Isle man vies for national service award
A 36-year-old Kaneohe man who disarmed a knife-wielding robber Dec. 8 at a sushi restaurant has been named one of 20 national finalists for the Citizen Service Before Self Honors, an honor which "epitomizes service before self."
On Monday the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation announced the finalists — "ordinary Americans who became extraordinary through their indomitable courage and selflessness," a news release said.
Ten of the finalists, including Walter Jennings Fowler, were selected for a single act of extraordinary heroism.
The recipients will be announced March 12 and honored at a ceremony March 23 in conjunction with National Medal of Honor Day, March 25, to be held at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery, Va.
Fowler and his wife were dining at the Sushi King restaurant on South King Street when a man walked in and wielded a large knife, demanding money from the 63-year-old owner, police said. Fowler grabbed the man’s wrist and forearm and disarmed him.
Anchor failure led to collapse of zip line tower
A police report says the Hawaii island zip line tower that collapsed and sent a worker plunging to his death had experienced a similar collapse eight weeks prior.
The report on the Sept. 21 accident that killed 36-year-old Ted Callaway also says a pair of stabilizing anchors failed to keep the zip line platform from collapsing. Callaway and a co-worker were testing a zip line north of Hilo when the tower collapsed and Callaway fell 200 feet to his death.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Tuesday that Detective Wendall Carter wrote in the report that two 12-foot-long auger anchors had been pulled out of the ground. He wrote that the cause of the accident was anchor failure and that platform utility poles weren’t buried deep enough.
Callaway worked for Experiential Resources Inc., a company that builds and maintains zip lines. He and co-worker Curtis Wright were testing a cable for a zip line operation run by Lava Hotline near Paukaa.
Oregon hiker rescued after injuring ankle
Kauai County fire personnel rescued a 55-year-old visitor from Oregon on Monday after he injured his ankle while hiking on Hanakapiai Trail.
The hiker called 911 at about 1 p.m. Monday. Rescue personnel aboard the Fire Department helicopter flew to a nearby landing zone in Hanakapiai Valley and found the hiker a quarter-mile away.
Three rescue crew members and a civilian carried the hiker to the helicopter, which took him to Princeville Airport. From there he was taken to Wilcox Hospital for treatment.
