European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 4, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes Friday april 4, 1986 bomb blast May reinforce travellers fears terrorism not Dollar hurting business by he associated press. Terrorism has tarnished the allure of the Mediterranean for wandering americans travel agents say and the explosion aboard a Twa Jet Over Greece on wednesday is Apt to reinforce the fear. Greek tourism officials agreed that the incident would Hurt but insisted that their islands were a Safe destination for Ameri can travellers. The threat of terrorism has definitely Cut Down travel plans to Southern Europe said Charles brass scr owner of foreign travel inc. Of Chevy Chase my. The fact that the Dollar is Down does t have nearly As much influence As concern Over personal  we re seeing a lot More american vacations said june Magrin the director of marketing for Hughes International travel inc. In new York. People Are becoming very Patri Otic All of a sudden. They want to stay  an explosion Tore a Hole in a Twa Jet flying from Rome to Athens Greece and four passengers were sucked through the opening and killed. For the travel Industry it was but the latest in a string of terrorist strikes against travellers in the Region thirty nine americans were held hos Tage in Beirut Lebanon last summer and a Navy frogman was shot to death after a Twa plane was hijacked on a flight from Athens to Rome. Sixty people died in the hijacking and attempted Rescue of an Egypt air Jet which was hijacked to Malta on nov. 23. Twenty people including five Ameri cans were killed when terrorists attacked airline counters at the Rome and Vienna Austria airports on dec. 27. Egypt s tourist Industry suffered another blow last month when rioting policemen sacked hotels near the great pyramids. The Media has kept the Achille Lauro incident alive Bressler said. And after what just happened in Greece i m afraid All the Money the greek government spent trying to rebuild its tourism Industry will be  George Kouros director of the Chicago office of the greek National tourist organization told a news conference in new York that he was concerned that the Inci Dent will discourage travellers but said the Agency s and Campaign urging americans to come Home to Greece would continue. Americans reception of the dangers of foreign travel Are not based on the reality of actual terrorist activity but Are formed by what we see on television and in print in the immediate aftermath of a dramatic Inci Dent such As this most recent one in which Greece was the Safe Haven for the stricken aircraft and not involved said Peter mar tin a Public relations consultant hired by the greek tourist office. Martin distributed a statement which asserted that five percent of the 3,012 terrorist incidents reported in 1985 occurred in the Mediterranean and the Middle East while 64 percent occurred in latin America. Citing reports by risks International a consulting firm based in Alexandria va., Martin said that of the 27 million Ameri cans who went abroad last year 54 were killed in terrorist incidents. Mary Nalbandian owner of Penobscot in. Ter National travel service inc. In Detroit said overseas bookings were running 50 percent below last year. It s definitely due to terror ism she said adding that her customers were avoiding Greece Italy and Israel. Date nears Tor closure of consulates serving 4 . Military communities by Joe Mapother Bremerhaven Bureau american military communities in Spain Italy Germany and the Netherlands about 19,000 people will face longer trips to conduct consular business if a state department plan to close four european consulates is not reversed by Congress next week. Congress is under an april 10 deadline to exercise its option to Block the closings . Officials said. If Congress takes no action consulates in Seville Spain Trieste Italy Bremen Ger Many and Rotterdam Netherlands will be closed. The four consulates serve military communities ranging from 2,000 to 8,000 persons consular and military officials said. The consulates Are among seven slated for closing at the end of the fiscal year As a Cost cutting measure to meet requirements of the Gramm Rudman balanced budget Law. The state department Hopes to trim $4 million from its budget by closing five european offices including one in Nice France As Well As one consulate each in Brazil and Canada according to published reports. Bremen mayor Klaus Wedemeier recently returned from Washington where he lob bied slate department officials and Mem Bers of Congress to keep the Bremen consulate open. Rotterdam s mayor Bram Peper will be in Washington next week to lobby on behalf of the consulate in his City a spokesman for the City government said. The largest military Community affected by potential closing would be the approximately 8,000 americans at Rota naval air station and Moron a Spain. Closure of the consulate in Seville would mean the closest consulate facility would be the embassy in Madrid 300 Miles North said John Clark Consul general in Seville. Clark said embassy officials were work ing closely with the military to make sure that should the services be transferred to Madrid that they be transferred with a minimum of inconvenience to the  Clark said he had not received a timetable from Washington for closing the Seville consulate. Errant Shell injures 5 near army training area Munster Germany up a woman and four children were wounded thursday when an errant artillery round fired on a Range by a . Army unit landed outside a troop training area. A spokesman for the German regional military command in Hannover said the training Accident happened apparently be cause the wrong setting was placed on a howitzer being used on an artillery Range by a Berlin based . Battalion. Authorities said an English woman and four children were wounded by the Shell which detonated on a tree