HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Burning candle starts home fire
Advertiser Staff
A fire that destroyed a one-story Waipahu home early Tuesday morning apparently was started by an unattended candle, Honolulu Fire Department officials said yesterday.
All nine family members living in the Leowaena Street home were sleeping at the time, but escaped safely. The family said that three smoke detectors alerted them to get out.
Officials warned of the dangers of leaving burning candles unattended for a long time.
O'AHU
POLICE TARGETING IMPAIRED DRIVERS
The Honolulu Police Department will conduct sobriety checkpoints during the Halloween weekend in an effort to deter alcohol- or drug-impaired drivers.
Checkpoints will be set up at unannounced locations and times from today through Tuesday, police said.
As of Monday, 62 people have died in traffic accidents on O'ahu, compared with 53 during the same period last year.
Thirty-two percent of this year's fatal accidents were alcohol- or drug-related, police said.
Honolulu police will be conducting at least one sobriety checkpoint a week through September 2006.
LEEWARD
SEARCH CONTINUES FOR MISSING MAN
CrimeStoppers and the Honolulu Police Department are asking for the public's help in finding Dustin Gabel who was last seen about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Yokohama Beach.
Gabel, 36, parked his van at the beach and was seen paddling his surfboard into the bay toward Ka'ena Point.
On Wednesday, a lifeguard noticed the van still parked and discovered it was unlocked with the keys still in the ignition.
Coast Guard and Fire Department rescue team members searched for Gabel until about 5 p.m. Wednesday. The search resumed yesterday and included a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and C-130 Hercules aircraft from Barbers Point Air Station and the Cutter Kiska, which searched near Yokohama Bay and 10 miles out into the Kaua'i Channel.
Call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300, Officer Phil Camero at 529-3354, or *CRIME on cellular phones.
Gabel is described as 6 feet tall, 150 pounds, with blonde hair and hazel eyes.
He was wearing light-colored swim shorts and was using a 9-foot, white surfboard.
KAUA'I
POLICE REWARDED FOR HELPING IRS
LIHU'E — The IRS Criminal Investigation Division yesterday presented the Kaua'i Police Department with a check for $93,471 for helping with a local IRS investigation that resulted in a $3.5 million payment to settle an asset forfeiture action.
"We hope the funds that the Kaua'i Police Department is receiving today will help its officers in their police work and we look forward to working with them again in the future," said Douglas A. Bricker, special agent in charge of the IRS Portland (Ore.) Field Office.
MAKIKI
'MOONLIGHT' SHOW TO HELP ENSEMBLE
"Moonlight Serenade," the Hawai'i Pacific University International Vocal Ensemble's fundraising concert, will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at First Presbyterian Church on Ke'eaumoku Street.
Admission to the concert is free, but donations are welcome to help raise $40,000 needed for a June 2006 trip to Vienna and Salzburg, Austria. The ensemble will represent Hawai'i in a musical celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.
COMMUNITY PLAN WORKSHOP SET
A workshop to develop an Ala Moana-Sheridan Community Plan will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Makiki Christian Church, 829 Pensacola St. Sponsored by the city Department of Planning and Permitting, the plan will look at community needs and what changes would help create a more livable urban neighborhood.
Call John Whalen of PlanPacific Inc. at 521-9418, ext. 12.
MANOA
MEDICAL SCHOOL PROGRAM OFFERED
The University of Hawai'i John A. Burns School of Medicine is seeking applicants for the 2006-07 Imi Ho'ola Post-Baccalaureate Program.
Imi Ho'ola is a 12-month program that offers a range of educational experiences that prepare participants for the challenges of medical school. Eligible candidates are those from a disadvantaged background who are highly motivated.
For more information, contact Dr. Nanette Judd at 692-1030, or write to UH-Manoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Imi Ho'ola Post-Baccalaureate Program, 651 Ilalo St. MEB Third Floor, Honolulu, HI 96813.
