European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 23, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes wednesday april 23,1986 new Boot clamps Down on parking violators by Joseph Owen Stuttgart Bureau Goeppinger Germany military police at Cooke Barracks have a new Boot to help them stamp out parking violations. The Boot is a Clamp that attaches to the wheel of a motor vehicle making it virtually impossible to drive the vehicle. Police departments in the United states use the device to Deal with parking offences and military police at Cooke Barracks have adopted it to combat the same problem. The Boot is to be used for repeat offend ers or for first time offenders who commit a dangerous parking offence said 1st it. Michael r. French operations officer in the Goeppinger military Community Provost marshal s office. We have a very Small installation Here and there s just not enough parking to go around French said. About 600 vehicles Are registered at Cooke Barracks a number that exceeds the number of parking spaces by about 20 per cent. Many vehicle owners live in a housing area just outside the Barracks Gate yet some of those people drive to work French said. The resulting crowded conditions prompted Community officials to set up a color coded parking system reserving cer Tain parking areas exclusively for general staff base residents and Headquarters staff. Some remaining parking spaces Are set aside for visitors with time limits imposed on their use. Parking violations persist however. One military policeman said police Issue about this is How the Boot works on the wheel of a car. Is photo by Joe Owen 200 parking tickets each month at Cooke Barracks. That s being real lenient he said. We could Issue 100 tickets a  French said the tickets appear to punish commanders with paper work rather than deter violations so the Provost marshal s office has not tried to Issue tickets at a faster rate. It would t have any Impact he said. Commanders could not keep up with it in a timely  instead the Goeppinger military Community last week authorized the use of Locking wheel clamps and the police have bought seven clamps from a German manufacturer for about $75 each. The clamps consist of three curved Metal prongs which wrap around the wheel radiating from a rectangular Metal plate. The plate covers the wheel s lug nuts preventing a Driver from substituting a spare tire for the clamped wheel. Drivers who find their vehicles booted must go to the military police station to have the Boot removed. Trying to drive a car with a clamped wheel is Likely to cause severe damage to the car s wheel Well French said. Police have printed Large Orange notices to place face Down on the Windshield of each immobilized vehicle notifying the Driver in English and German that one of the wheels is clamped. The notices also state that if the Driver fails to go to the police station within 24 hours to resolve the matter police May Tow the car away at the owner s expense. French said police Are instructed to place the Clamp on the front tire on the Driver s Side so the Driver can see it easily. If the Driver does t see the Clamp the Windshield notice and a tag attached to the door handle will Alert the Driver to the situation. French said the Provost marshal s senior staff will decide on a Case by Case basis when to apply the Clamp. Illegal parking situations which May prompt police to use the Clamp without regard for the offender s record include parking in a fire Lane in front of a fire hydrant in front of emergency entrances and exits in parking spaces reserved for the handicapped and in positions which Block traffic. The police will have the vehicle towed if safety requires it be moved immediately. Police have received inquiries from officials in other military communities who Are interested in the clamps but French said he knows of none using them. News update tainted wine victim Milan Italy a a 50-year-old woman poisoned by wine laced with Methyl alcohol has died in a Hospital in Novi Ligure in the Piedmont Region raising to 23 the total of known victims of Italy s tainted wine scandal court officials reported. They said the woman who was hospitalized a month ago had drunk wine that had about 10 per cent methanol. Some italian wine merchants who have been arrested and charged with second degree murder had put methanol into their products to raise the alcohol strength. Coke claim disputed Atlanta a coca cola classic the once discarded old Coke is again the Best sell ing soft drink in the country company officials said but Pepsi cola Usa immediately denied the claim. Late last year Coke lost the no. 1 product rank ing after it split its product line by reintroducing the original formula to go along with new  the move followed widespread protests that greeted coca cola s introduction of its new formula. Old Coke quickly shot past the new formula in sales despite the company s predictions to the contrary. Donald Keough president of coca cola co., told a