outside the Munster training area in the Northern state of Niedersachsen. About 4,500 military personnel civilians and family members living in the Bremer Haven area would fall under the jurisdiction of the Hamburg consulate if the office in Bremen is closed said Michael Polt Bre men Consul. Hamburg is about twice the distance from Bremerhaven As Bremen. In Trieste Consul Gerald Lueders said the 2,000 americans stationed at Aviano a would probably have to use the Consul ate in Milan if the consulate on the Adriatic sea closes. The bulk of the business handled in Trieste comes from tourists visiting nearby Venice he said. The Rotterdam consulate is one of two in the Netherlands. It serves the Allied forces Central come military Community in Southern Holland said . Junior Consul ate general in Rotterdam. There Are roughly 4,500 people in the american Community in the Southern Holland province according to figures provided by the accent Public affairs office in Schinnen. The . Embassy in the Hague is near Rotterdam but it offers few consular serv ices he said. The next consulate Amster dam is about 50 Miles North of Rotterdam. Kees Bode spokesman for the Rotterdam government said officials there were shocked when they heard of the plan to close the local consulate. Closing the consulate would eliminate a longstanding american presence in the world s largest port through which More than 260 million tons of goods flow each year Bode said. Storm dumps 2 feet of Snow in West by the associated press a major Spring storm roared through Colorado and Utah dumping nearly 2 feet of new Snow in the mountains and pelting the Salt Lake Valley with record rainfall before moving thursday into Wyoming where a blizzard warning was posted. The areas that got the most precipitation received 60 percent to 80 percent of the monthly total in the first two Days said William Alder meteorologist in charge of the weather Bureau s Salt Lake office. The National weather service which usually reports 2.21 inches of precipitation at Salt Lake International Airport during april reported 1.93 inches by late wednes Day. The storm More than doubled the 24 hour precipitation record for april 2, set in 1968, at 0.79 inches. At Snowbird ski resort East of Salt Lake City 22 inches of new Snow was measured wednesday while at Southern Utah s Cedar Canyon 9 inches was reported. The Utah Highway patrol reported 10 accidents during the storm s height wednesday afternoon two of them involving minor injuries. Authorities had several reports of minor Street and residential flooding. Much of the water will wind up in great Salt Lake which is at its third highest level in recorded history. Officials in Denver reported scattered Power outages thursday and gov. Richard Lamm declared a Snow Day meaning about 40,000 non essential state workers were or dered to stay Home. Gusty winds of 25 to 35 Mph buffeted the Central Rockies and much of the Plains. Wednesday evening winds gusted to 70 Mph near Greeley colo., and 62 Mph at Denver while Early thursday winds gusted to 49 Mph at Cheyenne Wyo. The High winds and Snow were expected to create blizzard conditions Over the Central Plains. Peter Mchugh Twa s senior vice presi Dent for marketing and sales said bookings to the Middle East and Europe had declined for some months but had improved in the last two weeks. I just called a London hotel where i do a lot of business and he expressed his re Grets that Media has blown it out of what it really is. But i Don t agree said Irene con Over owner of Conover International travel in new York. The facts Are there bomb Ings hijackings a hijackings. People Are not forgetting. Tourism to Greece is about 99 percent off to Egypt the same. Italy is another on the blacklist. I think people feel it s not Worth going Over and risking their lives Conover said. Karen Nesbit spokeswoman for Crimson travel in Boston said there had been no drop in bookings to Europe. I cannot say that we can measure any unusual flurry of cancellations said Blenn Halstead vice president of world wide travel service inc. In Little Rock Ark. Not Many Are cancelling. What we Are apprehensive of Are the people who won t Call. That Haven t booked and won  new update homosexual rights new York a mayor Edward i. Koch has signed into Law a homosexual rights Bill adopted after 15 years of acrimonious debate. The measure bans discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment housing and Public acco Madation. This legislation does t require anyone to give an imprimatur to a lifestyle that they think is wrong Koch said after a final hearing. This legislation simply says that people with that lifestyle  Hinckley honoured Las vegas Nev. A the parents of would be presidential As Sassin John Hinckley have been Hon ored for their efforts to educate the Public about mental illness. Jack and Joann Hinckley were Given the Howard Safar memorial award for distinguished service Dur ing opening ceremonies at the annual meeting of the National Council of Community mental health centers. The Hinckley who founded the american mental health fund in 1984 to raise Money for mental ill Ness research and Public education vowed to keep the program going. Vandals slash tires of 33 .-plate cars Bremerhaven Germany  dals Early thursday morning slashed 84 tires on 33 cars with . Plates parked in front of an american housing area in what army officials said appeared to be motive less property destruction. The slashing occurred Between 2 . And 5 30 . The damage was confined to automobiles parked near two apartment buildings in the Lehe District of Bremerhaven an army spokesman said. The buildings each can hold 18 families he said. Authorities were unable to Supply an estimate of the damage. Tow trucks and Legal claims officers were sent to assist the per sons whose cars were damaged the spokes Man said. There have been no arrests in the Case officials said