Garden Island food bank’s director exits
Judith Lenthall, executive director of the Kauai Independent Food Bank for the past 16 years, left the job last week. Tom Lodico, spokesman for the food bank’s board of directors, declined to provide details, saying it is the organization’s policy not to discuss personnel matters.
The board placed Lenthall on paid administrative leave in late September. A few members met with her on her last day, Nov. 17.
Lenthall could not be reached for comment.
A search for a new executive director has begun. Assistant Executive Director Norma Barton will continue to serve as acting executive director.
An independent investigation the board initiated in late September is ongoing, Lodico said. He declined to say what prompted the investigation but said it had nothing to do with Lenthall or her leaving the organization.
In October the state Department of Human Services informed Barton that it would not renew a contract for fiscal year 2012 to provide outreach services for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Outreach Program. The contract ended Sept. 30.
The department made its decision almost three weeks after the Office of Community Services recommended that Hawaii Foodbank’s Kauai Branch receive federal Emergency Food Assistance Program support instead of Kauai Independent. Distribution costs and food supply were among the reasons for the change.
Haiku woman wins national dressage grant
A Haiku, Maui, resident has been selected as the 2011 winner of a grant promoting dressage, an equestrian discipline in which horses are trained to perform sequences of precise movements.
Viva Medina, a veteran horsewoman and board member of the Hawaii State Dressage Society, is the recipient of the Ruth Arvanette Memorial Fund Grant from the United States Dressage Federation.
The Hawaii State Dressage Society said that the grant, of an undisclosed amount, will help Medina attend the U.S. Dressage Federation’s national convention in San Diego, Nov. 29-Dec. 3.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about dressage and I intend to bring back this knowledge to Maui and share with our organization members," Medina said in a news release Wednesday.
For information on the Hawaii State Dressage Society, email hsdsmaui@gmail.com.
People in Hana invited to apply for state IDs
State personnel will be at the Hana Council Services Office on Dec. 1 to process applications for state identification cards.
The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the office at 5101 Uakea Road, No. A-1, in Hana, Maui.
The fee is $15, $10 for people 65 years and older, payable in cash only. State ID cards will be processed and mailed to applicants within 10 business days.
Recorded information on application requirements is available at 587-3111 and at www.stateid.hawaii.gov. Questions can be directed to 587-3112. Application forms are available on the website and at the office in Hana.
