following hunter’s check-in stations: Kilohana, located on Saddle Road between mile markers 43 and 44, or Puuanahulu, located on Mamalahoa Highway, near mile marker 15. Check-out is no later than 7:30 p.m. each day.

Hunting passes will be provided at the check-in stations starting at 5 p.m. today. These passes must be signed and placed on the vehicle’s dashboard. Hunters who do not have a signed hunting pass on their dashboard will be barred from hunting for 30 days.

The Keamuku Training Area is accessible via old Saddle Road at gate 2, near mile marker 45, and gate 7, near mile marker 51; and via Highway 190, at gate 11, located near mile marker 7, and gate 14, located near mile marker 12.

For more information, call PTA hunter’s hotline at 969-3474 or visit garrison.hawaii.army.mil/pta and click on the “Hunting” tab.

PTA areas open to bow hunters this weekend

Army officials are opening several training areas for bow hunting from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Training areas 1 to 4 and 12 to 16 will be open for bow hunting of mammals only. Hunters are allowed one pig, one goat and one sheep per day in keeping with state bag limits. Shooting sheep with blue collars is not permitted.

All hunters must check in and out at one of the following hunter’s check-in stations: Kilohana, located on Saddle Road between mile markers 43 and 44, or Puu Huluhulu, located at the intersection of Mauna Kea Access Road and Saddle Road near mile marker 28. Check out no later than 7:30 p.m. each day.

Hunting passes will be provided at the check-in stations beginning after 5 p.m. today. These passes must be signed and placed on the vehicle’s dashboard. Hunters who do not have a signed hunting pass on their dashboard will be barred from hunting for 30 days.

Hunter access to training areas 1 to 4 is through any of gates 1 to 10 on old Saddle Road. Hunter access to training areas 12 to 16 is through the gate at mile marker 38.5.

Motorists should be advised that military vehicles may be traveling on old Saddle Road. Firearms, alcoholic beverages, all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and recreational vehicles are not allowed in the training and hunting areas.

For more information, call PTA hunter’s hotline at 969-3474 or visit garrison.hawaii.army.mil/pta and click on the “Hunting” tab.

Hawaiian Airlines to add 4th Brisbane flight

HONOLULU — Hawaiian Airlines is expanding service to Australia.

The airline announced Wednesday that beginning March 31, Hawaiian will add a fourth flight to its weekly nonstop service between Honolulu and Brisbane.

Hawaiian became the only U.S. carrier to offer nonstop service to Brisbane when it launched the new route last year.

Brisbane is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, a marine park of shallow reefs supporting sharks, coral, fish and many other species. It’s also the gateway to rain forests, Outback territory and the Gold Coast.

The airline said the expansion will add more than 20,000 seats to the Australia-Honolulu travel markets in 2014.

Arrest made in Pearl City shooting

HONOLULU — Honolulu police have made an arrest in the shooting of a 49-year-old man in Pearl City.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported a 39-year-old homeless man was taken into custody Wednesday.

Police said the older man was shot and seriously wounded early Nov. 4 near the ABC Auto Parts store off Lehua Avenue. The injured man walked on a bike path to a home in Waiawa and a resident assisted him.

The man had suffered gunshot wounds to his body and limbs. He was treated at The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu.

Names of the suspect and the wounded man were not released.

Soldiers’ alcohol problems alarm Army officials

HONOLULU — Army officials in Hawaii are expressing concern about soldiers’ problems connected to alcohol.

Col. Mark Jackson in a Hawaii Army Weekly newspaper article said there have been an abundance of drunken driving incidents.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported soldiers between July and October were involved in 74 cases of alleged impaired driving.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse said illegal drug use is lower by soldiers than civilians but heavy use of alcohol and abuse of prescription drugs is more prevalent and increasing.

The institute said soldiers with multiple deployments and combat exposure are at the greatest risk of substance abuse problems.

Hawaii soldiers in an alcohol-related incident are required to take a two-day alcohol and drug program.

Hawaii governor makes appointments to 4 boards

HONOLULU — Gov. Neil Abercrombie recently made appointments to four state boards and commissions.

The governor this week named Maui attorney Grant Chun to the state Board of Education. The former Maui County managing director is currently vice president of A&B Properties.

Abercrombie named Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce president-elect Doreen Napua Gomes to the Maui seat on the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

Cultural consultant Aaron Mahi was appointed to the Land Use Commission. Mahi previously served as district representative on the Oahu Island Burial Council.

The governor also named Oahu development executive Brian Tamamoto on the board of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, Kakaako District. Tamamoto is executive vice president of the Kobayashi Group subsidiary Resort Holdings LLC.

All four appointments are subject to state Senate approval.

Driver injured in plunge off Maui cliff

HONOLULU — Maui Fire Department officials said a 73-year-old woman was injured when her car plunged down a cliff.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported the woman lost control of her car Wednesday and it descended down a 20- to 30-foot cliff at Makamakaole Gulch off the Kahekili Highway in northern Maui. The crash occurred at 3:36 p.m.

Fire officials said the woman apparently did not negotiate a curve. The car came to a stop on its wheels in the driveway of a home.

The woman’s name and condition at a Maui hospital were not released.

By local and wire sources