Water agency warns of collection scam
The Honolulu Board of Water Supply is alerting the public about recent reports of individuals impersonating BWS employees and attempting to fraudulently collect money.
On Jan. 15 an impersonator contacted a BWS customer by telephone and claimed that a large sum of money was owed on water bills and had to be paid immediately or service would be shut off.The most recent incident, which occurred Tuesday, involved an individual who approached a resident at his home and tried to collect an alleged outstanding balance owed.
The Board of Water Supply advises anyone approached in either of these ways to call the agency at 748-5030 to confirm the account balance first before making a payment.Additionally, the BWS said all personnel involved in official BWS activities wear official attire with the BWS logo, drive BWS-labeled vehicles and carry an official City and County of Honolulu badge, with the agency identified as the BWS.
Ceremony caps Big Isle hall renovation
A major $753,000 renovation of the Sgt. Rodney J.T. Yano Memorial Hall in Captain Cook was completed Tuesday with a rededication ceremony.
Stan’s Contracting re-roofed three buildings, painted, removed hazardous building materials, replaced floor tiles and made accessibility improvements, Hawaii County officials said in a news release.
Seven months of major renovations began in April, followed by in-house work by Department of Parks and Recreation staff to beautify the exterior of the facility and remodel the kitchen with new accessible counters, cabinets and appliances.
Yano Hall, which hosts a variety of senior programs and is also available for community events, opened in December 1970. It is named after Sgt. 1st Class Rodney James Takahashi Yano, who was born in Kealakekua. He served in the Army’s 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and was killed in action in Vietnam.
A grenade detonated in his helicopter, but before Yano died he threw burning ammunition out of the helicopter to save the rest of his crew. For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Paint cans eyed as cause of fire
A dozen 1-gallon paint cans may have fueled a fire in the garage of a multimillion-dollar North Kohala home Monday, but the flames were quickly extinguished by Hawaii County firefighters.
The fire was reported at 6:23 p.m. Monday after smoke was seen coming from the garage of the home at the 52-4000 block of Akoni Pule Highway.
Firefighters arrived at 6:38 p.m., got the fire under control by 6:50 p.m. and extinguished it by 7 p.m. Damage was contained to the garage and is estimated at $5,000.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Public is warned about filthy bay
A brown-water advisory was issued for Maui’s Honokahua Bay, according to a statement Tuesday afternoon by the state Department of Health’s Clean Water Branch.
The public is advised to stay out of floodwaters and stormwater runoff due to possible overflowing cesspools, sewer manholes, pesticides, animal fecal matter, dead animals, pathogens, chemicals and associated flood debris, according to the release. Turbid water runoff has been known to attract sharks due to possible dead animals being washed into the ocean.
Missing man’s remains found
Remains found Jan. 6 on Hawaii island in an abandoned house in the Fern Acres subdivision have been identified as those of a 47-year-old man reported missing in 2012.
Hawaii island police said Robert Allen Park of Mountain View was reported missing Oct. 22, 2012. His body was identified Monday through dental records. Results of an autopsy conducted Jan. 7 are pending, although police report foul play is not suspected.
