European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 3, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes Friday february 1989 sleepy Phil s Shadow dims Hopes of an Early Spring Punxsutawney a. A Punxsutawney Phil the plump pampered groundhog Long touted As America s Best mammalian meteorological prognosticator saw his Shadow thursday predicting six More weeks of Winter. Phil s promoters declaring thursday the 102ndgroundhog Day roasted the be whiskered forecaster out of his lighted heated Burrow at Dawn. In Honor of America s new president George Bush the groundhog stood tall and proud. He spotted a thin Short Shadow Punxsutawney groundhog club president James h. Means told spectators gathered at Gobbler s Knob a wooded Knoll about three Miles South of Punxsutawney. Tradition has it that if the weather Wise Wood Chuck sees his Shadow six More weeks of Winter will follow. But if he does to they say Spring is jus around the Corner. Phil s unscientific forecasts Don t always hold up but his handlers nevertheless claim he s never wrong. Every year hundreds of people follow a Century old tradition and trudge up to Phil s one morning a year Home atop Gobbler s Knob. Fourteen businessmen of the club s exclusive inner Circle Don top hats and tuxedos to carry on the tradition. Actually inner Circle members de cide on the groundhog s prediction beforehand. Several hours before Sunrise Phil is taken from his year round Home in a Glass enclosed Case next to the town Library and shoved into the Man made Burrow to await spectators. The woodchuck whose species usually Hiber nates until March is then hoisted at Dawn to the Glare of television floodlights and popping Flash bulbs. Null said Phil has predicted an Early Spring Only nine times in 1890, 1902, 1934, 1950, 1970, 1975, 1983, 1986 and 1988. The groundhog Day legend is based on an old scottish Couplet claiming if candlemas Day is Bright and Clear there will be two Winters in  feb. 2 is the Christian Holiday of candlemas which commemorates the purification of the Virgin Mary. Red tide toxin May have killed thousands of dolphins team finds Washington a up to half the population of East coast bottle dolphins were poisoned by eating fish tainted by a toxin that occurs naturally in re tide algae Federal scientists said wednesday. Perhaps thousands of dolphins died during 1987and 1988 after eating menhaden and Spanish Mackerel that were contaminated with a powerful Poison  from a rare and persistent Bloom of red tide algae said Joseph Geraci a wildlife specialist who headed a team of researchers. We have never found this before in history Gera i said. He estimated the number of dolphins killed As at least 750 and perhaps in numbers close to  another expert said the coastal Herd of Migra trial begins murder defendant Richard Ramirez called the night stalker glances around the courtroom As his trial got under Way this week in los  heard a description of How Ramirez Alleg edly slashed the throats of 13 people. Tory dolphins May have been Cut in half and could require up to a Century to recover in numbers. During the summer of 1987, hundreds of dead an dying dolphins washed onto the East coast from Flor Ida to new Jersey. The massive die off alarmed officials and led to the formation of an investigative team of More than 100 scientists from several Federal Agen cies. Geraci said it took the team 18 months and thou Sands of Laboratory tests to confirm that the death resulted from an unusual red tide that bloomed off the West coast of Florida and was then swept up the Atlan tic coast by the Gulf Stream. Geraci said the toxin is not found in the parts of finned fish usually eaten by people. 17 crash victims identified by of Abilene Texas a the air Force released Alist of 17 of the 19 victims of tuesday s Kc-135a crash at Dyess fab. The name of one victim was with held pending notification of the family. The name of a second victim was withheld by the air Force at the request of the victim s family. Active duty 1st it. Kenneth a. Brackney 25, r farm 111. Senior airman Leopoldo l. Conge jr., 29, san Pablo Calif. Airman Noel r. David 29, Alexandria la. Airman 1st class Jay m. Galineau 30, Menominee Mich. Master sgt. Douglas e. Juneau age unavailable an Dersen fab Guam. Capt. Robert m. Lewellyn Iii 32, Cumberland my. Senior airman Andrew w. Neher 21, fort Wayne ind. Capt. Joseph a. Nellis 28, Granger ind. Senior airman Richard d. Smith 21, big Creek,. Staff sgt. David a. Vickers 34, Whitmore Lake Mich. Others Donald m. Clark retired Navy age unavailable minor qua wis. June l. Clark dependent age unavailable. Robert w. Curtis retired air Force age unavailable Sault Ste. Marie Mich. James a. Phillips retired air Force 58, Abilene. Berlin b. Wooldridge retired air Force age unavailable Gwinn Mich. Jordan m. Wooldridge dependent age unavailable. Margret j. Wooldridge dependent age unavailable. Stateside student s aids excuse called ground for expulsion Selma Ala. A a High school student could be expelled for saying she had aids in trying to excuse extended absences from classes officials  who d pull a cheap stunt like that is in for a lot of trouble mayor Joe Smitherman said after the girl tested negative for acquired immune deficiency  student who was not identified gave her teacher a letter claiming she was frequently absent because she had contracted the disease said Selma school superintendent Norward  blood tests were negative for aids but Smitherman said the student would be kept out of school for the next two weeks while blood samples Are tested further. Maker of Coffee machine admits fires spurred recall Shelton Conn. A Black & Decker has con firmed that some Small fires prompted its recall last month of two types of automatic coffeemakers and said thousands of the products still Haven t been returned. The company said overheating could cause a fire Hazard in models Pdc-401 and Pdc-403 of its space maker plus Thermal carafe  Ross a spokeswoman for the company said wednesday that no one was injured in the fires which were confined to the coffeemakers and the immediate areas. Customers who return the defective coffeemakers will get free substitutes and their Choice of refunds or certificates for the redesigned pacemaker plus ther Mal carafe coffeemakers when they Are available in april the company said. Home pregnancy results mis Analysed study says Boston a Ordinary people frequently mis interpret results of Home pregnancy tests even though they Are accurate when used by trained Laboratory workers a report concludes. The report published As a letter in thursday s new England journal of Medicine questions whether the kits should stay on the Market. Or. Jocelyn m. Hicks of children s Hospital in Washington asked secretaries clerks messengers and janitors to Analyse 200 urine samples using two brands of Home pregnancy tests. Ten percent of the results of one test and 13 percent of the results of the other were , when lab technicians used the test kits one was 100 percent accurate. The other gave no false results and the results could not be determined in four cases. The researchers noted that the manufacturers claim the Home kits Are 90 percent accurate. Chili peppers so hot firefighters take Over los Angeles a heaps of Chili peppers went up in flames wednesday when they got too hot for their Good and fire officials said it was a Case of spontaneous combustion. The 3 29 . Fire at the West spice Plant in Sanfernando was extinguished 19 minutes later but More than $70,000-Worth of peppers seasonings and spice were destroyed said los Angeles fire department spokesman Jim  were no injuries reported. Spontaneous combustion caused the fire that charred close to 50,000 pounds of peppers and spices he said. What i m saying is these were hot peppers. They investigators figure the peppers being in Large piles or buckets formed this chemical reaction which caused heat which caused spontaneous combustion which caused the fire Williamson said. Vessey keeps Job As envoy to Hanoi for Row affairs Washington a retired Gen. John  jr., former chairman of the joint chiefs of Man will continue to serve As special presidential emissary to Hanoi for pow Mia affairs in the Bush administration the White House announced wednesday. Ins sey was first appointed to the Job in february1987 by then president Reagan. A White House statement announcing that Vesse will remain on the Job said that beginning with his first visit to Hanoi the capital of Vietnam in August 1987, s efforts have resulted in substantial Progress in resolving this pressing humanitarian Issue and end ing the uncertainty for the families of the missing in Southeast