Reporters for the Day

First Place Winner, Kaohele Ritte Camara

By KAOHELE RITTE

Archie Kalepa a husband and father risks his life everyday to save victims of the ocean. Kalepa, 43, first started swimming when he was 7. He was a part of the swim team. He lived in Honolulu when he was younger and was inspired by Eddie Aikau. "One day I like be just like that man," he said. Aikau was one of the life guards at a place where Kalepa went to surf. He graduated from Lahainaluna High School and currently lives in Lahaina. He started lifeguarding in the summer of '82. His first save was in '84, and it was an African American male at Kama'ole III. The man got caught in the rip tide, and Kalepa had to pull him from the water. He had no pulse, and CPR was performed on the victim. The victim survived. One of the most dramatic rescues was when Kalepa had to save a family. The mother and daughter fell in the water. The father went in to save them. Kalepa, knowing the current, saved the mother and daughter and waited for the father to drift to him. When Kalepa sees a victim he says "It is like a Chinese fire drill,"where everything is a spur of the moment. Life and death can happen in a matter of seconds or minutes. When Kalepa saves someone he feels good inside. "When you save someone . . . you really, really feel good about it. It doesn't matter how much it pays," he said. Kalepa is a professional surfer. He surfed the biggest barrel, which was 60 feet, at "Jaws" in East Maui. That record has stood for the last two years. He was a part of the group that started the junior lifeguarding in 1993. He is still a lifeguard but spends most of his time in the office. He is now the ocean safety supervisor for Maui County. Every year in the State of Hawai'i, an average of 10,000 people are rescued with aid of a helicopter, jet ski, or just a life tube. Maui was the first lifeguarding system to be part of the 911 rescue call system. One of Kalepa's goals is to make Maui the best lifeguarding system in the world. Some of Kalepa's tips when swiming is to never swim alone. Make sure you know how to swim first!

Second Place Winner, Estrella Madani

BY ESTRELLA MADANI

Findings show that Hawaii's recent earthquake actually assisted scientists at Haleakala. Although the earthquakes provided problems for the telescopes on Mauna Kea on the Big Island, the outcome on Haleakala was a different story, stated Mike Maberry, Assistant Director at the Institute for Astronomy in UH. The earthquakes that hit the islands in mid- October this past year shook the nests of the Hawaiian dark rumped petrels; endangered animals who nest on Haleakala. Many community members opposed to the construction of the ATST (Advanced Technology Solar Telescope) believed that the environmental impact would devastate these endangered birds. As the earthquake struck that October morning, a surveillance camera near the nest of the birds in Haleakala recorded a remarkable finding; the strong tremors didn't interfere with the petrels. "The birds actually remained safe throughout the whole ordeal!" exclaimed Mike Maberry. According to Mike, the construction of the controversial new telescope has a weaker interference level than the earthquake that seemed to leave the native birds completely unshaken. The ATST, a revolutionary new piece of technology worth $161 million, is a 4-meter telescope that will be used on Earth to probe the sun. Mike Maberry explained how it will be able to measure the magnetic currents flowing through the sun and predict an increase in solar activity. In order to collect funding to start construction on this 92-foot telescope, an Environmental Impact Statement must be completed. Many native Hawaiians have expressed a number of environmental and cultural concerns, including the endangerment of the Hawaiian dark rumped petrels. This finding about the petrels will most likely become another step forward into the direction of completing the Environmental impact statement, then building and having a fully operational ATST by the projected date of 2014.