INSIDE
WHAT’S INSIDE
Ironman coverage highlights to
look forward to inside of
West Hawaii Today.
THE HOME TEAM
West Hawaii Today columnist Rani
Henderson catches up with the Big
Island athletes taking on the Ironman
World Championship | Page 1B
IN THEIR SKIVVIES
Ironman athletes — along with
friends, family and the community
— let it all hang loose for a good
cause at the 21st annual running
of the Underpants Run | Page 2B
IT’S ALMOST OVER
Editorial: Ironman therapy, free
of charge: Remember, Sunday
everything is normal again | Page 6A
HOUSTON MAN SHARES JOURNEY OF CHANGE IN ADVANCE OF IRONMAN
BY CAMERON MICULKA
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com
KAILUA-KONA —
Three years ago, when
Marcus Cook’s business
sold, his mentor called
him into his office.
His mentor revealed
he was dying of cancer,
he said, and, with Cook
weighing 500 pounds,
told Cook he was “dying
from your choices.”
At that point, he made
Cook promise to get
healthy.
“‘I would do anything to
be you,’” Cook recalled his
mentor saying. “‘Because
I can’t beat cancer, but I
can beat being fat.’”
It was a tough discussion,
said the Houston
man, but he promised to
make the change.
About 300 pounds,
three marathons, six
half-Ironman races
and one full Ironman
later, Cook on Saturday
will take to the course
along with some of the
A QUESTION
OF ETHICS
Trump defends
Saudi arms
sales despite
missing writer
PAGE 3A
▼
CENTRAL
NERVOUS
DISORDER
Hawaii has yet
to confirm any
cases of Acute
Flaccid Myelitis
PAGE 7A
▼
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
300 POUNDS LATER …
Marcus Cook crosses the finish line at Ironman Texas. PHOTO
COURTESY MARCUS COOK
world’s top athletes for
the 2018 Ironman World
Championship.
His online fundraising
Marcus Cook talks at One Aloha Shave Ice in
Kailua-Kona on Thursday. RICK WINTERS/WEST HAWAII
TODAY
page for the Ironman
Foundation shows that
he’s raised $100,260 for
the foundation. The foundation
named Cook a
member of the Ironman
Foundation Athlete Team,
including his story among
a list of inspiring athletes
from across the globe.
But getting to this point,
Cook said on Thursday,
wasn’t about one moment
of “change.”
“I didn’t start off saying
I was going to be at the
world championship in
Kona,” he said. “I started
off saying, ‘Hey, you know
what? I need to start walking
20 minutes a day.’”
Cook said taking the
approach of changing
“something new every
day” was critical to how he
got to where he is today,
saying too often people try
to make too many changes
all at one time.
Walking for 20 minutes
daily was followed by a
commitment to only drink
water, he said, followed by
cutting out fast food and
so on, each action compounding
the next.
“So once you stack those
components up, you find
yourself in a different
place from where you’re
at,” he said.
And as he progressed,
he said, he recognized the
ripple effects his health
and behaviors had on
those around him.
His youngest son, he
said, lost 80 pounds along
with him and ran his
first marathon at 14. His
oldest son has completed
a half-Ironman and is
training for his first full
Ironman in April.
“And we had none of
that on the radar before
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‘I don’t remember
the moment of
the accident’
Jody Buddemeyer cries during his testimony
Thursday in 3rd Circuit Court. LAURA RUMINSKI/
WEST HAWAII TODAY
FORMER OFFICER
TESTIFIES IN HIS DEFENSE
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
KEALAKEKUA — A former Hawaii Police officer
accused of fatally striking a cyclist testified in 3rd
Circuit Court he didn’t remember the moment the
collision occurred the morning of March 1, 2015.
“I don’t remember the moment of the accident,”
Jody Buddemeyer told the jury Thursday morning. “I
felt a shudder when there was an impact.”
The state has charged Buddemeyer with negligent
homicide, false reporting to law enforcement and
evidence tampering. The former officer is accused
of hitting cyclist Jeffrey Surnow while operating his
subsidized police vehicle on Waikoloa Road.
While on the stand, Buddemeyer testified he didn’t
see a flashing red light affixed to a bike or a cyclist.
“I thought I hit an animal,” he stated.
SEE TRIAL PAGE 9A
Wastewater woes
BIG ISLAND DAIRY WORKING TO
REMEDY ITS RUNOFF PROBLEMS
BY STEPHANIE SALMONS
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
HILO — Big Island Dairy officials say steps are
being taken to reduce the possibility of future wastewater
discharges at the Ookala facility.
Residents of Ookala have complained for several
years about releases of manure-laden water into nearby
gulches that run through or next to the community.
A discharge in May released nearly 2.3 million
gallons of rain and wastewater over three days, and
in August, heavy rain from Hurricane Lane caused
a wastewater pond at the dairy to overflow, sending
more untreated effluent into a nearby gulch.
General manager Steve Manning, who took the
helm in April, said the dairy has “already done a lot to
prevent future spills or future discharges.”
Big Island Dairy has reduced the number of cows
they are milking “significantly” to help maintain the
wastewater lagoon levels, he said.
And the facility no longer has a heifer development
station above the dairy, which means that water or
manure waste is no longer entering the lagoon system.
Removing that waste relieves pressure on the lagoons,
Manning said.
SEE EFFLUENT PAGE 8A
INDEX Annie’s Mailbox . . . . . . 4B Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6B Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5B Nation & World . . . . .3A&4A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1B
HI 85 LO 75 WEATHER, PAGE 5A
VOL. 50, NO. 285 18 PAGES
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