Waimea Community Association to Host Virtual Town Meeting

Waimea Community Association will host a virtual town meeting on Thursday, Aug. 5, from 5:30 to 7 pm.

The meeting will cover a wide range of topics, beginning with updates on Hawai’i Island’s surging coronavirus case counts and the still-burning wildfire that has scorched about 50,000 acres, leaving destruction in its wake.  

It will provide an overview of back-to-school plans for seven of Waimea’s schools — public, private and public charter. Providing the COVID update will be Christopher Piel, medical director of West Hawai’i Community Health Center. Providing the wildfire update, including recognition of several hundred individuals and organizations that helped with the emergency response, will be Councilman Tim Richards and Hawai’i County Fire Department Battalion Chief Bill Bergin.  

Also joining in with County news will be District 1 Council Member Heather Kimball. School representatives of Waimea Elementary, Waimea Middle, Kanu o Ka ‘Aina, Waimea Country, Parker, HPA and ʻAlo Kēhau o ka ʻAina Mauna (a satellite emersion school of Ke Kula o Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu Iki) will provide an overview of the year ahead, including both COVID safety protocols and academic programming.  

WCA’s virtual town meeting will be streamed “live” on WCA’s Facebook page. Everyone is welcome to attend. The meeting will be saved to Facebook and YouTube for on-demand viewing thereafter. Questions are welcome. Send those to: [email protected].  

Also included in the town meeting agenda will be another salute to the community’s pandemic heroes. This time, Rhonda Bell and the Big Island Giving Tree not-for-profit hui of community volunteers and donors, which have provided extraordinary supports for individuals and families throughout the pandemic, will be honored.

Finally on the virtual town meeting agenda will be an update by Waimea Community Policing representatives, including CPO Justin Cabanting. This will include CPO efforts to support existing neighborhood watch groups and start new groups throughout the South Kohala region with a Neighborhood Watch Start-Up Meeting at 5 pm on Wednesday, Aug. 11 at the open-air Pavilion at St. James Episcopal Church. 

All are invited to this meeting and may email Waimea CPO Cabanting for info: [email protected].

For more information, email WCA President James Hustace at [email protected] or go to www.WaimeaTown.org.