FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                        July 2, 2005

Release ESD-7

OCEAN SAFETY DIVISION RECEIVES AN ATV GIFT

TO THE CITY

HANAUMA BAY -- On behalf of the City and County of Honolulu, Mayor Mufi Hannemann today accepted the gift of a Polaris Ranger 6x6 Utility Vehicle from the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co.

The all-terrain vehicle will be used primarily by the Ocean Safety Division of the Department of Emergency Services at the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.

“The City is grateful to U.S. Smokeless Tobacco for this generous gift. We will certainly put it to good use,” said Mayor Hannemann. “Each year, Ocean Safety lifeguards perform more than 1,450 lifesaving rescues and treat 12,000 medical cases of injury and illness each year. More than 400 of those rescues occur at Hanauma Bay, and this ATV will improve the ability our Ocean Safety lifeguards and other City personnel to respond to emergencies at Hanauma.”

The $9,000 ATV is one of only a handful awarded this year by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco (UST) Co. to police, fire department, emergency medical services and other agencies nationwide.

Dee Ajimine, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco representative in Hawaii, said the company has given away 150 ATVs since Project Ranger began in 2002.

Ocean Safety Division Chief Ralph Goto, who submitted the application, said the division has 12 ATVs, generally assigned to areas that have long stretches of beach.

“This Polaris Ranger 6-by-6 is unique because it can transport personnel and emergency medical equipment as well as a patient, if necessary,” Goto said. “We will use it to transport emergency personnel to areas in the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve that are not accessible by ambulance or other emergency response vehicles.”

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Contact:

Ralph Goto, Ocean Safety Division Chief, 922-3888