Kupuna Mattie Kaeo of Kula joined a group of demonstrators at the County Building in Wailuku last week Tuesday morning. Hawaiian organizations requested a meeting with Mayor Alan Arakawa to settle differences about Halloween and other related issues. Some protesters held signs saying “Kupuna Do Matter,” because Kuleana Ku‘ikahi LLC alleges that during a meeting about Halloween in Lahaina, the mayor said, “Kupuna (elders) do not matter anymore; it’s the younger generations that count.” County Communications Director Rod Antone said Arakawa was in meetings and unavailable Tuesday, so he met with the small group of protesters. Antone commented that the mayor’s statement was twisted; Arakawa simply told the group that it has to consider the younger generation as well. Antone said the kupuna raised a legitimate concern — the ability to go home amid heavy traffic and a Front Street closure on Halloween — that the county will discuss and address. “I use to love Halloween,” Kaeo said. “There is a lot of kupuna that love their Halloween, but it got out of hand.”

LAHAINA — The newest group of Lahainaluna High School students to enroll in the University of Hawaii Maui College Lahaina Education Center’s “Introduction to Employment Preparation” class is enthusiastic and ready to learn.

Each semester, a group of LHS students attend a six-week course that will prepare them for the job search process. They learn tips on resume development, proper business attire and interviewing skills.

To better focus their skills, each participant is asked to select an actual West Maui business for which they’d like to work, and then focus each assignment on that specific job.

The highlight of the class is the final “mock interview” day. Volunteer interviewers, generally from the Maui College community, are invited to attend, so that the students have an opportunity to practice what they’ve learned.

This year, the Lahaina Education Center would like to recruit mock interview volunteers from our business community. After all, these students just might be your future employees!

If you’d like more information, or think you might want to volunteer as an interviewer, call 662-3911 or e-mail mcc96761@hawaii.edu.

The class meets on Wednesday afternoons, and the tentative mock interview date is Oct. 26.

The U.H. Maui College Lahaina Education Center is located at 60 Kenui St. by the Front Street Apartments, one block south of Lahaina Cannery Mall.