Leaders need to get on board with HIHS change
Mahalo for the continued articles regarding the ongoing problems and high kill rates by the Hawaii Island Humane Society.
I attended the County Council meeting in November and it was very disturbing to read that HIHS Board President Adam Atwood felt that all the issues were resolved. HIHS and those speaking on behalf the the animals who cannot speak for themselves each got three minutes to speak. If Mr. Atwood thinks that the problems at HIHS can be solved in six minutes and refuses to attend another meeting it is just another sign of the multitude of issues with HIHS.
Why does HIHS refuse to work with those who are trying to help? The 50 percent kill rate of dogs at the Kona Shelter is undoubtedly the lowest of the three shelters on island and I am sure that is why it was chosen. If the rescues had not gone underground and continued to pull dogs and cats, the 50 percent rate would have also been much higher. Shelters across America, even shelters on Oahu, are going to no kill. We can do it, too, by working together. We can only do this if HIHS openly examines their current way of archaic thinking and gets into the 21st century.
The employees at HIHS are not the problem. They are only doing what they are instructed to do by those in charge. It is time for a change. Our elected officials need to get involved and get on board for change instead of blindly renewing the HIHS contract without accountability.
Irene Eklund
Naalehu
Republicans should stick to issues
Trump is way out in front in the race, there is no need to demonize the other candidates. If you have a plan to fix the problems, like cutting regulations that choke the economy or taking a strong stand on the Mideast.
Rubio, Cruz and Bush need a plan on how to fix the problems, instead of whining about Trump and demonizing each other, Kasich brags about what he has done, but no plan for tomorrow.
Carson is the only one who sticks to the problems, even though he doesn’t have a complete game plan. However, he is smart enough to call the business and military leaders to the round table and come up with a fix.
Republicans, if you can’t get your act together, we will have four more years with a Democrat leader.
Jim Koubele
Kailua-Kona