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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1136.001 2014-2016 Endorsement of Bill 251:Renames Pahala Ballfield:Laurence J.Capellas Ballfield Mr Chairman and members of Hawaii County Council,my name is James Yamaki: I am a 1958 graduate of Pahala High &Elementary School. I come before you heartily endorsing Bill 251 which renames the Pahala Ballfield after Laurence J.Capellas. His outstanding service and exceptional deeds in Ka'u,in addition to his life-long public service record make this man very deserving of receiving this special place of honor in.Ka'u. It will serve as a reminder of his contributions to the people in Ka'u and. . the rest of Hawaii. I have for the record included a"Thank You Message to the Hawaii County Council"for you to read at your convenience. You had a long and busy day today and I do not wish to have it prolonged. Thank you very much. O+-•-_:. x;67 =4,4 CP NP ) Comm. No. Ref. To: .Y k(,,U'A Ref. Date NOV 0 2 2016 Thank You Message to Hawaii County Council Mr. Chairman and members of Hawaii County Council, my name is James Yamaki. I am a 1958 graduate of Pahala High &Elementary School. Laurence J. Capellas was our school principal during my entire twelve years of schooling. He instilled in us lasting values and provided us a wide range of opportunities to grow and become useful members of society. I was in band-and played the tenor saxophone in a school and church orchestra that was made possible when he purchased surplus band instruments from the military during my 8th grade year. Also during my 8th grade year,through his efforts, I was on Ka'u all-star Pony League team that earned a free trip to Oahu to represent our island. That was my first airplane trip off-island and it was awesome. I was Student Body Government Treasurer during my junior year and one of my duties was to sell tickets at sporting events. Mr. Capellas treated me like an equal. One of his favorite questions was asking me how much money was collected at the events. In my senior year, I was on a junior varsity track mile and two mile relay team that set two records thatlasted until about 1973. Inside the track field at.Hilo.High School,I.will never forget he was running and cheering us on, "Come on, come on". It did not matter whether you were on the varsity or the junior varsity team, he treated us equally. Mr.Capellas is my role model. His legacy for me is to treat people equally, no matter who they are;encourage them to do their best,whatever their abilities;work hard and never give up. Finally, he was a man of faith. His Catholic upbringing molded him to be what he was. He had good values. He was tough and he had character. He inspired us. On behalf of our supporters, it is with a deep sense of gratitude that we thank the Hawaii County Council for honoring Laurence J. Capellas by naming the Pahala Ballfield after him and by placing his portrait prominently in a display case at the entrance of the Ka'u District Gym and Shelter with a-list of his accomplishments in Ka'u and a County proclamation citing his life-long outstanding public service record for everyone to see. Naming a public facility in Ka'u after this great man will fulfill our goal. This was our sole objective. Our mission in Ka'u is accomplished. The County Council's action will provide closure for us. who felt that Laurence J.Capellas deserves a high place of honor in Ka'u. I would like to thank County Council woman Maile David for seeing our cause and continuing the ground work laid out by her predecessor,previous Council woman Brenda Ford who painstakingly on our behalf,by her own individual effort,worked hard to-try to name the district gym and shelter after Laurence J.Capellas and Robert Herkes. It took us eleven years to get to the point where we are today. The idea for naming a public facility in Ka'u after Mr. Capellas originated on the mainland from a Ka'u High School alumnus living in Los Angeles by the name of Stanley Yamada shortly after Mr.Capellas passed away in October 2005 at the age of.93. Stanley and his sister Elaine Yamada Agcaoili,who were the chief movers of this undertaking, passed away in 2014 and 2015, respectively. They were in contact with Puna-Ka'u Councilman Bob Jacobsen at the time and they asked me to be the liaison here in Hilo. I consented to their request, not knowing the long stalemate I was going to encounter. I thought it was going-to be short and quick because I had inside track Ka'u High School Principal Clayton Chunwho was renting my house in Pahala. I talked to him and he told me, "Why don't you folks just put up a plaque?" I replied, "No, Mr. Capellas is deserving of a higher honor". Mr.Chun went along and promised to give us his support, but shortly afterwards, he was replaced. In the meantime,we had to decide on a facility. Italked to a Hakalau,guy at the State Building. where I worked about our problem. He told me the Hakalau gym is named after his dad, Eugene S. Capellas. Bingo!We found the public facility in Pahala. We name the Pahala gym after his son, Laurence J. Capellas. His father has one in his name; now his son has one in his in his own name. We set up a petition to name the Pahala gym after Mr. Capellas andsecured several hundred names on the petition. It was circulated on this island,Oahu and on the mainland. I submitted the petition to the school and had to wait for an answer. The Department of Education verdict was the State has a policy not to name facilities after people,so our efforts grinded to a sudden halt. I was informed by e-mail through Councilman Bob Jacobsen's office. We were very disappointed. After a long period of inactivity,the drive to name a public facility after Mr.Capellas was revived. A group of Pahala residents led by Robert Barba, Dolly Kalua and Lynn Hamilton got together to name the Ka'u gym and shelter after Laurence J.Capellas after the facility was approved for construction. I was informed informally and took the initiative to write up another petition backed by a committee headed by community leader Robert Gomes.The petition was circulated and Wendell Kaehuaea,at the time owner of KAHU radio in Pahala and,a supporter,submitted the petition in person to Council woman Brenda Ford's office in Kona. Representative Robert Herkes name was added later. Council woman Brenda Ford took up our cause and worked hard on our behalf to namethe district gym and shelter after Robert Herkes and Laurence J.Capellas only to be faced by a roadblock. The title to the land on which the gym and shelter were standing had to be conveyed to the County from the State before any name could be placed on the facility. Council woman Ford left office with the State still retaining title to the land. She left it for her successor to continue her work. Council woman Maile David came into office with a promise to help. She not only helped,she came through with flying colors. I was pleasantly surprised when I received an e-mail message from Lynn Hamilton to the proposal to name the Pahala Ballfield after Laurence J. Capellas. I realize our dream may finally come true. It is very appropriate because he loved baseball,football and track and. field.She saw through us what we really were working for. We thank again Council woman Maile David for her keen insight,former Council woman Brenda Ford for her earnest efforts and the rest of the Hawaii County Council for your interest to listen to us.You knew where we were coming from and carrying out our wishes. Laurence J.Capellas deserves to receive a high place of honor in Ka'u. He made a huge impact in the community and through his vision and actions left a legacy for generations to come. The Pahala Ballfield with his name and the display case at the entrance of the district gym containing his portrait, list of Ka'u accomplishments and a County proclamation citing his outstanding public service record will serve as a reminder of his contributions to the people of Ka'u and the rest of Hawaii: