Despite a few brief showers and cool temperatures, hundreds of families lined the streets of downtown Hilo Saturday evening for the Lehua Jaycees Christmas Parade, themed as “Christmas in Paradise”. The event drew a large crowd which pitched tents to protect themselves from the showers or carried umbrellas for the light rain that made Christmas floats glisten in the mist.
Fire rescue teams rescued three Kailua-Kona men who became sisoriented by fog and rain Friday while they were hiking in the Kahaualea Natural Reserve Area on the slopes of Kilauea Volcano. According to a fire department press release, the men took a midmorning hike in bright, clear weather to a trail leading to the Pu’u O’o vent. The weather suddenly changed about two miles into the hike and the men called 9-1-1 when they realized they were lost. A county helicopter did an aerial search while a ground rescue team went up the trail and found the men.
In the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Football semi-finals on Friday, Kauai beat HPA 28-14.
In Pac West Women’s Basketall, the UH-Hilo Vulcan Wahine split a pair of games over the weekend. On Friday, BYU-Hawaii downed the Vulcan Wahine, 68-59. On Saturday, the 20 point performance of Hina Kimitete led the Vulcan Wahine over Chaminade by a score of 97-83. The Vulcan Wahine are now 2-4 for the season.
In Pac West Men’s Basketball action, Bryan Ngo scored 21 points Friday night to lead the Vulcan men to a 95-88 win over Western New Mexico State. The men’s basketball team goes to 2-2 for the season, while the Mustangs fall to 1-3.
In WAC football action, the UH-Manoa Warriors slipped past Navy, 24-17 Saturday to push their record to 6-6. UH-Manoa can secure a spot in the hometown Hawaii Bowl if it can win against Wisconsin.
In the BIIF cheerleading championships, Waiakea High School took first place with Kamehameha-Hawaii taking second place. Both teams will go to Oahu for the state cheerleading championships on December 13th.
The County of Hawaii Planning Department will be accepting applications for the Hamakua Community Development Plan Steering Committee until Friday, December 11th. The Steering Committee is a volunteer, community- based working committee that supports the Hamakua CDP to ensure that the process meaningfully involves diverse stakeholders and that the CDP reflects community values, vision, and priorities. Application packets can be downloaded at www.hamakuacdp.info.