THE HIGH STREET JOURNAL The Official Newsletter of the County of Maui Volume VI - Issue XI November 2012 Outstanding employees honored By GERI ONAGA Department of Personnel Services Employees selected for Public Safety), Melissa recognition by their depart- Platiro, (Department of ments were honored at this Housing & Human Con- year’s Annual Employee Rec- cerns), Jayne Kinoshita, ognition Events held recently (Department of Man- on Maui, Moloka`i and Lāna`i agement), Richard Ped, where invitees enjoyed ono (Department of Parks and food, entertainment, and the Recreation), Gina Flam- company and fellowship of mer, (Department of fellow employees. Planning), Merry Greer Prince, (Department of Moloka’i employees and retir- Police), Rebecca Becker, ees gathered at the Mitchell (Department of the Pauole Community Center Prosecuting Attorney,) on October 17, where nomi- Jeffery Kele, (Depart- nees for Employee of the Year ment of Public Works), Beverly Kalilikane, (Depart- Diane Yogi, (Department ment of Parks & Recreation), of Transportation), and Jamie Winfrey, (Department Tammy Yeh, (Department of Police), Lokahi Herrod, Councilmembers Riki Hokama and Gladys Baisa, of Water Supply.) Council Chair Danny Mateo, and Mayor Alan Ara- (Department of Fire & Public kawa honor Moloka`i Employee of the Year Rachelle Safety), Rachelle Ing-Kupau, Managers of the Year for (Department of Housing & fiscal year 2012 included Human Concerns), and David Nanod, (Depart- Mark Escudero (Department of Finance), James ment of Public Works) were lauded for their out- Kimo Kino (Department of Fire & Public Safety), standing performance. Rach- Deborah Arendale (De- elle Ing-Kupau was awarded partment of Housing & the overall award for Moloka’i Human Concerns), Lance Employee of the Year. Retirees Tokushima (Department Eugene Santiago & Susan of Parks & Recreation), McPherson, (Department of Jamie Adams (Depart- Police), and Walter Mendes & ment of Personnel Ser- Jeffrey Pidot, (Department of vices), Aaron Shinmoto Fire & Public Safety) were also (Department of Planning), recognized for their contribu- Ricky Uedoi (Department tions to public service. of Police), Kay Tesoro (Department of the Pros- Maui Employees, Managers ecuting Attorney), Shelby and Teams of the Year and Gomes, (Department of those who retired during fiscal Public Works) and Warren year 2012 were recognized at a Council Chair Mateo, Councilmember Hokama and Sardinha, (Department of Mayor Arakawa honor Lana`i Employee of the Year luncheon held on October 19, Destry Eugenio. Water Supply.) at the Maui Tropical Plantation. Employees of the Year includ- The Team of the Year ed Robert Isagawa, (Department of Environmen- Incentive Award provides departments the op- tal Management), Faye Okazaki, (Department of portunity to recognize a group of employees who Finance), Gavin Fujioka, (Department of Fire & have contributed to county government by virtue of work performance and efficiency, thereby sustaining pride in work performance and fostering excellence in public service. Fis- cal year 2012 teams included Finance’s Real Property As- sessment & Property Department of Housing & Human Concerns’ Maui County Office Technical Team, Fire on Aging Staff was selected as as the Department’s Team of the & Public Safety’s Year. Health and Safety Division, Housing Department of Finance’s Manager & Human Concerns’ of the Year Mark Escudero. Maui County Of- fice on Aging Staff, Parks & Recreation’s Beautification Sec- tion/Maintenance Division, Planning’s reWailuku Team, Police’s Special As- Maui Police Department’s Special Assignment to signment to ILEADS ILEADS Team was honored as the Department’s Team, Prosecuting Team of the Year. Attorney’s Felony Screening Support Staff, and Public Works’ Engineering Department of Fire & Public Safety’s Team & Water Sup- Manager of the Year James Kimo ply’s Loihi/CC & B Kino. Team. Lāna`i employ- ees gathered for their awards Department of Public Works’ Engineering Team was honored as ceremony on the Department’s Team of the Year. October 23, at the Lāna`i Senior Center. Con- gratulations to Destry Eugenio from the Depart- ment of Public Works, Verna Department of Water Supply’s Manager of Del Rosario- the Year Warren Sardinha. Department of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Felony Sutton, from Screening Support Staff was honored as the De- the Department partment’s Team of the Year. of Parks & Recre- ation, and Ryan Ehlers with the Department of Police who were the nominees for Lāna`i Employee of the Year. Des- try Eugenio re- ceived the honor of being chosen Department of Parks & Recreation’s Beautification Section/ Lāna`i’s overall Planning Department’s Manager of the Year Maintenance Division was honored as the Department’s Team winner. Aaron Shinmoto of the Year. 2 Department