Dr. Rick Bennett has been in heated conversations with heads of the Hawaii County Department of Environmental Management for years, concerned about the wastewater treatment plants around the island.  For years he--and others-- have been urging the County to upgrade the plants.   Kona side, the partially treated sewage is discharged into a hole in the ground by the Kona Police station.  He says it's 1 to 2 million gallons per day, and because water flows downhill, it flows the mile or less towards the coast.  Hilo side, the wastewater goes a few miles out into Hilo Bay, and that Bay has been affected.   In addition, the County is under EPA mandates to provide wastewater treatment plants in some island areas because of pollution issues.

Dr. Bennett had the chance to work with two other water experts (Rick Gaffney, Steve Holmes) and help Mayor Mitch Roth find candidates for the all-important post of Director of the Department of Environmental Management.

In a conversation with Island Conversations host Sherry Bracken, in her final podcast for New West Broadcasting, Dr. Bennett talks about watersheds, wastewater plants, the newly-appointed head of the County Department of Environmental Management (Ramzi Monsour) and why he is the "right guy," and more.

Photo of Dr. Rick Bennett courtesy Dr. Bennett.

As I record my final Sunday Island Conversations, after nearly 17 years in radio,  I want to express my gratitude to everybody on this island--and elsewhere--who have been so supportive of the work that I do, whether it's news, the weekly interviews, forum moderation, or whatever.  This is a trying time, and I asked several people to share the source of their gratitude as they face challenges--with work, personally, with health.  I talked with 3 Mayors, 1 US Senator, the head of the Hawaii Food Basket, the Director of Imiloa Astronomy, the head of Canada France Hawaii Telescope, and Chris Leonard, General Manager of New West Broadcasting.  There will be two additional podcasts posted, all about water...so look for them, even though I retire Dec. 31, 2020.  And thank YOU for your support -- I am grateful to you, and to this island.  I'm not going anywhere, so I hope to continue serving our Big Island community (once I clean off my desk at home).

With aloha,

Sherry Bracken

Dental care is an integral part of overall medical care.  But there's much less discussion about dental care than general health care.  Questions like, what kind of toothbrush is best,  when should you start cleaning your keiki's teeth and when should they first see a dentist, why flouridated water or toothpaste, are electric or manual brushes better, what kinds of health conditions affect the mouth and vice versa, can a dentist see medical problems before we're aware of them?  Can a dentist tell if a woman is hapai (pregnant) because of her teeth?  Can you still see the dentist in the time of COVID?  Dr. Steven Pine, DDS, and Dr. John Gawlick, a pediatric dentist, both with West Hawaii Community Health Center, address that and more in a discussion with Island Conversations host Sherry Bracken.

Air date:  Dec. 20, 2020

Attached photo courtesy American Dental Association, photos below of Dr. Steven Pine (l) and Dr. John Gawlick (r) provided by West Hawaii Community Health Center