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Complainers should have first done due diligence

When I decided to move to Hawaii in the mid-1990s, I drove all over Maui trying to find a good place to live. I had eliminated Oahu (Manhattan with palm trees), the Big Island (volcanic emissions would aggravate my wife’s breathing problem) and Kauai (too small with most homes close to shore). I kept coming back to Upcountry because it wasn’t too hot or cold nor too wet or dry (kinda sounds like Tita). And there was minimal fallout from the cane burns.

People who complain about cane fires remind me of those who move in next to the airport and complain about the noise. If one doesn’t bother to ask about problems in the area of their choice, they get what they deserve. Don’t come here and expect people, a culture or businesses who have been here a very long time to change because you made a mistake in judgment.

There are many studies that do not link cane fires with high numbers of respiratory problems. Studies also demonstrate asthma and respiratory allergies are linked to cockroach infestations. Harvesting could be done mechanically if Maui was as flat as a Kansas wheat field, without rock piles or gulches. A harvesting machine from Case IH, Model 8800, costs around $800,000 plus shipping.

Seems like many of the complainers moved here from California. Gallagher said California people are like a bowl of granola – them that ain’t fruits and nuts is flakes.

Dennis Lokmer

Makawao

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