Ohai St. Fair Fuels Plan Of Safety, Unity
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Thanks to an initiative by Central Oahu businesses,community groups and law enforcement, the first-ever Ohai Street Fair went off without a hitch Feb. 6, when Wahiawa streets between Olive Avenue and Ohai Place were shut down for a full-blown block party designed to build a stronger bond among all area residents.
“Wahiawa is a wonderful community, and the fair was a celebration of that community spirit,“said Cindy Bauer, director of operations for event sponsor Surfing The Nations.
According to Officer Wendy Attabay with HPD’s District 2 Community Policing Team, the idea of a community-building festival began in October during a meeting of the Wahiawa Community & Business Association.
“We try to do a hands-on approach in solving problems in our own area, and we wanted to use this fair as a way to show ourselves - make ourselves better known - in our community,“she explained.“But what ended up happening was that a lot of the community gave more than we thought they would. It turned out better than what we had expected.”
In addition to the entertainment, games, bouncers, safety demonstrations and ono food (all free from donors), a major highlight for the 1,000-plus attendees was the distribution of canned food by Leilehua High Letterman Club.
Members collected more than 1,600 cans of food in December - enough to feed 200 needy Ohai Street families - and gave the items to the nonprofit STN.Leilehua’s band and cheerleaders also spent the weekend assisting with the event. As a mahalo to the students, all remaining funds raised from the day will be donated to LHS Project Grad.
“We were overwhelmed by the fantastic turnout and the positive response of so many who enjoyed the fun activities for all ages at the fair,” Bauer added. “The Ohai Street Fair was successful in bringing our community together to create new bonds among all ages and provide a positive,drug-free day of fun and fellowship.”
Attabay says right now the community policing team is riding the fair’s wave of success and continuing efforts to better the more-troubled areas of Wahiawa. “Right now what we’re working on is reviving the neighborhood watch and citizens’patrol,“she reported.“We’re going to try to bring awareness to the community so they know to call, so we know what’s going on.”
To join the watch or patrols, call Attabay at 621-0785, ext. 269. Volunteers will receive proper training and equipment to assist with nightly neighborhood patrols.
“The next proposed area is Whitmore Village,“Attabay, a former Wahiawa resident, added.“We’ve gotten feedback that people are very happy with that.”
The first Whitmore citizens’ patrol meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 25) on Hoihoi Avenue. Attabay asks that only residents of the area who are interested in helping prevent neighborhood crimes attend.
For details, call her at the the above phone number.
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