QUESTION: Last school year, the principal at my child’s public elementary school banned peanut butter when the recall occurred. The ban is still effective, even though the recall is not. Can the principal control what my child eats?

ANSWER: The state Department of Education’s School Food Services Branch is leaving it up to each principal and each "school community" to make the decision on whether to allow peanut-based products on campus.

"School-level decisions are really with the principals," said Glenna Owens, director of the food services branch in the Office of School Facilities and Support Services.

Owens pointed out that the DOE has had a policy for more than two years not to order or serve peanut-based products as part of the national school lunch and breakfast programs because of concerns about peanut allergies.

When the peanut recall happened last year, the DOE placed a moratorium on having any peanut-based product on all campuses as a precautionary measure. While that interim measure is no longer in effect, individual schools may set their own stricter policies.

Owens said the concern is with children who are highly allergic to peanut products.

In deciding whether to make a campus peanut-free, she said a principal will meet with parents and the school community council and "collectively" come to an agreement as to what the policy should be, whether peanut butter would be allowed in home lunches or school parties, for example.

"So collaboratively, they will say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or whatever they want to do," Owens said.

A principal may also decide he or she wants flexibility in the policy, she said.

We contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii and were told this was an issue that it has not come across before, so it did not have any immediate comment.

We suggest you talk with other parents and the principal if you want to see whether a compromise can be worked out.

QUESTION: Has anyone identified where the piece of the trimaran that was beached in Kailua came from?

ANSWER: After going through all the pieces of the remnant vessel, "there’s nothing on it that we would be able to use to identify it," said Wesley Choi, Oahu District assistant boating manager for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.

There was nothing to indicate the manufacturer or where it came from.

Barring someone coming forward and claiming ownership, any theories as to where the vessel came from "would be purely speculation," Choi said.

One possibility that’s been widely reported is that the vessel was built in Ireland, ran into trouble after it made its way through the Panama Canal into the Pacific Ocean and was lost at sea for the past 12 years.

But that story couldn’t be corroborated, Choi said. "Everything that we have been able to track down has really turned up nothing."

The debris was removed Oct. 5 and taken to Keehi Small Boat Harbor. It is in the process of being disposed of, Choi said.

MAHALO

To the attendant and the couple in the BMW who helped me jump-start my van at the Iwilei Costco gas station on Saturday, Oct. 23. I was in such a rush to get my son to his appointment that I didn’t take the time to get their names. They all went out of their way and proved again that there is still aloha in the islands. — Rick W.