HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0666.004 2006-2008 September 13, 2007
mo. Hawaii County Council
Committee on Planning
From: Judith Kirkendall, Ph.D.
I wish to support Councilwocaan's Emily 1`Iaeole's Rill 17(/
Commucation •5517'. f~(o
(nLl~
In my forty-sever. years residence in Hawaii, I have been
invo).ved in developing programs the four major interests
as elucidated in Councilwoman Naeol~e's Rill.
As Director of the nationwide Interenational Institute in
Honolu'_u,a servics center for inmic~rantg to the
State, I founded the "Language Ran];" a free community trans-
lation service (Aribic to Zulu) matching foreign language
speakers in Hawaii ~o needs of courts, police document
tran.,lati.on, travel needs e.nd others ~ a bi-lingua
Ha.taaii.en resident to respond to a language problem.
I served for tcao terms on the Nuuanu-Dowsett tdeighborhood
Hoard which considered and supported many problens relative
to the historic Cluuanu area.
Since moainq to Hilo twenty years ago, I have served as two-
term president of the Hilo Outdoor Circle which saved the lot
adjacent to the East Hataaii Cultural Center from being made
into a parking lot. Instead,. the Outdoor Circle planted it
with F?awaiian plants, a area which has become- a mecca for
*_ouris*_s and residents alike to enjoy an alfresco lunch or
simply a restful. period among verdan*_ plants.
During these tweet}• years in Hilo,I founded the East Hawaii
Historical Society, a non-profit to identify and protect his-
toric sites in Salt .Hawaii. I also devised and conducted tours
of East Hawaii for this group.
I also designed and conducted historic tours in East Hawaii
erhile I was a Roard member of the EHCC. I received a life-
time award f_or my work with that oraanize.tion.
At the L•~nan Pluseum in 2006-7, r designed and conducted *_hree
historic tours in East Hawaii. Focussed on Architecture,
the tours dealt with"Stone Structures'~(inc]_udi_ng I:awaiian
stone buildings);°Post-Contact Domestic Structures
(3awaii Island has the greatest number of such houses in the
State but that are quic'cly bsa~lost); end'Commercrut
Buildings.
~plgfllt NOu~„ ~ G,
Rai. Ta f+~w~N G
Rsi. Dete P 8 2007
page 2
Testimony on Bi111731/Cummunication 657
Each o` those tours wore full day tours involving the use of
e°pert resource persons anc?~~readino, materials. Each tour attrac-
ted a maximum number of participants, both tourists and residents.
This semester, I am teaching a class at the University of Hawaii
College of Continuing 4~„lana#~crt a.~~ Community
Service which will include a ,nrr~aus~et~ conducted tour to a
recently esta"bli.shed coffee and tea mill which is hosting
the class to new and innovative economic resources in the East
Hawaii area.
As yot; can appreciate from my remarks, I have long hzd a deep
interest importance of Hawaii 's historic resource5to her
development and *_o her people. I have continually searcheJ,
for ways to which I can contribute in the quest.
[7e have a responsibility to act as soon as possible. It is
incumbent that the Hawaii County Council a.ct to consider this
Bill before it and to make ma'.ce a decision on protecting our
unique historical resources.
Thant you,
Judith Kirkendall, Ph.D.
1310 6lailuku Drive
E3ilo, HI 96720
Tel: 935-£3286