WORK WEAR & BOOTS
FOR HARD WORKERS
‘Cautiously optimistic’
STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST HOPEFUL MUMPS OUTBREAK SLOWING
Senate to vote
on funding
request for
Kona sheriff ’s
lieutenant
ISLAND’S LONE SHERIFF
LIEUTENANT OPPOSES
MEASURE IN TESTIMONY
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
Whipping Hele-On into shape
NEW TRANSIT ADMINISTRATOR HITS THE GROUND RUNNING
The most immediate
goal here is to get
those buses running.
MARIA “SOLE” ARANGUIZ
TRANSIT ADMINISTRATOR
Transit Administrator Maria “Sole” Aranguiz at her new office in the Hilo baseyard
on Thursday. NANCY COOK LAUER/WEST HAWAII TODAY
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
Mobile spay-neuter clinic moving ahead
HIHS PLANS TO HAVE VEHICLE UP AND RUNNING THIS SUMMER
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HILO — Hawaii’s state epidemiologist
says she’s hopeful
the mumps outbreak might be
slowing.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,”
said Dr. Sarah Park during a
telephone interview, cautioning
that, “if it’s a decline, it’s very
slow.”
The state’s tally of confirmed
mumps cases
reached 902 as
of March 1, the
anniversary of
the outbreak’s
first diagnosis,
including 719
people in the
City and County
of Honolulu, 131 in Hawaii
County, 49 in Kauai County and
three in Maui County.
State officials continue to
plead with residents to get an
“outbreak dose” of the vaccine
against measles, mumps and
rubella.
Park urged residents ages
10-60 to get vaccinated, stay
away from crowds if they haven’t
gotten an outbreak dose yet
and to stay home from school or
work if they’re sick. Health officials
ask anyone with suspected
mumps to “self isolate.”
“This is definitely not a time
to think, ‘Oh, we’ve turned a
corner so we don’t have to think
about all these preventions,’”
Park said.
Mumps is caused by a virus.
The disease was so common,
before vaccine became available,
that anyone born before 1957 is
presumed immune from childhood
exposure. Mumps usually
is mild, especially in children.
But possible complications
include deafness; swelling of the
brain,testicles or ovaries; and
meningitis, an infection of the
spinal cord and brain covering.
Fertility problems later in life
also can occur, Park said.
Twenty-six people affected
by mumps in the state during
the current outbreak have
experienced complications,
according to the state.
Symptoms can last two to
four weeks. But some people
get few or no symptoms, so
mumps can be spread by people
who don’t even know they’re
sick. According to the state,
mumps symptoms can include
fever, headache, muscle aches,
tiredness, loss of appetite and
swollen, tender salivary glands
under the ears or along the jawline
on one or both sides.
Building immunity, once vaccinated,
takes about two weeks.
The state has been lucky, Park
said, that only three people,
so far, have been hospitalized
BY JEFF HANSEL
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
Park
SEE MUMPS PAGE 6A
KAILUA-KONA — Hawaii
Island’s lone sheriff ’s lieutenant
publicly opposed a bill that would
allot money to fund a second
lieutenant on the island, despite
strong support for the measure by
his superiors.
Lt. Patrick K. Kawai submitted
written testimony as a private
citizen before the Ways and
Means committee on Friday,
which detailed his reasons why he
was against Senate Bill 3079. If
approved, the bill would establish
funding for a full-time permanent
lieutenant position in Kona. The
funding would cover the initial
six-month hiring period and the
one-time costs for the purchase
of position-related uniforms and
equipment.
“The creation of a Sheriff
Lieutenant position for Kona is
not only fiscally irresponsible, it
is not needed, and redundant,”
Kawai stated. “The creation of an
additional Sheriff Sergeant position
for Kona would be more
appropriate, effective, and efficient
to carry out the mission of
the Sheriff Division.”
The measure will go for a final
reading in the Senate today. If
passed, it will move to the House.
Lorraine Inouye, D-Hilo,
Hamakua, Waimea, Waikoloa
and Kona, is sponsor of SB 3079.
On Monday, she said the legislation
had been met with no opposition
in the Senate and expects it
to pass its third reading.
Inouye added she was disappointed
and surprised by Kawai’s
SEE TESTIMONY PAGE 6A
HILO — The Hawaii Island Humane
Society plans to have a mobile spay
and neuter clinic up and running this
summer.
Fund Development Director Whitney
Sickels said Monday that HIHS — a
nonprofit that contracts with the county
for animal control services — has
raised $120,000 to purchase the vehicle,
surpassing its original $100,000
fundraising goal. The $100,000 will
be matched by the Laurence H. Dorcy
Hawaiian Foundation.
“We had a few $5,000 donations, but
really the bulk of them were from the
community,” Sickels said. “The overwhelming
response and generosity from
the community was inspiring because it
really shows the community realizes we
have this (pet) overpopulation problem
BY KIRSTEN JOHNSON
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
Example of how the HIHS mobile spay
and neuter clinic vehicle might appear.
SEE CLINIC PAGE 5A IMAGE COURTESY HIHS/SPECIAL TO WEST HAWAII TODAY
HILO — Maria “Sole”
Aranguiz is aware the county’s
bus system has hit a few
bumps in the road.
She knows about the
$500,000 mass transit
study that takes a long-term
approach to improving the
system. She’s heard there is
a legislative audit on cash
management just about to
be completed. She’s mindful
the new $11.3 million
Hilo baseyard is slowly
coming together more than
a year behind schedule.
But, from the moment
Aranguiz planted her black
work boots on the Big
Island and took over the
Mass Transit Agency about
two weeks ago, she’s been
focused on first things first.
“The most immediate
goal here is to get those
buses running,” Aranguiz
said Thursday during an
interview with West Hawaii
Today at the new baseyard.
SEE TRANSIT PAGE 5A
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