About Town | 9-10-15

New Habitat ReStore opening this month

Habitat West Hawaii will soon be opening another ReStore in September. This ReStore will be located in Waimea at the Chock Inn Store, 65-1259 Kawaihae Road, and opens to the public in mid-September.

The historical site once catered to the Waimea ranching community in the 1900s, and will now be used to support the mission of Habitat for Humanity — to improve the standard of housing within the community of West Hawaii. Pickups of donations that are clean, reusable and in good condition are available for any business or residential area. Donations are also accepted daily at the store.

Korean War Veterans meet Saturday

Korean War Veterans Association of West Hawaii Chapter 279 meets at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars meeting hall, 74-5543 Kaiwi St., Suite 185a.

Membership is open to any person who has seen honorable service in any of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Coast Guard if said service was within Korea including territorial waters and airspace at any time from Sept. 3, 1945, to the present, or said service was outside Korea from June 25, 1950 to Jan. 31, 1955. Associate members are also welcome.

For more information, call Ronald Cole at 327-9304 or David Simon at 769-4427.

Annual bamboo festival planned

The Hawaii Chapter of the American Bamboo Society will hold its 16th annual Bamboo Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Nani Mau Gardens, 421 Makalika St. just south of Hilo.

A special entrance rate of $3 per person will be offered for the event.

Starting at 10:30 a.m. bamboo artist Cal Hashimoto will present the construction of his latest large commissioned piece and tell about techniques he uses to create his artwork.

The afternoon presentation will be at 1 p.m. by Dean Johnston — a nationally recognized architectural designer who concentrates on creating ecological design in his work. He received the American Institute of Architecture Students National Research Award for his work testing structural bamboo and this led to the first acceptance of a bamboo species, Bambusa stenostachya, into U.S. building codes.

Vendors will sell plants, handcrafted items, jewelry and a silent auction will be held. The chef at Nani Mau restaurant will make some bamboo dishes for purchase in addition to the regular food fare.

New church to hold services in Waimea

A new church, Voyage Ministries, will hold its first service from 10 to 11 a.m. Sunday in Waimea. Dress is casual.

Free food and family games will follow the service. The church offers Christian teachings from the Bible, a multigenerational crowd, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and breakfast sweets.

Voyage Ministries is on the straight away at the back of Church Row. Signs will be posted.

For more information, find Voyage Ministries on Facebook, visit voyagewaimea.com or call Tyler at 430-9746 or Rebecca at 333-0326.

Elks Lodge celebrating two events

Kona Elks Lodge will celebrate both Patriot and Grandparents Day simultaneously on Sunday. The club will open at 10 a.m. and brunch will be served starting at 11 a.m. and will include scrambled eggs, a mushroom, bacon and zucchini frittata, biscuits and gravy, baked ham, smoked salmon bruschetta, roasted red potatoes and more. The cost is $15. For reservations, call 329-2616 no later than noon Saturday.

Plans for the rest of the month including the club’s inaugural spaghetti feed and bingo on Sept. 21 will be discussed. Those interested in learning more about the Elks, both locally and nationally, are welcome.

Call Joe Reynolds at 334-0077 for more information.

Free prediabetes educational classes planned

In an effort to curb diabetes and promote healthy living, North Hawaii Community Hospital will offer free prediabetes educational classes.

Classes will consist of three 1.5-hour group sessions presented by a certified diabetes nurse educator from the hospital’s Diabetes Wellness Center. Topics covered will include nutritional education, carbohydrate vs. protein, the importance of exercise for good health and awareness of complications caused by uncontrolled diabetes. Other areas of discussion include meal planning and the social aspects of living with diabetes as well as how to take control of health.

Classes are scheduled for Sept. 14, 21 and 28; Oct. 12, 19 and 26; and Nov. 10, 17 and 24. Self-referrals and physician referrals are welcome. Each program consists of three classes, held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Mauna Kea/Mauna Loa Conference rooms at North Hawaii Community Hospital.

Pre-registration is required. Call 881-4832 to register or for more information.

Hospital auxiliary board to meet

The Kona Community Hospital Auxiliary board meets at 1 p.m. Monday in the hospital conference room. Visitors are welcome to attend the meeting.

Everyone is invited to stop by the bake sale from 7 to 9 a.m. Fridays in the hospital cafeteria.

For more information, call the auxiliary office at 322-4577 or visit kchauxiliary.org.

Argentine tango lessons offered

Waimea Ballroom Dance Club will offer Argentine tango lessons on six consecutive Mondays starting Sept. 14.

No partner is necessary. Registration will be at 6:30 p.m. on first two weeks only. Classes are from 7 to 8 p.m. followed by a half-hour practice mixer at Kahilu Town Hall. Cost is $20 for members. Semi-annual dues are $20 for new members.

Lance Oliver will be the instructor. Call Peter In at 885-4776 for details.

Applications accepted for Board of Bar Examiners

The Nominating Committee of the Supreme Court is accepting applications from attorneys who wish to serve as members of the Board of Bar Examiners. The committee will make recommendations to the Supreme Court, which will make the final selections.

The board examines, recommends and records applicants for admission to the Bar. It also gives written examinations to test the legal and educational qualifications and knowledge of legal ethics of each applicant. Selected board members serve three-year terms beginning Nov. 1.

Interested attorneys should submit a letter of interest along with a resume to: Gayle J. Lau, Chair Nominating Committee, P.O. Box 26436, Honolulu, HI 96825. The deadline to submit applications is Sept. 15.

Medicare, Medicaid covered in seminar

Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union announces a free educational seminar on “Medicare &Medicaid 101” to be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 19, at the John Y. Iwane Credit Union Center training room at its Kaloko facility.

The seminar will feature a presentation by Peter Amelotte, health benefits manager, Aloha Insurance Services Inc. The session topics will include: How do I enroll in Medicare, What are my Medicare options, Are there penalties for not taking Medicare at 65 and much more.

To register for this free seminar or for more information, contact the HCFCU Call Center at 930-7700 or email marketing@hicommfcu.com. Seating is limited.

Sarwar selected to study Arabic in Morocco

Noor Sarwar, a 2015 graduate of Hawaii Preparatory Academy, has been awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth scholarship for 2015-2016. Sarwar will study Arabic in Morocco for the year.

Sarwar is one of 620 competitively selected students from across the United States who will receive a scholarship to study Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Russian, or Turkish overseas this year. While in Morocco, Sarwar will receive formal instruction and informal language practice in an immersion environment.

The program seeks to increase the number of Americans who can engage with native speakers of critical languages. The goals of the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program include sparking a life-long interest in foreign languages and cultures and developing a corps of young Americans with the skills necessary to advance international dialogue and crosscultural opportunities in the private, academic, and government sectors.

‘Moving Art’ to be shown Monday

“Moving Art,” a film by Louie Schwartzberg, will be presented at 6 p.m. Monday at North Kohala Public Library.

The 90-minute film merges natural beauty with contemporary ambient sounds. Schwartzberg uses state-of-the-art technology to bring viewers closer to ancient curiosities and wonders.

For more information, contact the library at 889-6655