European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 15, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes monday August 15,1988 meetings held to clarify Dodds pay snafus better not occur official says by Deedee Arrington Dok Kaiserslautern Bureau Einsiedler Hof West Germany army civil Ian payroll operations have very much improved since a year ago when hundreds of teachers went one or More pay periods without a paycheck a Usa eur official said Friday. That does t mean we be got All the problems worked out but we be been Able to answer the mail. And we Haven t missed a payday yet said Richard Mcclellan of the office of the Deputy chief of staff for resource management. Mcclellan is temporarily As signed As a project officer to the 266th theater finance Center in Leiden West Germany. Mcclellan is one 9f several speakers participating in a series of Daylong instructional meetings in Belgium and Germany aimed at clarifying administrative procedures involved in getting school employees paid such As filling out time and attendance cards. An employee information Campaign was one of nine recommendations issued in february by a panel appointed to study teacher pay problems. The finance Center was heavily criticized last fall when hundreds of teachers in Germany Belgium and the Netherlands failed to receive at least one paycheck after Dodds educators returned to work for the 1987-88 school year. Hundreds of other teachers also faced late or inaccurate payments. About 90 school administrators and secretaries from Dodds districts in southwestern Germany attended the meeting Friday at Einsiedler Hof air station near Kaiserslautern. In opening remarks Dodds official Mike Ottensmeyer called on school authorities to Stop blam ing the 266th finance theater Center for All pay re lated problems. The fingers have All been pointed. I really believe we re at the Point where the word cooperation is going to be the key this year said Ottensmeyer chief of staffing Germany Region. In an interview after the meeting Mcclellan said he thought the information Campaign was a positive step toward improving the flow of paychecks. We re trying to head off bad situations before they occur the project officer said. Asked if he thought last year s pay fiasco could be repeated this year Mcclellan said it d better  about 30 new employees soon will be added to the civilian payroll staff at the Leiden finance office boosting its staff to full strength at 180 employees. Additional hiring also May be called for at Leiden and other army civilian payroll offices. Mcclellan said he had heard a pretty Good Rumor indicating that army civilian payroll offices around the world soon will be authorized to beef up their staffs to 125 percent of current authorizations. Snarls in civilian pay operations Mcclellan told the audience in t just a teacher pay  complicating the process of paying army civilians is what Mcclellan called an antiquated computer system with a Short memory. The system is being re vamped army wide in the United states but experts expect changes won t be made in Europe until at least two years after implementation in the United states. Mcclellan said other changes May be made to the army s system of paying school employees among them a switch to year round pay that could take effect this year. Under the existing system teachers Are paid Only during the school year. Also being studied is the possibility of moving pay Roll operations to Dodds. The meeting received mixed reviews from participants. Many reported that the information presented was old news. The Overall organization. Was in dire need of a shot in the Arm said Ron Miller Deputy superintendent of the bad Kreuz Nach District. Miller said that he believes finance officials Are at tempting to work out pay problems but that inquiries on pay related matters still could be filed As Many As four or five or six times. And never get a re  principal Joseph Kane of Pitburg elementary school was More optimistic noting that school authorities now have specific Points of Contact to whom they can report problems. It looks better this year Kane said. Other meetings will be held in Stuttgart Friday and Frankfurt on aug. 22. Thornburgh not sure he will follow Meese order to probe Congress news updates new Orleans a attorney general Richard l. Thornburgh expressed Little enthusiasm sunday for Edwin Meese s last minute order to have inde pendent counsels investigate wrongdoing in Congress and said he saw Only a very limited role for such special prosecutors. Meese s final act Friday As attorney general was to sign an order for special prosecutors to investigate criminal allegations against members of Congress. Democratic lawmakers called it the vindictive act of a Man who had himself been investigated by two such prosecutors. Meese said he had discussed the order with Thornburgh and added i believe he agrees with  but Thornburgh questioned on lbs to s face the nation declined to say whether he would go along with the order. I Haven t had an Opportunity to re View the order he said from Boston adding i think there should be a very limited role for so called special prosecutors or Independent  Thornburgh a former Pennsylvania governor headed the Justice depart ment s criminal division during the Ford administration in the mid-1970s and established the Public integrity