Question: Regarding Summer Fun, do the junior leaders get paid?
Answer: No, these are volunteer positions for teenagers 13 to 17, who assist younger children enrolled in Oahu’s popular seasonal day camp, said Nathan Serota, a spokesperson for Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation, which runs the program.
A teenager who wants to be a junior leader should contact the park where they want to volunteer, he said. Many return to parks where they enjoyed Summer Fun as younger keiki. Junior leaders are supervised by adults hired to staff the summer program, which is scheduled to run at full capacity this summer on weekdays from July 13 through July 28, excluding the Fourth of July. The adults are paid, and there are many positions to fill. For details about the paying jobs, go to 808ne.ws/dprsummerhire.
Q: What is the age cutoff for Summer Fun?
A: Participants must be 6 years old before Aug. 1 and not older than 13 by July 28, according to the Parks and Rec website. Junior leaders must be 13 years old before Aug. 1 and no older than 17 by July 28.
Summer Fun registration is scheduled to begin next month. The registration fee will be $25 per child, plus an additional activity fee of no more than $100 for sites that offer excursions; combined fees will not exceed $125 per child, according to Parks and Rec. The registration fee is for the keiki participants; junior leaders don’t pay to volunteer.
For more information, go to bit.ly/summerfunoahu. Or go to the Parks and Rec homepage at honolulu.gov/parks and choose Summer Fun from the “Activities & Programs” pull-down menu.
About 10,000 children are expected to participate this summer.
Q: How can the Likelike closures be done when the work’s not finished?
A: Closures are postponed, not finished, according to the state Department of Transportation, which expects closures to resume in June and last about three months from that point. It posted an update on its website Tuesday, notifying Oahu motorists “that the Likelike Highway Reconstruction project — from Emmeline Place to the Wilson Tunnel — is temporarily on hold due to the necessary equipment and materials being allocated instead to the Runway 8L Widening, Phase 2 project at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.”
“During the transition, road closures for the reconstruction project will not be scheduled on Likelike Highway and traffic will be open in both directions nightly. Remaining construction for the Likelike Highway project includes the installation of the asphalt concrete top lift layer in the Honolulu-bound and Kaneohe-bound directions, as well as shoulder base reconstruction in the Kaneohe-bound direction. Work will resume in June 2023 and will take approximately three months, to be completed by August 2023, weather permitting.”
The notice says the DOT will notify the public in advance when road closures will resume on the Likelike Highway.
Auwe
Auwe to those people who throw chicken bones and garbage all over Kapiolani Park. My dog knows there are chicken bones and tries to find and eat them. Most of the time we are quick to pry them out of his mouth (yes, he has had “leave it” training), but last week he ate a rotten chicken bone and got seriously ill, and it cost us over $1,000 at the vet. We also had to stop his cancer drugs due to his severe gastroenteritis. Please put your food and garbage waste inside the many trash receptacles at the park. — Thank you, M.M.
Mahalo
Many thanks to the teenagers who came to my aid when I felt woozy during my morning walk. They brought me water and one even offered to carry me home! That was not necessary but it was sweet. I was fine after a brief rest. — Petite pedestrian
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
