From COVID To Spittle Bugs To Possibly Re-Starting Waimea’s Christmas Parade, WCA To Host Virtual Town Meeting Thurs., July 1, 2021
Waimea Community Association’s 5:30-7 p.m., Thurs., July 1, 2021 Virtual Town Meeting will be a wide-ranging look at the continuing impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on community safety and wellbeing, including exciting news about getting a “yellow light” to possibly restart the community’s popular Twilight Christmas Parade come Sat., Dec. 4.
“Our meeting highlight might well be that Mayor Mitch Roth giving a “yellow light” to possibly re-start Waimea’s now 60-year-old Twilight Christmas Parade,” said WCA President James Hustace. Sharing the news will be long-time parade chair and WCA board member Lani Olsen Chong and Mayor Roth’s Director of Research & Development Doug Adams, who will explain the situation and also how the parade route will be quite different.
As usual, WCA's virtual town meeting will be streamed “live” on WCA’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/WaimeaCommunityAssociation) and everyone is welcome to log on. The meeting will be saved to Facebook and YouTube for on-demand viewing thereafter.
Also included in the town meeting agenda will be the first of an ongoing salute to the community’s pandemic heroes. The first honoree will be Maile Lincoln, volunteer lead of the Annunciation Community Food Pantry. “But it’s not about me,” insists Maile. “It’s really about many volunteers from across the community who, along with donors, farmers and ranchers, were willing to do whatever it took to feed the community for that past 14 months when massive layoffs and business closures created widespread food insecurity.”
"There are many heroes walking amongst us,” she said. In addition to the many volunteers that support the Annunciation Community Food Pantry on Tuesdays, there's Kokua Christian Ministries Wednesday warm lunch and groceries-to-go at New Hope, the Thursday drive-thru Community Meal @ St. James, Waimea Grab 'N Go on Fridays and Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders Umeki 'Ai on Saturdays.
“These amazing community friends risked COVID exposure for most of the past 56 weeks to plan, shop, glean, transport, chop, cook, pack, distribute and track food distributions weekly to help care for their neighbors. It gives me 'chicken skin' thinking about it!"
Lincoln will share a glimpse of the most recent addition to addressing the community’s pandemic food insecurity, called KAUKAU 4 KEIKI. It's a 7-week summer food distribution for about 550 children by volunteers with the Annunciation Food Pantry, Kokua Christian Ministries, New Hope-Waimea, Kailapa Community Association, and New Hope-Waikoloa. The program provides five days of breakfasts and lunches for children and is part of an islandwide initiative serving more than 4,000 children by using federal USDA funding. It's coordinated by Vibrant Hawai’i working with volunteer groups around the island including the still new Waimea Resilience Hub, plus many helping hands including Friends of the Future, Hawai’i Food Alliance, Waimea Chef Jayson Kanekoa and local farmers.
Also on the virtual town meeting agenda will be information about a hands-on workshop at Tutu's House to provide tools and resources to support resume writing and job hunting by Lori Ferrin of Waimea. Then, to update viewers on County matters will be Waimea Council member Dr. Tim Richards and Waimea Community Policing representatives. (Council member Heather Kimball is unable to participate this month.)
Taking a brief break from COVID news, Carolyn Wong and Elena Dosamantes with The Kohala Center will discuss a destructive new invasive, the Two- Lined Spittle Bug (TLSB), which was discovered in Kona in late 2016 and has since caused widespread die-off of pasture land. The ladies will share the work TKC is doing about TSLB and other invasives and how the community can assist by reporting new pest sightings by going to 643pest.org, or calling the invasive pest hotline: 643-PEST.
For more info about the meeting or community association, email WCA President James Hustace at WaimeaCommunityAssociation@gmail.com.