Sailboat, crew fine; broken phone isn’t
Crew members of a 44-boat sailboat en route to California from Hawaii stopped communicating with friends Friday because of a broken satellite phone, not because they were in distress.
The sailboat Siesta, which left Honolulu on Thursday, was about 494 miles northeast of the islands Sunday when it was located by a nearby vessel.
The Kristen Picer, a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship, responded to a marine broadcast seeking the whereabouts of the boat, the Coast Guard said. The Siesta’s crew reported no problems.
Friends of the Siesta’s crew contacted the Coast Guard on Saturday after not hearing from the crew members since Friday night. There are four sailors on the boat, which is bound for Long Beach, Calif.
Man helps boy attacked by dog
An 8-year-old Kauai boy is recovering from an attack by a dog and credits his neighbor for saving him.
The Garden Island reported that Jeremiah Cruz of Wailua underwent surgery Thursday at Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihue.
Cruz was riding his bicycle with two friends when Sampson, a 100-pound Rottweiler, got loose outside of his home at Makana Street.
"I was riding past Sampson’s house, and I wasn’t really paying attention to him," Jeremiah recalled from his hospital bed. "He jumped the fence, and then the next thing I know, he was right next to my leg. Then he bit my leg and pulled me off my bike. Then he got my arm and I was yelling for help."
Waldomar Contrades was on the phone when he heard the boy’s cries.
"I just ran over," Contrades said. "Even though I was there yelling and screaming, the dog was still going after him." He used the bike to block the animal.
Recycling urged for phone books
Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages is encouraging neighbor island residents to recycle telephone books as part of its "Think Yellow, Go Green" campaign. Schools on Hawaii island, Kauai, Lanai, Maui and Molokai will compete to collect the most of the outdated directories.
Schools can win cash prizes for their participation.
This year’s program will run through the end of the month. Drop-off locations can be found at ThinkYellowGoGreen.com.
