MILITARY TRAINING

MAKUA ESSENTIAL FOR ARMY SECURITY NEEDS

I do not normally engage in letters to the editor but felt professionally obligated after reading recent letters about training in Makua Valley. It is true that Makua Valley has important artifacts and protected species. They are there because the Army has protected them and will continue to do so.

The Army leads all other organizations in expending resources on cultural and environmental protection. We are working very hard to facilitate access to cultural sites and complete the environmental impact statement.

It is accurate to say the Army has not been able to train in Makua, but not accurate to say it is not needed for training.

I have a professional and moral obligation to ensure our soldiers are trained for combat.

We have made up for lost training at Makua by extending the training on the Big Island, the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., and in Kuwait before deployment into Iraq.

This has come at greater expense to the taxpayer and more time away from home for our active, Guard and Reserve soldiers.

Also, this is possible because the deployment cycle is well known and all our forces are not on island concurrently.

There will come a time when fewer soldiers and Marines are required in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hawai'i-based soldiers and Marines will have to maintain a high level of readiness for deployment anywhere in the Pacific or the world.

Makua Valley and our other training areas will be essential to meet future security requirements.

It is my desire as the senior Army commander on island to meet my professional and legal obligations while working with all concerned groups to protect the environment and cultural sites. I trust the people of Hawai'i will support their soldiers and Marines in this important effort.

EDUCATION

TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON FOOTBALL IN SCHOOLS

Since the Board of Education is looking to cut $1 million from its budget for public schools, permit me to ask this question and comment on it. Isn't this the time to put the emphasis on the essentials of education?

With more than 30 years' experience in education, I feel too much attention is given to varsity football in high school.

Varsity football is the most expensive sport, the most demanding sport physically, and it can claim the most damaging and permanent injuries of any sport.

Varsity football interferes too much with learning and teaching in the classroom. Some teachers may feel pressured into giving an athlete an undeserved grade just so the athlete can qualify for Friday night's game.

Family life is interrupted with early practices, late practices, holiday practices, vacation training and road trips.

The goals and objectives of this sport, although noble, can be achieved in other sports.

A sport, such as varsity football, that is extremely demanding on the adolescent student needs to be evaluated as far as its expense and place in the high school curriculum.

If budgets are to be cut, then the Board of Education must take a good look at the reckless tackling, the pounding and the head butting and then do some evaluation and soul searching.

Why do schools exist? It surely is not because we want to produce and create excellent football players to feed our universities.

ATHLETICS MATTER, FULLY FUND SCHOOL PROGRAMS

If $1.2 million is too much of an amount for the state to fully fund its public high school athletics programs (JV and varsity) then why not cut all sports?

I guess it was of greater importance to spend $4 million on a (two-mile stretch) highway beautification project in Kane'ohe than invest in the future of our children through athletics.

There are so many examples of athletes from Hawai'i high school that are positive role models and mentors today, not only professional athletes but also the everyday working man and woman who participated in high school. Find a way!

RAIL DEBATE

KEY DIFFERENCES IN CHARLOTTE, O'AHU RAIL

Your July 6 front-page headline, "13,000 a day riding new Charlotte rail," spells out some interesting facts that I hope people can pick out.

First, Charlotte's train is truly a light-rail system, running like a street car on the ground versus a true heavy-rail line such as is proposed for Honolulu.

This distinction is huge and key in comparison, as the 'Oahu version will never run on ground and is a system closer in comparison to BART in San Francisco.

Second, in population density Charlotte is still very rural in comparison to O'ahu.

Where are riders supposed to park when they want to catch the train to town? There are no planned parking structures or lots large enough to accommodate riders coming from Kapolei to town and none planned. Does the mayor expect people to walk, catch a bus or taxi to the train?

Lastly, and most importantly, you are presenting a classic apples-and-oranges comparison here. Light rail versus heavy rail, $463 million versus an estimated $3.6 billion), 9.6 miles of on-ground track versus more than 20 miles of elevated sky rail.

We on O'ahu are not faced with some paltry half-billion-dollar proposition; our program will be over $4 billion and to even consider it, we should shove it underground, like BART, so that we don't have to see it and it will not scar the landscape even more.

If you can't do it right, don't do it at all. Let the people who will be paying for it have a say and put it out to vote.

WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE FOR TRANSIT SYSTEM?

Enough! Yet another Leeward resident challenging other areas of O'ahu to experience a week of Leeward traffic.

Guess what? As a resident of Honolulu I just got my property tax bill, and I'd like to invite all Leeward residents to experience my property tax.

I'd also like you to experience the lack of street parking, no garage, noisy neighborhoods where children are not safe to play and the considerably smaller square footage of my house and yard.

The bottom line is all of us made decisions on where to live and grow on O'ahu. All of us sacrificed something when we made that decision, whether that is square footage under roof, parking, money or commute time. Decisions and consequences are a continual part of life. and if you don't like where you are at then change it. Oh wait, you like having a garage for your nice car and a yard for the kids.

Of course I'm for mass transit, but how can I trust the current system? Politicians, unions and developers have shown their cards a long time ago. Where is the financial breakdown for the rail system? How come it will costs a minimum of four times more than other cities? Why has there been a 40 percent average overrun of costs on systems other cities have built? Who will be accountable? Oops, gotta run to work. Real estate is expensive in Honolulu.

LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE ON RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEM

The Stop Rail Now group should have called themselves Let The People Decide. Maybe we would not have all this animosity among the people of Honolulu. The people should be given a choice, and the only way is to put it to a vote. Let the people decide, not the politicians, not the special-interest groups and most of all not the dysfunctional City Council.

I am against building this fixed-rail guideway system because it will be too costly and it will ruin the beauty of O'ahu. The proposal now is to start Phase I between Kapolei and Leeward Community College, with completion sometime in 2012.

If our economic situation worsens to the point where we are not generating enough revenue to fund the completion of the entire system, we would either have to stop or to raise more funds through higher taxes. How many people would ride the rail from Kapolei to LCC? My guess is not very many.

How many people would be willing to pay higher taxes? My guess is not very many.

Although I am against the rail, I would support it if it is the will of the people. So please, let the people decide.

PUBLIC SAFETY

MORE POLICE NEEDED FROM KUALOA TO KAHUKU

Recently, we called 911 when a domestic violence incident happened in our neighborhood.

More than a half hour later and three calls to 911, the officer finally arrived. He said he was on another call and there are only three officers on the beat from Kualoa to Kahuku (this is way too few officers for such a wide area).

In each 911 call, we stated the nature of the emergency. We didn't know if this guy had a weapon or would come after us or what.

It was scary. I sincerely thank the officer who came. However, by the time he came the perpetrator got away — walking, mind you, after terrorizing everybody.

If the victim had a TRO, what good would it have done?

Lack of reliable police protection is one of the reasons women don't pursue restraining orders and stay in violent relationships, and it's why Good Samaritans often must take the law into their own hands.

HPD just isn't always there because they can't be if there's too few of them.

We need to better train and add more police officers to this area so they can respond to emergencies before it's too late.