SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
Gloria Ilagan, left, and Paul Gouveia design masks to express their voices for the National Unmasking Brain Injury
project, Ilagan as a supporter and Gouveia as a survivor. PHOTOS BY LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII TODAY
HILO — The application period
began Wednesday for the Department
of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Pilot
Program, opening the door for farmers
throughout the state to grow the crop.
The program will accept applications
until June 30, and will prove whether
a commercial hemp industry can thrive
in Hawaii.
Program Coordinator Shelley Choy
said the program has received considerable
interest throughout the state, but
added only time can tell whether that
interest translates into applications. So
far, no applications have been filed, Choy
said, although each application requires
a significant amount of information in
order to be approved.
In additional to personal information
such as names and addresses, applicants
are required to provide the names of any
contractors involved in their proposed
hemp operation, a map of the proposed
growing area, locations where hemp
would be stored or sold and detailed
outlines of what hemp research would
be conducted on the crop and what
best management practices would be
used. Applicants also must request the
amount of seed, in pounds, they require
for their operation.
If approved, participants must comply
with Department of Agriculture requirements
to submit regular reports and
cooperate with department inspections
and sampling surveys. Failure to do so
could lead to the revocation of the participant’s
license.
Choy also noted applicants must submit
a non-refundable $500 application
fee, as well as an annual $250 licensing
fee. Applicants also must pay for additional
testing of hemp seed after they
KAILUA-KONA — In his second bike
accident, Jim Gustin was hit by a car
driving 55 miles per hour and shattered
the vehicle’s windshield with his head.
It’s no surprise a serious traumatic brain
injury (TBI) followed.
Jim had to relearn how to eat, dress,
brush his teeth, and even speak and
walk.
Nearly three and a half years later, Jim
demonstrated dramatic recovery during
last week’s Brain Injury Support Group
meeting at Hawaiian Rehabilitation
Services.
The attendees, in partnership with the
state Department of Health, took part
in international project, “Unmasking
Brain Injury,” in which TBI survivors
create masks to express their experiences
living with the condition. The project
aims to shine light on an often invisible
disability.
“I’m going to start out with dark down
here, because after the TBI my mind was
blank,” said Jim, gesturing to a sketched
plan of his mask.
“Then it’s going to grow gray, then it’s
going to get lighter until it joins a rainbow
… because that’s where I’m at. I’m
able to see a broad spectrum of things,
where as (before) over here it’s kind of a
narrow spectrum … and this is my web
of confusion,” Jim pointed to a printed
pattern of a spider’s web.
Man charged in
connection with
slew of break-ins
POLICE SAY RODNEY KAHELE
JR. HIT FIVE BUSINESSES,
ONE RESIDENCE
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
KAILUA-KONA — A 19-year-old
man was arrested on suspicion of theft
and burglary charges in connection to
a slew of break-ins at businesses and a
residence within the past week, police
confirmed today.
Hawaii police officers took the Kona
man into custody on
Wednesday after he
allegedly attempted to
acquire the contents of
a cash vault at a business
on Olowalu Street
in the Kaloko Light
Industrial Park, according
to a Hawaii Police
Department press
release.
Officials say the suspect, later identified
as Rodney Kahele Jr., had gained
access to a secure area of the business
that contained the vault. However, he
was unable to remove any cash from
within after being confronted by an
employee. At that point, police say,
Kahele fled the area on foot.
That same day, Kahele was taken
into custody at a nearby business while
detectives from the department’s Area
II Criminal Investigation Section continued
the investigation, the release
states.
During the course of their investigation,
detectives concluded Kahele
was also responsible for break-ins at
four area businesses and a residence on
Kaiminani Drive.
The first reported break-in occurred
on April 11 on Kahakai Road. According
to the release, a safe containing cash and
a cash register drawer were removed —
neither of which have been recovered.
Software
problems hold up
building permits
BY TOM CALLIS
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
HILO — Hawaii County has not been
accepting new building permit applications
since Monday due to a software
snafu.
Public Works spokesman Barett
Otani said staff are unable to access
software used to process permit applications
after a glitch and are relying on
an older computer system to try to work
through the backlog.
It was unclear Friday when the software
issue will be fixed.
A timeline might be known at the
start of next week but, as for now,
no new applications will be accepted
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Excellence, Our Vision Exceeding Your Expectations
INSIDE
A HALT TO
NUKES AND
MISSILES
North Korea
puts programs
on hiatus
PAGE 3A
▼
ALL TIED UP
HPA evens BIIF
D-II semifinal
series against
Konawaena
PAGE 1B
▼
HI 83 LO 73 WEATHER, PAGE 5A
VOL. 50, NO. 111 16 PAGES
Kahele
SEE BREAK-INS PAGE 5A
SEE PERMITS PAGE 6A
Unmasking the emotional toll
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY GROUP ART PROJECT LETS SURVIVORS TELL THEIR JOURNEY
BY GITA HOWARD
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ghoward@westhawaiitoday.com
SEE MASKS PAGE 8A
INDUSTRIAL HEMP PILOT PROGRAM BEGINS
STATE BEGINS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
BY MICHAEL BRESTOVANSKY
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
This 2016 photo provided by the
North Dakota Department of
Agriculture shows industrial hemp
growing in a field in North Dakota’s
LaMoure County. NORTH DAKOTA
SEE HEMP PAGE 6A DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE/VIA AP
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