Blast at church sends worker to hospital

A small electrical explosion at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church on Kaheka Street late Thursday morning caused about $10,000 in damage and sent a male church employee to a hospital because of possible smoke inhalation.

An electrical malfunction in an underground service line caused the 11:20 a.m. blast in the church’s switch panel, damaging the church workshop and storage room and an adjacent bathroom, said Capt. Terry Seelig, Fire Department spokesman.

Robber takes cash from store in Holualoa

Hawaii County police are asking for the public’s help in finding a man who robbed a store Thursday in Holualoa.

The man entered Keauhou Store at about 1 p.m. and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register, police said. The cashier, a 34-year-old woman, was slightly injured but declined medical treatment. The man drove away, heading north on Highway 180 in a white Jeep Wrangler with a brown hard top, a spare tire in the rear and a winch in the front.

Police described the man as in his mid-20s to mid-30s, 150 to 170 pounds, dark-complexioned, unshaven and with kinky dark hair. He wore a green T-shirt, blue jeans, slippers and a white cap with a dark brim.