Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!

Q uestion : If they move OCCC to the animal quarantine, where will they put the dogs? Keeping rabies from coming in Hawaii is still very important. Also, don’t they know that place is haunted? Read more

Question: If they move OCCC to the animal quarantine, where will they put the dogs? Keeping rabies from coming in Hawaii is still very important. Also, don’t they know that place is haunted?

Answer: The Halawa Valley site that is the preferred location for a new Oahu Community Correctional Center is about 35 acres, bisected by H-3. The jail would take up about 25 acres on the east side of the property, while the 10 acres west of H-3 would be used for a new Animal Quarantine Station, according to a draft environmental impact statement.

The project’s $525 million estimated cost includes $17.5 million for a smaller, new quarantine station, which helps keep Hawaii rabies-free by imposing a waiting period on dogs, cats and other carnivores entering the state. The rest would go toward the jail complex, to replace the aging, overcrowded facility in Kalihi.

Hawaii is the only U.S. state without rabies, according to the state Department of Agriculture, which runs the quarantine program.

The draft EIS says the current quarantine station at 99-951 Halawa Valley St. no longer meets the state’s needs. Advances in rabies science and subsequent policy changes mean that fewer animals are held for long periods; most of the station’s estimated 1,600 kennels are empty. The Agriculture Department projects it will need room for only about 100 animals (67 dogs and 33 cats) in the near future, according to the draft EIS.

Although the draft accounts for the relocation of the quarantine station, the Agriculture Department’s other tenants on the property also would be displaced; where they would move is up in the air. Besides the quarantine station’s office, parking and kennels, tenants on the property include some offices of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and U.S. Department of Agriculture, the HDOA Maintenance Shop, the HDOA Plant Quarantine, state Sheriff’s Canine Unit and the U.S. military’s boarding kennels.

As to the second part of your question, that topic is addressed in the draft EIS.

The current Animal Quarantine Station property overlaps part of the old Halawa Naval Cemetery, which was used from December 1941 (after Pearl Harbor was attacked) through mid-1947. By September of that year, all burials had been exhumed and reburied elsewhere.

During the draft EIS consultation process, “interviewees related that the area of the Animal Quarantine Station was frequented by spirits associated with the former naval cemetery as well as by traditional Hawaiian spirits (night marchers) along a corridor through the upper part of the facility,” according to the draft EIS.

If the project moves forward, developers should consult Hawaiian cultural experts “with respect to situating the new OCCC facilities so as to mitigate any impacts that may arise due to the presence of a spiritual night marchers trail,” it says.

Q: My daughter’s family is living with us for a while. Can we get another rubbish cart?

A: Not at the moment, unfortunately. The city suspended requests for additional carts on its automated refuse-collection routes as of Oct. 1, according to the Department of Environmental Services. It will resume taking requests in February, according to its website. Call 768-3200 then.

Mahalo

Many thanks to the Maxeys in Lanikai, who found my credit card and went to the time and trouble to find me and ensure I got it back. They refused any type of payment for their efforts. I appreciate it greatly — saved me lots of hassles. Thank goodness there are still people like them in the world. — Mahalo, Ben

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.