This past Saturday after a very beautiful yet tiring drive from Pahoa to the incredible campus of HPA. I was treated with so many warm smiles and some really incredible boys and girls wrestling matches. This new wrestling season has started out very promising although some changes really struck me.
See last year Pahoa was the second place or second best wrestling program on the island with well over 30 plus boys and girls. When Pahoa kids walked in the gym last year most knew it and heads would turn. This years team was expected to bring home its first big island wrestling team title for Pahoa. This seasons Pahoa team was going to be such an inspiration for all small wrestling programs that is until the DOE made the call to move all keiki on one side of Puna to Keaau, the few left behind could continue education at Pahoa. This DOE decision was a dagger to this Pahoa wrestling team, which now has only 6-7 kids and 5-7 coaches.
The few kids who wore Green Pahoa jerseys this past saturday wrestled strong yet you could see something was missing. Many other matches that were won this past saturday were won by an ex-pahoa student who are now wrestling for teams like Hilo and keaau. After they win you see these kids go up to the Pahoa coaches and parents for praise and or comfort. Great to see the kids that left do so well yet makes one think what might have been had they not been forced to leave so early in the lava evacuation process. DOE's early lava made decisions are clearly evident every Saturday morning in the hearts of many local keiki, coaches, and parents alike.
Posts: 1,217
Threads: 18
Joined: Jan 2014
You live on an active volcano dude. DOE has liability concerns.
Posts: 1,168
Threads: 39
Joined: Jun 2005
Is it really constructive to be a Monday-morning quarterback? As lavalava implies, if the DOE hadn't taken action and the lava came, they'd have been damned for not acting soon enough.
Personally I'm thankful we erred on the side of caution, that everyone's okay, and all the kids are in school doing constructive things WHEREVER they ended up. Maybe I'm silly for being thankful, but I see no value in second-guessing the county. It is what it is. Why not deal with it in a constructive way?
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
Posts: 1,219
Threads: 52
Joined: Dec 2014
Gypsy is expressing the pain and loss a lot of people are feeling at having their community split in two. I don't think he deserves the snarking for that, maybe try and show a little compassion for how both the kids and families who got shipped off to Keaau and the ones left behind feel.
Posts: 1,168
Threads: 39
Joined: Jun 2005
No snark intended. I'm feeling the same pain, as I'm part of this community too. Guess I'm tired of folks second-guessing everything the County does. (Maybe they deserve some compassion too?) Obviously not everyone agrees with me, but the county has exceeded my expectations considering the circumstances. If gypsy had left off the parting shot at the County I'd have been more empathetic.
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
Probably not cheap having to pay rent in an area like hilo while still paying your mortgage in south of the flow like Opihikao. All the while your kids have to adjust to new schools and friends. As you say though better safe and in school somewhere other than here in Pahoa. We got our Pahoa road back, we even might have our transfer station back soon, not much talk about when or if the kids from Ainaloa and Paradise park will be able to return to Pahoa schools.
Right now Pahoa kids are competing without an athletic director or health aid. Sometimes Without transportation or participation numbers to stay healthy, and strong to compete. Without an A.D to look after the better interests of the keiki athletes its hard not to second guess the county or DOE decisions. Being part of or watching a dying program given no choices during this impending disaster that still has not happened yet has been difficult.
P.S. having no athletic director has been better than the one Pahoa paid for the last 20 years, so still an upgrade with less keiki money missing or racial unethical cheap hiring and management of funds. JMO.
Also would be nice to see some added community events held at the hardly used new Tomo gym in place of our athletic events that have been cancelled. Maybe Bingo, scrabble or puna pono meetings, anything but dances or functions for the keiki. We spent millions to build it so how about letting the keiki use it a bit differently in the future. The drives are far in support of our kids and rewarding for many reasons yet can leave a little deeper hole in the wallet and fewer parents making the trip to see their keiki.
Posts: 195
Threads: 2
Joined: Apr 2014
It has been very tough on Pahoa kids, IMO. Those that got moved and those that stayed. DOE liability and fear, yes, but... They could have included kids, parents and teachers in the decisions, and had a better outcome. Someone in Honolulu decided this without talking to those affected. Keonopoko shouldn't have been closed, and Pahoa kids should have had a choice.
Posts: 1,168
Threads: 39
Joined: Jun 2005
I sympathize with the kids! It's a tough enough time in life even without the distractions of a lava flow.
My take is that lessons can be learned from any situation, so why not leverage the opportunity since we're stuck with it anyway? As a parent who raised two solid kids, take this for what it's worth: as much as possible, focus your children on what they can be thankful for, and what is within their control to improve. Acknowledge the bad stuff, feel the pain, learn lessons and solve problems. But teach them to move on and grow, not dwell. I've learned so many lessons in the past half year and I'm just an old fart! Imagine the valuable, character-building lessons these kids can learn from this experience.
(btw, I'm a big supporter of our local Charter school so completely understand and sympathize with the DOE issues.)
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
Posts: 527
Threads: 84
Joined: Feb 2012
What are the future plans for the kids and schools if the lava stay stall will they move kids back next fall?
jrw
jrw
Posts: 400
Threads: 7
Joined: May 2014
Parental participation crucial in times like these.
Un Mojado Sin Licencia
Un Mojado Sin Licencia
