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January 18, 2006 - MidWeek The Islander

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Kailua may fight city hall, but it also helps run it. Resident Jeff Coelho has moved from the managing director’s office to head the customer services dept. and also become Mayor Mufi Hannemann‘s executive adviser and personal representative. (He’s tall but not that tall!) Mufi also has appointed resident Joan Manke to executive secretary of the Neighborhood Commission ... There’s another story behind Kahuku Fire Station’s first-prize award in the HFD decorating contest. They beat Kaneohe station, for one thing, points out Kahuku fire-fighter Mike Waggoner. Second, David Lundquist and staff at Hardware Hawaii donated all the lights for the display. Third, the crew’s $300 prize (three Foodland gift certificates) joined the pass-forward movement.

The station gave one certificate to the produce manager at the Laie Foodland. “His house in Kalihi burned down recently,” Mike explained, “and we wanted to help out” ... Speaking of food, owner Rick Sanders throws a grand opening at 10 a.m. today (Jan. 18) for Fundelicious Creations, the newest purveyor of local snacks, sweet and salty, for Kailua at 509 Kawainui St. ... Kaneohe’s Benny Tran and Kailua’s Talitha Richards are principal nominees of U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye to the Merchant Marine Academy. Talitha, a senior at Sacred Hearts Academy, is also on Inouye’s competitive alternate list for the Naval Academy; and Benny (a Damien senior) the same for West Point ... Benny is the name of the month, apparently. Dr. Benjamin Young, a Kailua psychiatrist and head of the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence at the UH medical school, was inducted last week, along with a dozen alumni and teachers, into the Roosevelt High School Inaugural Hall of Fame. Ben is a member of the Class of 1956. Also honored by the Roughriders: MidWeek columnist and Kaaawa native Larry Price ... Hawaii Army National Guard Capt. Chris Slavens once sang and danced in plays at Castle High School. Now he’s coming home from the war theater in Iraq with a Bronze Star medal for his idea of equipping humvees with undercarriage armor. The husband and father from Kaneohe also spent years helping direct programs at the Guard’s Youth Challenge Academy in Kalaeloa ... Kahaluu resident Nancy Usui has found the perfect lure to keep her keiki away from the boob tube: She’s launching Big Yellow Box home sales in Hawaii, which has everything to do with Crayola crayons and creativity. It all comes in a box that’s a tad bigger than an actual box of crayons (286-6648) ...

On a larger scale, Kailua’s David Kemble gets to create - and play with - volcanoes and other wonders of the world every day in his job as senior exhibit designer at Bishop Museum ... Laie’s William “Uncle Bill” Wallace III, founder of Hawaiian studies at BYU-Hawaii, will be guest speaker at the Friends of the Library of Hawaii annual meeting Feb. 20 at the Hale Koa, where he will showcase the book Kuola and Iosepa. Praised by the Friends, the bilingual storybook is a product of the Ho’ulu Hou literacy project for Koolauloa ... St. John Vianney students are getting safer. The school finally found and trained a new crossing guard, and she’s Ricki Titherington, a grandmother at the school. Slow down, Keolu Drive drivers, or granny’s gonna getcha ... Coach Reed Olaso and his staff are proud of the Le Jardin Bulldogs, who are champions of last month’s Walter Kandelin basketball tournament. According to assistant coach Alan Akina’s colorful blow-by-blow account, the boys finished off three ILH teams in a row to win the Intermediate III Division crown ... Kailua’s Young Adult librarian, Cynthia Frazer, was a finalist for 2005 Public Librarian of the Year for her dedication, enthusiasm and commitment to the library and her job. (She’s also the staff computer whiz.) Cynthia’s prize came with a cash award to the library, which is currently on a roll. The busy branch was also named Healthy Workplace of 2005 (government category) by the Hawaii Psychological Association. That award meant lunch with the HPA in Waikiki, plus an interview with two psychologists. “I was nervous,” admits head librarian Sandy Akana. But she must have passed the test