Wednesday, April 16, 1969 | Volume II, Issue XV
ON THE COVER
“Navy To Get ‘Eviction Notice’ From Milolii”
No byline
The United States Navy will definitely get an eviction notice from the villagers of Milolii when Navy and village representatives meet again sometime at the end of this month.
The meeting, originally scheduled for today following a month-long “cooling-off” period, will be rescheduled for either April 29 or 30 so that Mayor Shunichi Kimura and Robert Fukuda, superintendent, Parks and Recreation Department, can attend personally.
But the Milolii Association, evenly split a month ago over whether to ask the Navy to relocate its practice bombing range, met Sunday and resolved their differences. And they decided to definitely ask the Navy to relocate its range from the South Kona waters near their village.
The villagers did take a “soft-line” on the time element involved. According to Sam Kaupu, association president, the villagers will give the Navy all the time it needs for a gradual relocation. This could mean as much as two to three years before the Navy planes are finally out of the area.
Mayor Kimura has already gone on record as strongly favoring the Navy relocation.
“Kailua School Destiny Eyed”
No byline
What will happen to the old Kailua School site now that the move to the new Kealakehe School is complete?
No one knows, at present, but Herb Price, president of the Kona Parks and Recreation Commission, has a good idea of what he’d like to see done with it.
Price, with the blessings of his fellow commission members as well as the unanimous endorsement of the Hawaii County Parks and Recreation Committee, proposes that the Kailua School be placed in the public domain as a memorial botanical park in memory of those young men of Kona who have made the supreme sacrifice while serving in the Armed Services of their country. The resolution also calls for appropriate action on the county and state levels to assure such designation by executive order of the governor.
Just what use the school site would be put to has been a topic of speculation ever since plans for Kealakehe School became a reality. There has been talk of a new hotel or condominium and some have suggested the site be used for badly needed parking space, while others lean toward converting the site into a much-needed playground area for Kailua children.
“Inaba Pledges To Fight Bill”
By Jim Langdon
Controversial House Bill 663 — the “Contractor Bill” — lost the support of at least two of its co-signers this week as both West Hawaii representatives Minoru Inaba (Kona) and Akoni Pule (Kohala) pledged to fight for defeat of the measure.
The turnaround move comes in the wake of widespread opposition on the proposed bill, especially in the Kona and Kohala districts. The proposed bill would limit the building of any structure of $1,000 or more to licensed contractors.
Inaba said he never supported the bill in the first place. He said he signed the bill as a “courtesy” to Honolulu 10th District Rep. Mitsuo Uechi prior to the formal first reading. After reading the contents of the measure, Inaba said he told Uechi that he could not possibly support such legislation.
Pule said he too would oppose the bill, and had only signed it as a courtesy gesture on a “title” reading.
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“Fukunaga Rites Pending”
No byline
Funeral services are pending for Pfc. Rodney T. Fukunaga, 22, of Kealakekua, who was killed in South Vietnam on April 9.
His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Masaki Fukunaga, received word that he was killed while on an early morning combat mission. He was riding on an armored personnel carrier when it was attacked by the enemy force.
Pfc. Fukunaga is the fifth West Hawaii serviceman to be killed in Vietnam this year, and the fourth from Kona.
A member of the 29th Infantry Brigade which was called to duty last May, Pfc. Fukunaga was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division when he was sent to Vietnam on Feb. 25.
Born in Pahala, he was brought up in Kona and was a 1965 graduate of Konawaena High School. He attended Hawaii Technical School in Hilo, from which he graduated in 1967.
“The Winner”
Stand-alone photo
Joseph Kamoku of Kailua was the first prize winner in the King Kalakaua beard contest held at the sixth annual Merry [sic] Monarch Festival held in Hilo last week. Kamoku is a bus driver for Kealakehe School. He is also a member of the Hawaiian Civic Club of Kona.
OTHER NOTABLE HEADLINES
“Kona Telephone Change Readied”
No byline
Effective May 1, a total of 2,720 telephones in the Kona district will join the seven-digits ranks. New numbers have already been issued to telephone users but they are not yet in use. Along with Kona, 6,510 users in Hilo will be changed.
The purpose of the seven-digit conversion is to prepare for direct dialing between the islands. The exact date for the long-distance dialing system is unknown, according to the Hawaiian Telephone Co.
Last year some 5,000-6,000 phones in Pahoa, Papaikou and Hilo were switched over. It’s estimated that by the end of 1970, all of the phones on the Big Island will become seven-digit numbers.
“Konawaena Sets July Graduation”
No byline
June is the month for graduation and this year Konawaena High School will be trailing right behind the other West Hawaii high schools. The date of July 8 has been set for the first July graduation on record.
In previous years, Konawaena has been on the coffee schedule with graduation exercises being held in August. The school year ran November to August.
Weekly deals:
At K. Taniguchi Super Markets (KTA Super Stores): Diamond Head beverages (now in cans!), 10 cans for $0.89; Libby’s Corned Beef, two 7-ounce cans for $0.79; and Sugar Twins granulated sugar replacement, two 2.85-ounce boxes for $0.67.
At Sure Save Super Markets: Air-flown, fresh tulips, one dozen for $0.79, and rib steak, $0.99 per pound.
At Kamigaki Store: Armour bacon, one pound for $0.79; A-1 Steak Sauce, 5.25-ounce bottle for $0.39; and Bisquick, 40-ounce box for $0.49.
Featured films:
At Aloha Theatre: “Wild Season” starring Marie Du Toit and Gert Vandenberg; Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune in “Hell In The Pacific;” and “Shock Troops” with Bruno Cremer and Jean Claude Brialy.
At Kona Theatre: Fumie Kashiyama in “No Greater Love Than This;” Walt Disney’s “The One &Only Genuine, Original Family Band” plus “Brighty of Grand Canyon;” and Charlton Heston in “Planet of the Apes.” For adults only, “My Third Wife George” and “Strange Rampage.”