Wreaths placed on graves at West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery
The Civil Air Patrol Cadets of the Kona Composite Squadron and others participated in the 10th year of supporting Wreaths Across America at the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery on Saturday.
This is a tradition of placing wreaths on the headstones of our nation’s fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery and hundreds of other veterans’ cemeteries across the country during the holidays. The mission — to remember, honor, and teach about the sacrifices made by our veterans — has captured the hearts and minds of many communities across the country. Attendance was necessarily limited due to COVID safety protocols.
The Kona Squadron meets from 6 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday evening. Anyone interested in more information should contact Commander, Lt. Col. Brad Williams via email to ydrwill@gmail.com or by calling (210) 617-6245.
Sanctuary announces modified Ocean Count program in 2021
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary will be running a modified Ocean Count program for 2021.
Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, the sanctuary is running the program without the normal participation of volunteers. Instead, each site will be monitored by trained site leaders working individually or as a couple. The 2021 Ocean Counts are scheduled for the following Saturdays: Jan. 30, Feb. 27 and March 27.
“Although we will miss all our enthusiastic volunteers helping us out with the counts we hope to return to our normal Ocean Count program in 2022,” said Allen Tom, sanctuary superintendent.
For more information on the Ocean Count project, visit https://oceancount.org.
During the modified Ocean Count in 2021, the public is able to participate in “Sanctuary Whale Watchers,” a separate whale sighting project to help the sanctuary locate the whales this season. It allows anyone to submit a humpback whale sighting in Hawaiian waters whenever and/or wherever they see a humpback whale. This program is separate from Ocean Count.
Ocean Count promotes public awareness about humpback whales, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, and shore-based whale watching opportunities. Site leaders tally humpback whale sightings and document the animals’ surface behavior during the survey, which provides a snapshot of humpback whales activity from the shorelines of Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii Island. Ocean Count is supported by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.