BILLY OLDS, a retired Army colonel who has been working as a private contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan going on seven years, is coming home Jan. 28. He and other family members will be arriving to see his daughter Janeen Olds’ investiture Feb. 1 as a new Kamehameha Schools trustee. She will succeed Nainoa Thompson. Attending the ceremony with Billy will be his wife, Merriam, and son Dr. Scott Olds, both coming from Las Vegas, and another son, Lt. Col. Duke Olds, just back from Iraq, and his wife, Kendra. Among other members of the ohana attending will be singer Nalani Olds Napoleon.

TIM LEE, a local boy who made good in the hotel biz, was home for the holidays "to spend quality time" with his parents, Harriet and John Lee, who are in their 80s. "We were poor with six children but rich with family love and care," Tim said. The hard times are a thing of the past for the 1976 graduate of McKinley High. He is the general manager of the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, a former residence for Marilyn Monroe. Tim worked 10 years worldwide for Bob Burns and Georg Rafael of Regent International Hotels. He calls them his mentors. After his years with Regent, Tim was with Halekulani Corp. and went on to become resort manager of the Kahala Hotel & Resort before taking the Bel-Air post.

THE UGLY STORY about medical waste from the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill washing up on Leeward Oahu beaches was aired Tuesday by HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News. The beaches and where they are located were not identified. This story is not what our tourism industry needs.

CONGRATULATIONS to Miss Hawaii Jalee Fuselier, who placed an impressive third in last weekend’s Miss America pageant in Las Vegas. There was another Hawaii connection in this year’s competition: Miss Arizona Kathryn Bulkley, who also made it to the top 10, is the daughter of 1981 Miss Hawaii Pamela Offer Bulkley, a 1976 La Pietra graduate. Pam’s sister, Lori Offer Komer and Lori’s son, Ben, jointly run Leahi Swim School. No wonder Kathryn’s platform was Drowning Prevention Awareness.

NANCY GOROSPE, a fountain dispenser at Western Resort’s Moana Surfrider, certainly deserves a pat on the back for being named top lodging employee of the year last Friday at the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association’s awards luncheon. But what is a fountain dispenser? OK, investigation reveals it is the union term for a food and beverage cashier. Nancy rings it up at the snack bar at the bar pool.