Shooting range more practical than arena
Having ranched for some 30 years, which means cowboying (comes with the job), I have nothing against spending money on improvements of the Honaunau Rodeo Arena at all.
But, using that as an example, the county (you and I) is planning to spend a substantial amount of money to renovate the arena and its surrounding area. An area that is used once a year for the Honaunau Rodeo and for a few ropings and very few other community events.
Now compare that with the need for a shooting range that could be used by the police, high school sport shooting teams, Boy Scouts and the general public. The public who have bought (as stated in WHT) so many firearms in these past few years but have no where to go to shoot or to be schooled in the practical use of a firearm (safety). What is the sense of having a gun that you cannot shoot for lack of a designated area to shoot it. There are bike lanes, drag strips, archery areas, skateboard rinks but there are thousands of those with guns and no where to shoot them. I believe it is detrimental for those who own guns to have somewhere nearby to safely fire their guns, thus perpetrating the peoples “right to bear arms.”
Hugo von Platen Luder
Holualoa
Front page picture awful
What a horrible front page picture today, Dec 30. I know you have to report the news but there had to have been a picture that wasn’t so disturbing and disrespectful. Dead animals hanging from a helicopter with the headline “Rifles, Rotors and Uproar.” Happy New Year.
Sandra Weinrich
Kailua-Kona
Mahalo for supporting college culinary programs
Last week, chef instructor Paul Heerlein took me on a tour of the culinary kitchens at Hawaii Community College-Palamanui. I was elated to see all of the equipment: freezers, chill boxes, ranges, grill tops, pizza oven, tilting skillet, working tables, small equipment and so forth in the new culinary teaching kitchens at Palamanui.
John Morton, vice president for Community Colleges, University of Hawaii, is deserving of a heartfelt appreciation from the community at finding funds for the two culinary kitchens with state of the art equipment. He has my sincerest appreciation for supporting higher education at Hawaii Community College-West Hawaii.
For over 25 years I championed this vision along with the American Culinary Federation Kona Kohala Chefs Association. With Dr. Morton’s ingenuity, we achieved this incredible support for teaching the next generation of cooks and chefs. Providing gainful employment through the culinary arts for the resorts in Kona and Kohala and the many restaurants is an incredible gift we can now offer to our high school graduates and for adults who would like to redirect their employment opportunities with state of the art equipment. With these new culinary teaching kitchens, it will be exciting to see what the next 20 years will bring to this viable industry. Mahalo nui loa to Dr. John Morton.
Jean Hull, CCE, AAC, retired professor culinary arts/HCC-WH
Kailua-Kona