of Finance’s Team of the Year: Department of the Prosecuting Attorney’s The Real Property Assessment & Property Manager of the Year Kay Tesoro Technical Team Department of Public Works’ Manager of the Year Shelby Gomes Department of Fire & Public Safety’s Team Department of Housing & Human of the Year: Health and Safety Division Concerns’ Manager of the Year Deborah Arendale Department of Water Supply’s Team of the Year: Loihi/CC & B Team Department of Personnel Services’ Manager of the Year Department of Public Works’ Jamie Adams Employee of the Year Jeffery Kele Department of Fire & Public Safety’s Employee of the Year Gavin Fujioka Prosecuting Attorney J.D. Honor Maui Police Department’s receives certificate on behalf of the Manager of the Year Department of Prosecuting Attor- Ricky Uedoi ney’s Employee of the Year Rebecca Department of Parks & Recreation’s Becker. Employee of the Year Richard Ped 3 Department of Housing & Human Department of the Finance’s Concerns Employee of the Year Department of Management’s Employee of the Year Faye Okazaki Melissa Platiro Employee of the Year Jayne Kinoshita Maui Police Department’s Department of Transportation’s Planning Department’s Employee of the Year Merry Greer Prince Employee of the Year Employee of the Year Gina Flammer Diane Yogi Maui Police Department’s Ryan Ehlers, Parks & Recreation’s Verna Del Rosario-Sutton, and Public Works’ Destry Eugenio were the nomi- Department of Water Supply’s nees for Lāna`i Employee of the Year. Employee of the Year Tammy Yeh (not pictured) 4 Message from the Mayor Aloha everyone, A woman came to visit the Mayor’s Office on October 25, the Thursday preceding the hurricane warning that we all experi- enced recently. She was visiting from New Mexico and was here on vacation when she said God sent her a message. She said that there would be another tsunami soon, and that I needed to tell everyone to pray in order to avoid disaster. I was in a meeting and did not get to speak to her personally, but my staff assured her that the county does everything in our power to warn people of any natural or man-made disasters. After speaking to her for a while, they thanked her for her time and wished her a pleasant stay for the remainder of her trip. I am not here to say whether she is wrong or right or whether I believe that God gave her a message. But I am here to say that we have had two tsunami warnings in two years and that we need to remain vigilant and that we need to stay prepared. And if you aren’t prepared, now is a good time to get started. Because if there is ever a better time to start preparing for the threat of disaster, it is right after one takes place. That’s because everything should be fresh on your mind right now as far as what went wrong and what went right for you and your family during this latest tsunami scare. Please indulge me by asking your- self these questions: - Did you have an emergency kit ready or did you have to scramble to put one together? - Did you already know whether you were in a tsunami inundation zone or did you have to look it up in the phone book again? - If you were in an inundation zone, did you designate somewhere to go to and plan on the best way to get there, or were you calling family and friends at the last minute? You get the picture. Look at what’s happening on the East Coast. Almost a hundred dead, millions without power and en- tire towns ripped apart. I’ve heard people say out there that these sirens ruined a good Halloween party for them, or that the evacuation was a waste of time. That attitude is not only wrong, but dangerous. We cannot afford to be complacent if we hear of an- other natural disaster heading our way. Take the time to prepare now. The prayers are up to you. Aloha and God Bless. 5 M.D. Minute I wanted to express my gratitude to the many employees that came out to prepare, protect and secure our community on October 27th. It’s a call that none of us want to get, especially at the start of a Saturday night, but it’s one that was answered with speed, professionalism and commitment. The most remarkable feat was that we were able to activate our critical staff, secure critical infrastructure and begin moving people to safety in a little under 2 hours. I personally witnessed the incredible teamwork and partnership that occurred between all agencies that were involved from government to private sector to non-profits and industry associations. We were fortunate that the tsunami was not as severe as it potentially could have been. Regardless, we were prepared and ready to respond. I recently had an opportunity to speak to a group of young adults and the discussion turned to the events of October 27th. The message that I continuously expressed to them was one of prepared- ness and heading warnings that come from Civil Defense.