Final Kona Kohala County Council Candidate Forum on Monday

On Monday, October 8, there is a moderated candidate forum at Kealakehe High School cafeteria starting at 6 p.m. featuring two sets of candidates.

The candidates for County Council for District 6, Volcano through South Kona, are Maile David and incumbent Brenda Ford.  The candidates for County Council for District 9, Waikoloa through Kohala, are Sonny Shimaoka and Margaret Wille.  The candidates for District 7, Dru Kanuha, and District 8, Karen Eoff, are no longer in contention; both won in the Primary so they are not included in this forum.

The public is encouraged to attend even if they live in different districts from the candidates, as two of these candidates will represent the island, in addition to their own district,  on the Hawaii County Council.

Because there are only two candidates for each office, the candidates will have time to more fully discuss their ideas and positions.  They will have opportunities to comment on some of their opponents’ answers.  The moderator will be Sherry Bracken of LAVA 105.3 fm radio and Hawaii Public Radio.   Timers will be Marni Herkes of League of Women Voters and Hazel Beck of the Small Business Development Corporation.

There will be no food sales at this forum, so the audience members are encouraged to bring their own.

The County Council Candidate Forum will be carried live on LAVA 105.3 fm islandwide from 6 p.m. until 8  p.m.  KLEI TV 6 will film the forum and air it Tuesday evening, October 9, at 8 p.m.

The forum sponsors include Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce, Kohala Coast Resort Association, Hawaii Island Board of Realtors, West Hawaii Today, hawaii247.com, Mahalo Broadcasting/LAVA 105.3 fm, and Rotary of Kona, as well as Kealakehe High School.   The League of Women Voters will have Absentee Ballot applications and the pros and cons of the State Constitutional Amendments and the County Charter Amendments.

The public may submit questions via email to info@lava105.com or via fax to 769-5050.   And don’t forget to set your DVR to record the Hirono-Lingle debate on KHON Channel 2 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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Missing – Jessica Ridgeway of Colorado

This is my brothers friend and co-workers daughter:

A massive search in Westminster (Colorado) Saturday failed to turn up any sign of a missing 10-year-old girl who disappeared while walking to school Friday.

Police said Jessica Ridgeway was last seen walking to Chelsea Park in the area of 107th Avenue and Moore Street around 8:30 a.m. Friday where she was to meet several friends before walking to Witt Elementary School.

Jessica never showed up at school.

Sunday police brought in a new team of search dogs to help look for clues.

Police said they will not be using volunteers to help look for Ridgeway Sunday. About 800 people showed up to help with the search Saturday, said Westminster police spokesman Trevor Materasso.

“This morning I really expected maybe a hundred people, so to have that many, it was just amazing,” Materasso said.  “I watched one gentleman putting plastic bags on his feet because his feet were soaked through, his shoes were soaked through and he was going back out again.”

Buses of volunteers were sent to open spaces in Mayfair, Countryside, Ketner and Chelsea as well as the Westminster Hills Dog Park and Standley Lake.

“It was really emotional because you’re looking in ditches and you’re looking in culverts and you’re looking through sewer drainage pipes.  On the one hand again, you’re hoping you might find a boot with a pom pom and on the other hand, you’re hoping you don’t,” said volunteer Marsha Orr.  “My 7-year old son is such an amazing gift to me. To not know where he was spending a cold night, it would rip my heart out.”

A dive team searched Ketner Reservoir Saturday afternoon. The search was “done as a search tool to rule out the lake,” police said.

The search area covered on Saturday was from 92nd Avenue to 112th Avenue and from  Indiana Street to Wadsworth Boulevard.

Materasso said police will follow up on more than 100 tips.

Authorities have said they don’t think Jessica was abducted by an acquaintance or relative.  The girl’s father lives in Missouri and has been accounted for there.

Jessica’s great-grandmother, Donna Moss, said police were at her home where the father was staying Friday night.  They asked to search the home and were given permission, she said.

“We’d do anything to get her back, safely alive,” Moss said. “We want her back as soon as we can get her.”

Westminster police also said they don’t think Jessica ran away because she is emotionally stable.

Members of the FBI as well as the Center for Missing and Exploited Children have joined the search.

Police investigators and volunteers collected socks and other clothing items around Chelsea Park on Saturday, police spokesman Trevor Materasso said. The socks were placed in evidence bags to be checked further.

“We can’t say at this point whether these are or are not related,” Materasso said.
Police also checked every registered sex offender in the area.

Jessica is 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 80 pounds.  She has blonde, shoulder-length hair with blue eyes.  She was last seen wearing blue jeans, black boots with pom poms, a black puffy jacket and pink and purple glasses.  She also had a black and pink backpack with a Disney character on it.

Anyone with information on the possible whereabouts of Jessica is asked to call Westminster police at 303- 658-4336 or e-mail PDamberalert@cityofwestminster.us

Related articles

• Amber Alert issued for missing 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway of Westminster (kdvr.com)
• Amber Alert on for Westminster girl, 10, missing since 8:30 a.m. (denverpost.com)
• Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Has Been Missing Since Friday, Police Using Bloodhounds To Help Search (huffingtonpost.com)
• Colo. Police Desperate For Leads in Disappearance of 10-Year-Old (abcnews.go.com)
• Search for missing Westminster 10 year-old girl continues Sunday (denverpost.com)
• Police search for missing Colorado girl, 10, last seen walking to school (foxnews.com)
• Photos: Search for Jessica (photos.mercurynews.com)
• Colorado Amber Alert Issued For 10 Year Old Child Who Disappeared On Her Way To School (letsfindthem.wordpress.com)
• Search for missing Colorado girl expands to Missouri (kmov.com)
• Photos: Search for Jessica (photos.denverpost.com)