Blessing box helps families
FOUNTAIN LAKE — Fountain Lake Elementary School recently added a community blessing box on campus to stock with various items to support local families in need.
Elementary counselor LeAnn Robertson said Wendy Burfeind, the school’s librarian, first approached her with the idea for the blessing box in the spring. Burfeind saw a community install a blessing box, including a book exchange, and felt the concept could easily translate for the school.
“I thought if we create this blessing box and put it in a location where they will all know about it, but keep it covered, that maybe it will help assist
“There needs to be different action taken should there be a nuclear attack than what is expected for a hurricane or tsunami,” the governor said this week.
The attack warning will produce a different tone than the long, steady siren for tsunamis and other events that people in Hawaii have grown accustomed to. It will include a wailing sound in the middle to distinguish it from the other alert.
Vern Miyagi, administrator for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said the state delayed the test for a month to let people know it would be happening. Hawaii turned to public service announcements on TV and radio, town hall meetings, information on agency websites and media stories.
“The public can handle it. They’re not going to panic,” Miyagi said.
The test comes the same week that North Korea fired a powerful nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile it calls the Hwasong-15, leading analysts to conclude the nation has made a jump in its missile capability. The weapon would have a range of more than 8,100 miles, easily reaching the U.S. mainland.
Hawaii is the closest state to North Korea, and its large military presence could make it more of a target. The island of Oahu is home to the U.S. Pacific Command, the military’s headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region. It also hosts dozens of them during those times they might need it,” Robertson said.
The box is located on the elementary school campus and is planned to be filled with popular hygiene items, food products and canned goods. Included are toiletries such as soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper, Band-Aids, Neosporin, deodorant, brushes and combs.
Robertson said the box can help supply families with less commonly requested items. She said families can use the box for items such as feminine products and lice shampoo.
“That is something I put on the list because I know that is needed, the kits and the actual shampoo” Robertson said.
Available food items include breakfast bars, Pop-Tarts, peanut butter and jelly, rice, cereal, beans, pudding, crackers, pasta and all types of canned goods. Robertson said the project aligned with the school’s prior commitment to supply food for families in need on weekends and for holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Robertson purchased a cabinet from Lowe’s to place at the elementary school. Students with agricultural sciences teacher Carroll Mercer painted the cabinet purple, installed handles and built legs.
Funds were used from the annual donation presented to the school by the United Way of the Ouachitas. A plaque on the front of the cabinet was made by All American Awards Engraving Company.
Letters were mailed out to parents and churches around Fountain Lake and Hot Springs Village to inform the community the box was available to everyone, not just families of elementary school students. Counselors of the middle school and high school were also informed to help notify any families of need in the district.
Allyson Petty, principal of the elementary school, supported the idea from the start. Robertson said she received positive feedback from teachers and from other members of the community on Facebook.
“My goal is for other school districts to see this idea and create ones for their schools on their campuses,” Robertson said. “I know we are not the only ones who have families who need items like this.”
Many of the items were purchased or received through donations early in the school year. Donations can be submitted to Robertson in the office of the elementary school building for grades 2-4.
“This way, I am able to take all of that stock I have had all year and put it out there,” Robertson said. “Then, parents can get it at their own discretion.”
Robertson said she checks the blessing box each morning and restocks it as necessary.
Navy ships at Pearl Harbor and is a key base for the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps.
Miyagi has previously said a nuclear strike on Hawaii would result in thousands of deaths, thermal radiation, severe damage to critical infrastructure, widespread fires and other chaos.
Hawaii lawmakers have been urging emergency management officials to update Cold War-era plans for coping with a nuclear attack.
“I think it’s responsible to do this,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said of the tests, though adding the chances of an attack are slim.
The tests will continue on the first day of every month. If the siren sounds because an attack is imminent, residents and tourists should get inside and stay tuned for further instructions, officials said.
Hawaii no longer has any nuclear shelters. When the Cold War ended, funding for maintaining them ran out as the threat of attack ended, emergency officials said.
Lorraine Godoy, 75, who was born and raised on the Big Island, said she vividly remembers the air raid sirens that used to blast during the Cold War. She said the upcoming tests will bring back memories from her childhood, when she had a curfew and the sirens blared often.
“It’s very scary. It’s loud. It’s frightening,” Godoy said. “I’m just glad I don’t have any children or grandchildren living here . because it was very scary to hear as a child.”
She said the tests are a “reminder that this is not a safe world anymore. Even here, in Hawaii, it’s not safe.”
Tourism officials disagree, saying travelers “should not be alarmed by the testing.”
“Its implementation is consistent with the state’s longstanding policy to be prepared and informing the public well in advance of any potential threat to Hawaii’s well-being,” George Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, said in a statement. Some residents and visitors expressed confusion.
“I’m not sure then what we’re supposed to do after the siren happens,” Justine Espiritu of Honolulu. “That would be useful information. Am I supposed to like find a bomb shelter? Am I supposed to go to the mountains? Should I jump in the ocean? I’m not very sure.”
Tourist Bruce Jelsema of Grand Rapids, Michigan, also didn’t know what to do.
“Not living in Hawaii, I’m not familiar with the different sounds of the test so I would probably be confused as to how to respond,” he said.