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Hawaii County Clerk <br /> counciltestimony a co.hawaii.hi.us <br /> <br /> To: Hawaii County Council <br /> The Honorable Pete Hoffmann, Chair <br /> The Honorable Dominic Yagong, Vice-Chair <br /> From: Marie Dolores (Dolly) Strazar <br /> Date: Wednesday, 7 November 2007 <br /> 1:45 PM <br /> Hilo Council Chamber <br /> Subject: Support of Council Bitl 176 Draft 2 <br /> Establishing a Hawai i County <br /> Cultural Resources Commission <br /> I am writing as a resident of Hawaii County, as a member of an informal taskforce group <br /> on historic preservation and as a representative of an informal Hawai' i Island <br /> organization, the Hawai' i Island Alliance of Historical and Cultural Organizations, in <br /> support of Council Bill 176, Draft 2, establishing a Hawai' i County Cultural Resources <br /> Commission. <br /> I am a professional historian and archivist by trade and have been involved with <br /> preservation in Hawaii since 1975. I served as a member of the State Historic Places <br /> Review Board for 8 years in the 1980s and 1990s and in state government as the head of <br /> the statewide history and humanities program. <br /> In all of these capacities I have come to appreciate the wealth of historical and cultural <br /> resources that we have on the Island of Hawaii and, in the years that I have lived in <br /> Hawaii, have also seen the tremendous loss of such resources on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and <br /> Lanai. From several points of view, cultural, educational and economic, it has become <br /> critical to place cultural and historic preservation in the limelight in the County of <br /> Hawai'i...not only by means of the nice words we say about it, but also with a structure in <br /> our local government that puts emphasis on the importance of the unique treasures and <br /> communities that we still have on this island. Studies show that by 2015 only 43% of the <br /> residents of Hawai' i will be local born. One part of that fact means that there will be that <br /> many fewer individuals who get the story of our place passed down to them through their <br /> families and social networks. It is, therefore, important to at least have reminders of that <br /> past, that made Hawai' i what it is today, still in our presence, our present, and part of our <br /> future. It is also important to be able to keep Hawaii unique for ourselves as well as for <br /> our future visitors. Many of them come today because we are unique and it would be <br /> nice to have them keep coming, indeed even helping us to preserve what is unique about <br /> us and our land. ~ ~ <br /> Comnp Roy <br /> Ref. Ta !rase unoi 1 <br /> j(~f. Date NOV 7 2007 <br /> <br />