stockholders meeting wednesday that coca cola classic is once again the Best Selling soft drink in the United  Keough s statement was based on the company s research of March sales including grocery and Fountain sales spokesman Randy Donaldson said. Capital murder charge Houston a a Houston Mother who allegedly threw six of her seven children into a Muddy Bayou has had capital murder added to theist of charges against her now that a second child has died police say. Juana Maria Leija 29, was charged with a single count of capital murder under a new state Law Al lowing such a charge when More than one person skilled during a criminal act. The woman s 5-year-old daughter Juana Maria died after being pulled from the Bayou. Judas Dimas Leija 6, died later at St. Joseph  two were under water More than 30 minutes. The Mother is also charged with two counts of attempted capital murder in the Case police said. She was being held without bail in Harris count jail. German police seeking is help in finding owners of stolen items by Dick Hodgso Kaiserslautern Bureau Bingen Germany German police Are seeking help from american service members to determine who owns about 300 cars that were burglarized in january and february. Police spokesman Karl Greiner said people who can identify their stolen property will be Able to help in the prosecution of thieves and May be Able to recover their property. Greiner said four germans have been apprehended in connection with the thefts and two have confessed to break ins in Wiesbaden Mainz Ingelheim Bingen bad Kreuz Nach Idar Oberstein and Baum older Between Jan. 1 and feb. 18. Greiner said Only 33 of the thefts which included stereo components and military equipment such As sleeping bags and jackets from service members cars were apparently reported to either German or military police. The remainder were probably not reported he said because the owners insurance would not have covered the stolen items. The two who confessed to the thefts were Able to identify some of the cars by Type and color but could not provide further identification of the vehicles Greiner said. He asks that any americans in the areas where the thefts occurred Contact their local military police to report the loss of stereos or other items from their cars. If service members have not been paid by private insurance he said they can claim the losses against the thieves under German Law. In order to qualify for the claim the service members must identify the items by Brand name serial number and approximate value when making their reports he said. Bomb jolts . Consulate in Thailand Bangkok Thailand a a bomb tossed from a passing car exploded inside the compound of the . Consulate in the Southern thai City of Sungkhla Early tuesday officials said. No injuries were reported. Mayor Pra Choti Kuru said he suspected the bombers were a group of eight to 10 pro libyan moslem who recently arrived in Sungkhla for  the group from nearby Narath wat province included thais and foreigners the mayor said without giving de tails. Authorities said the explosion shattered windows in the consulate damaged a Fence surrounding it As Well As a nearby House and ripped a Small Hole in the ground. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Sungkhla gov. Anek Rojan Paiboon was quoted by radio Thailand As saying the bomb exploded about five Yards inside the compound Fence and about six Yards from the consulate building. The radio quoted police and military investigators As saying the bomb contained four to five pounds of int. A . Embassy spokesman in Bangkok said there was apparently no one at the consulate at the time except a thai Security guard who was unhurt. The spokesman said Consul Pancho huddle was on leave. The consulate in Sungkhla about 590 Miles from bang Kok is one of three . Consulates in Thailand. In a Telephone interview with the associated press Pra Choti said a Security guard at the consulate told police tuesday that two suspicious looking men approached him sunday and asked where the Consul was. A senior police official at Sungkhla who spoke on condition of anon Unity said he also had evidence that led him to suspect pro libyans. He said police sharpshooters have been posted at the consulate around the clock and that Security has been stepped up for the 50 to 80 americans living in Sungkhla. Berlin Security no Dies of heart attack Berlin a 45-year-old Security police superintendent stationed at Tempelhof Central Airport died sat urday at work of an apparent heart attack an air Force spokeswoman said. A memorial service for senior master sgt. Lawrence j. Fritz 6912th electronic Security group was scheduled for wednesday sgt. Mary Sellinger said. Fritz who had been selected for promotion was posthumously promoted to chief master sergeant. Fritz was a 25-year Veteran of the air Force who arrived in Berlin in june 1984 from Span Dahlem a Ger Many. A native of Illinois Fritz is survived by his wife Erika and three children Pamela 22 Ellen 18 and Vin cent 8