Question: O‘ahu Cemetery has failed miserably to consistently upkeep the smaller cemetery across the street (from the main section). … The sign for the cemetery was on the ground for over a month. … This is not any way to honor our family members who are buried there.
Answer: Kokua Line followed up with O‘ahu Cemetery & Crematory and heard back from President Scott Power. Members of the grounds crew noticed May 11 that the sign was down, and it was remounted the next day, he said. “Our staff does not believe that the sign was down for such a long period of time (as the reader asserted), however, we are not certain how long it may have been down,” he said.
As for that section’s overall appearance, Power said a little rain will help a lot.
“We do not have an irrigation system at the cemetery and therefore rely on the Nuuanu rainfall to keep the cemetery green,” he said. “The recent drought condition is taking its toll and the grass is quite brown at the moment. Once the rains return the grass will rebound.”
O‘ahu Cemetery, on Nuuanu Avenue between Judd Street and Robinson Lane, is Hawaii’s oldest public cemetery and serves as the final resting place for notable Honolulu residents dating back to 1844.
The sign to which you referred is on a pillar at the front entrance to a smaller section of the cemetery that lies across Nuuanu Avenue from the main acreage; the larger section includes the chapel and crematorium.
Q: Is there a fee to apply for rental assistance (from the city)?
A: No, so don’t fall for a scam that is apparently spreading online. The city’s Department of Community Services posted a warning on its website last week. It said that the Rental Assistance Branch had received numerous calls from people who quoted Internet posts claiming that the city’s waiting list for rental assistance was open and that people could pay $15 to submit an application. Neither is true. The waiting list remains closed. When it does reopen, there won’t be a fee to apply. “Please be aware that no government agency charges a fee to apply for rental assistance,” the warning states. Newspaper and municipal website announcements will be published when the waiting list reopens, according to the city.
Memorial Day lei
Some 38,000 flower lei are needed to place on veterans’ graves at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific for Memorial Day. Donations of fresh flower or ti leaf lei may be dropped off at many Oahu parks and fire stations Friday; lei should measure 20 to 24 inches before tying.
See the list of drop-off sites at 808ne.ws/1NIdSet or call the city Department of Parks and Recreation at 768-3003 for more information.
The public also is invited to a community lei-making event Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Honolulu Hale courtyard. All lei-making supplies will be provided, and the Royal Hawaiian Band Glee Club will provide entertainment.
Mahalo
We the people who reside on Alaeloa Street on the Waialae Nui Ridge are grateful to the firemen who saved our homes from burning this past Wednesday and again Thursday, when the fire reignited due to hot spots and smoldering kiawe trees. They worked long hours hiking through the terrain of the conservation land below to put out the fire. I also send a big mahalo to the fire helicopter that dropped many buckets of water to help the firefighters on the ground. … We were happy to get some heavy rain on Thursday evening to put out the stubborn hot spots. — Mahalo, grateful residents
Mahalo
We would like to thank and express our appreciation to the person who found my wife’s state ID and department store cards, which she had dropped at Kalakaua Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard. The person took the time to return the cards to our address on Lime Street. I hope that the person reads this note and knows that his/her concern really shows what Hawaii is all about. — Mahalo, an appreciative couple
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