Section that prosecutes corrupt Public officials. He said the Public integrity office has done a first class Job in tracking Down official corruption Federal state or local wherever it May  obviously the attorney general who preceded me had some reason for enunciating this order and i want to take a look at that and give it due consideration. But the fact of the matter is that if the evidence is there investigations and prosecutions will be undertaken against anyone who violates the Federal criminal Laws be they congressmen or Ordinary citizens Thornburgh said. The new attorney general said he was aware of conflicting reports about the state of morale and commitment within the department an apparent reference to the juror caused by the resignation of top officials during the waning Days of Meese s tenure. Thornburgh said he had not discussed with vice president George Bush whether he would stay on if Bush is elected president. I regard this As a Job i m going to do one Day at a time Thornburgh said. He also called very flattering speculation that he is in the running for the no. 2 spot on the Republican ticket but he added i have a Job to do for this president and unless i be heard anything from the vice president i m ready to go to work As attorney general of the United  Thornburgh 56, took office As the 76th attorney general Friday succeeding Meese who resigned after saying he had been vindicated by an Independent counsel s investigation of his affairs. Independent counsel James Mckay concluded that Meese probably broke the Law but decided not to seek his indictment. Meese denied any improprieties and maintained that the depart ment was running normally despite defections by top aides during his final months As attorney general. Iran will help to free British hostages held in Lebanon Tehran paper says Tehran Iran a a govern ment run newspaper said in an editorial sunday that Iran will work to free British hostages held in Lebanon particularly anglican Church envoy Terry Waite. In another development British Diplo mat David Reddaway said iranian for eign ministry officials told him he would be Able to meet a briton held in Iran on spying  English language Tehran times made it Clear that the Effort to free the hostages was linked with attempts to find iranians believed held in  editorial coincides with Redda Way s visit to the iranian capital and Fol lows talks in Britain Between Archini shop of Canterbury Robert Runcie andean iranian envoy. Reddaway said he met with foreign ministry officials twice on sunday and they told him he would be Able to meet jailed englishman Roger Cooper this week. He gave no other , 52, a Nephew of the late Brit ish poet and novelist Robert Graves was arrested in december 1985 and has been held in Tehran s Evin  said saturday he had a use Ful first meeting with foreign ministry officials but he refused to elaborate. British iranian relations have improved in the past few weeks and the newspaper said All developments augur Well for the restoration of London Teh ran relations at a cordial  summer Britain withdrew All its diplomats from Iran and virtually broke diplomatic relations after a British Diplo mat was detained and beaten in apparent reprisal for British police arresting a iranian envoy on shoplifting charges. One iranian Diplomat remains in Lon Don. Britain closed its embassy and with Drew its ambassador from Tehran in 1980 after revolutionary guard stormed the building and denounced Britain As an ally of the United  diplomats then worked out of the swedish  has been making conciliatory statements about relations with Western nations since it announced july 18 it was accepting a . Call for a cease fire in the8-year-old Iran Iraq War. The cease fire is scheduled to go into effect saturday. Videotaped stroll new York a the state has revoked the officer s commis Sion of a Railroad policeman who was videotaped strolling naked through grand Central terminal and taunting a homeless person. However it was unclear if the officer sgt. Richard Declara would keep his Job with the metro North commuter Railroad in the Wake of Friday s announcement that his state commission was taken away. The Railroad suspended Declara and six other officers earlier this month after the existence of the homemade tape was made Public. State superintendent of police Thomas Constantine has said previously that if he revokes an offi cer s commission that Means they would no longer have police Powers and if that happens then metro North probably would not continue them in  temptation1 actor Orlando Fla. A actor Willem Dafoe who plays Jesus in the last temptation of Christ is a Christian who would not do anything blasphemous his parents say. We Are proud of our son and we Trust his judgment Muriel Dafoe said Friday. He was brought up in a Christian Home and he believes in  Dafoe and her husband Wil Liam said they respect the rights of those protesting the film which opened Friday. But the actor s Mother said i would ask that they respect the rights of others to see the film and make their own  in the role of Jesus Willem Dafoe dreams about marrying and having sex with Mary Magdalene. That say Many of the movie s critics slanders and blaspheme  think a lot of people Are judgmental before they have seethe picture said the actor s father a retired surgeon who move to Orlando four years ago