VFW garage sale at Pualani Estates
The Veterans of Foreign Wars will hold its annual rummage sale from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday at 75-658 Opikanalani Street in Pualani Estates. Hot dogs and baked goods will also be sold. Info: Jane, 896-1588.
A previously published brief gave an incorrect location for the sale because of information provided to the newspaper.
Post Office tips for Christmas package delivery
Below are the dates the Postal Service suggests Hawaii residents mail their letters, cards and packages to give them the best chances of reaching their destinations by Christmas. The dates apply to the mail received by each Post Office’s daily cutoff time.
Packages headed to the mainland should be mailed first class or Priority mail by Dec. 16 or Priority Express by Dec. 21. Gifts intended for those in Hawaii should be mailed first class or Priority mail by Dec. 22, or by Dec. 23 by Priority Express. To Guam and Saipan, first class or Priority mail needs to be shipped Dec. 14 or Dec. 20 for Priority Express. First class or Priority mail packages bound for American Samoa need to leave Dec. 8, or Dec. 15 for Priority Express. For military APOs and FPOs, send first class or Priority mail today, or Priority Express by Dec. 14.
If normal holiday conditions prevail, chances are good that letters and packages sent shortly after the suggested dates will still make it to their destinations before Christmas. Ultimately, uncontrollable factors such as mailing volumes and weather determine whether deliveries can be made early or on time.
There will not be extended hours of operation at any Hawaii Post Offices this season. Instead, customers are encouraged to take advantage of 24-hour self-service kiosks and the online payment and pickup options at USPS.com.
The Postal Service expects to process and deliver approximately 16 billion pieces of mail and 750 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. That projected holiday package volume is an increase of 12 percent over last year.
Free photos with the Grinch
Kona Stories Community Book Store is offering free photos with the Grinch from 1-3 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 17.
Families, keiki and well behaved dogs are welcome to visit him and use their cameras to take photos. Adults are welcome to a free glass of Brenda’s homemade sangria. Also, cookbook authors will offer food samples from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Kona Stories Community Book Store in the courtyard of the Keauhou Shopping Center. Info: 324-0350, konastories.com.
VFW meeting planned
Kona VFW Post 12122 is still unable to open its facility off Kaiwi Street. The monthly meeting will be conducted at the Mad Marlin at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Pat Pastor, commander, will give an update to the remodeling.
Info: Don Zero (509) 879-1040.
Careful with those Christmas lights
Hawaii Electric Light offers the following Christmas decorating safety tips:
· Buy lights that bear the mark of a safety standards testing lab, such as UL, ETL, or CSA.
· For decorating outside, buy light strands, lighted displays, and extension cords rated for outdoor use.
· Before stringing Christmas lights, check for frayed wires, cracked insulation, and damaged sockets. Replace defective light strands.
· When decorating outdoors, keep yourself, your ladder, and decorations at least 10 feet away from overhead power lines.
· Don’t use staples or nails to hang light strands, and don’t hang them on metal rain gutters and railings or on chain-link fences.
· Turn off or unplug light strands.