1 kiddie pool reopens, 1 needs part

One of two public wading pools closed last week so the city could check for drain covers posing a risk to swimmers was reopened Monday.

City parks officials confirmed that the drain cover at the Kalihi Valley District Park kiddie pool was not on a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall list issued because faulty drain covers pose suction hazards, including entrapment of hair and body parts.

The Kaneohe District Park kiddie pool remains closed because its drain cover was on the list.

The recalled drain cover was manufactured by Hayward Manufacturing Co., said Parks Director Gary Cabato. The manufacturer will mail a replacement part to the department. The local supplier, Island Pool and Spa Supply, will install it at the Kaneohe kiddie pool at no cost.

Cabato hopes the problem will be resolved by Monday. The city’s Summer Fun program began Wednesday, another reason Cabato wanted to resolve the problem quickly.

None of the city’s other pools is affected by the recall.

Soldier hurt in accident

A 44-year-old Hawaii Army National Guard artillery soldier was critically injured Tuesday night at Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii when the Humvee he was driving flipped over on Saddle Road trying to avoid hitting a goat.

The soldier from Ewa Beach, whose name was not released, is at the Queen’s Medical Center after he was flown to Honolulu from the North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea. He was last reported in critical condition. He is assigned to the 29th Brigade Combat Team’s B Battery, 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery.

The soldier was driving west on Old Saddle Road about 6:40 p.m. when he swerved to avoid a goat that had jumped on the road, Hawaii County police said. The vehicle ran off the right side of the road, up an embankment. The driver was ejected from the vehicle and pinned underneath, police said.

2 men deny killing goat

Two 29-year-old Kauai men pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning in Kauai District Court to felony charges for killing Kaitlyn, a pregnant dairy goat at Kauai Kunana Dairy.

Ryan Winchell and Russell Hoomanawanui of Kilauea have been charged with first-degree criminal property damage, second-degree theft, theft of livestock and second-degree cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor. If convicted, the two men face a maximum of 10 years in prison.

The two are both free on bail, $8,100 for Winchell and $8,000 for Hoomanawanui. Winchell asked the court to allow him to travel to Nevada while awaiting a preliminary hearing set for 1 p.m. June 30 before District Judge Trudy Senda. Senda said she would allow Winchell to leave Hawaii if he surrenders his passport and agrees to an increase in bail to $40,000.

Seminar about floods

Homeowners can get information about the National Flood Insurance Program and learn whether they are in a flood zone at a workshop Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at Mission Memorial Auditorium, 550 S. King St. The workshop is presented by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Engineering Division.