European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 24, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 news updates the stars and stripes Friday february 24,1989 balloon failure Yokohama Japan a Farnio Niwa came Home thursday relieved at his Rescue but embarrassed Over failing to become the first person to Cross the Pacific Ocean alone in a balloon. Uncooperative winds last week forced the 38-year-old balloonist to abandon his Pacific crossing and drop into the sea less than Halfway to his target in Southern California. A coast guard Rescue vessel brought him Back on thurs Day to Yokohama where he started his flight on feb. 15. Niwa said he Felt embarrassed by his failure and the trouble he caused for rescuers and others. Asked if he would try the Solo crossing again he said of course. I miscalculated and underestimated the winds this time but i think i got a taste of it. After re viewing the failure this time i can confidently say i can make it  arc will open Branch office to improve reservation service by Charlie Bowden Munich Bureau Garmisch West Germany plagued by overtaxed phone lines and a computer system that does t compute officials of the armed forces recreation Center Are planning to take their hotel reservation program closer to the Cus Tomer. Our single biggest irritant identified by customers who use the reservation system is in fact our reservation sys tem executive director James Mccrindle said. That s kind of a Misnomer be cause it s not the reservation system that s the problem it s the communications system. People just can t  to combat that the first of what could be a network of Branch offices is scheduled to open in Frankfurt in late March Mccrindle said. It will be the first arc external reservations office for direct reservations that can be confirmed on site  the agreement with the Frankfurt Community for office space includes a $2 pay Back to the local morale support fund for every completed reservation. Although the move is considered a test officials will begin negotiating with other major military communities with Hopes of opening additional offices in May he said. Communities under consideration include Kaiserslautern Stutt Gart Niernberg and Bremerhaven. Officials took the first step in taking some of the Load off the Central office last november when reservation lines were opened at recreation Center locations in Berchtesgaden and Chi Emsee. As a result about 20 percent of the Calls for reservations went directly to those two locations Mccrindle said. The Central reservations office had been averaging about 1,000 Calls a Day. In an unrelated change officials have revamped the Center s popular free group travel program and opened it to other services. Previously the program was offered Only to the army but it has been extended to air Force units and the Navy when ships Dock at West German ports. Under old rules groups of 25 or More had to include at least half in grades e-5 or below. Now at least half of the group must be Active duty service members. The group travel program provides free bus transportation to any of the Cen Ter s three locations in Southern Bavaria. In past years the Center has averaged about 500 busloads annually with the Peak during the Winter ski season. Mccrindle said he expects that will increase by about a third with the changes in group composition rules and expansion to the other services. Congressman charged Over sex with girl Columbus Ohio a . Rep. Donald e. Lukens was indicted thursday on a Misdemeanour charge stemming from allegations that he had sex witha teen age girl a prosecutor said. The 58-year-old divorced congressman was indicted by a Franklin county grand jury on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile girl count prosecutor Michael Miller said. Lukens a Ohio faces up to 180 Days in jail and Afine if convicted Miller said. Anna Coffman the Mother of a 17-year-old Colum bus girl has accused Lukens of paying for sexual relations with her daughter on two occasions once fou years ago when the girl was 13. In a statement the four term congressman said i do categorically deny that i contributed to the Delin Quency and Una ugliness of a minor at any  on feb. 1, Columbus television station Syx broadcast a videotape that shows Lukens apparently offering a Job to Coffman after she asked him Why he was Messin around with her daughter. The station said it secretly videotaped the nov. 11 meeting be tween Lukens and Coffman at a fast food restaurant i Columbus. Lukens told Coffman that he thought her daughter was an adult according to the videotape. The Fri reviewed the tape and said it found no evidence of bribery or extortion. Police investigated Lukens last year and gave their report to Miller. The grand jury did not request testimony from la kens and he did not testify before the panel Miller said. Had the congressman wished to testify i would have allowed him to testify Miller said. Lukens also was the subject of published reports this weekly Flat he sought and accepted a $95,000 Bank loan in Joisie 1985, a week before he voted for a banking Bill he sponsored while he was a state senator. The Bill allowed financial institutions to expand into other states. He has declined to comment on those reports. But spokesman Bill Jarrell said Lukens did nothing wrong and used no influence in soliciting the. Loan needed to save the family farm from foreclosure. Lukens was first elected to Congress in 1966 and served two terms before he lost a bid for governor inthe 1970 Republican primary. After that race he was barred from seeking Public office for five years for not filing Campaign reports on time. However that Campaign Law was changed before the five year period expired and he was appointed to the state Senate in 1971 to fill an unexpired term. In 1974, while in the state Senate he fought allegations that he accepted $1,000 in Campaign contributions from South korean businessman ton Sun Park during his first stint on Capitol Hill. He denied the charge presenting the results of a voluntary lie Detec Tor test that indicated he was not lying when he said he had not received a contribution from Park. He was elected to Congress again in 1986. 6 bodies found first of try to keep differences with Bush private at of crash site Hurlburt Field Fla. A rescuers recovered the remains of six air Force officers and service members wednesday and planned to continue their search for the bodies of two others presumed dead in the crash of an air Force cargo plane officials said. The remains Are being taken to the regional military Hospital at Eglin fab for identification said spokeswoman Victoria Hanson. The c-141b had a Crew of seven and had picked up a passenger retired air Force capt. John g. Galvin of Jacksonville Dur ing a refuelling Stop in Colorado Springs Hanson said. Staff sgt. Robert Pfenning a Norton spokesman identified the Crew members As capt. Mark j. Chambers 30 capt. John f. Young 30 master sgt. Robert e. Wright jr., 37 tech. Sgt. Ronald d. Grubbs 29 staff sgt. John w. Remerscheid 33 staff sgt. Karl m. Kohler 32 and airman 1st class Scott Craig 22. Correction photographs of the nominees of acad Emy awards for Best actress and Best supporting actress appeared under the wrong headlines in stripes Magazine on thursday. Best actress nominees Are Sigourney Weaver Melanie Griffith Glenn close Jodie Foster and meryl Streep. Best sup porting actress nominees Are Weaver Joan Cusack Geena Davis Frances Mcdormand and Michelle Pfeiffer. Tokyo a Barbara Bush has decided to keep any disagreements with president Bush within the family after a Public difference Over whether military style assault weapons should be outlawed was announced thursday. Under a new policy revealed As mrs. Bush arrived in Tokyo for the funeral of emperor Hirohito the first lady no longer will talk about such issues As gun con Trond abortion. They Are not the issues where she wishes to have a focus said Anna Perez her press  does t mean she does t have a right to an opinion. It Means she has a right to discuss them or  mrs. Bush and her husband appeared at Odds after she said in a recent inter View with the associated press that she absolutely favors a ban on military style assault weapons such As the one used in the january schoolyard attack in Stockton calif., in which five children were killed and More than two dozen were wounded. Questioned separately the president said he does not favor a ban on semiautomatic weapons because they Are used by sportsmen and Hunters. It was a Semi automatic ak-47 that was used  attack. Bush a lifetime member of the National Rifle association the nation s largest gun lobby said police should do More to enforce the Laws. Perez quoted the first lady As saying there in t that much of a difference of opinion Between Bush and his wife Over assault style weapons. If there is they will discuss it among themselves Perez added. The press Secretary said mrs. Bush wants to highlight such issues As the homeless aids and illiteracy. Emphasizing that mrs. Bush does not want to take the limelight from her Hus band on important subjects Perez said she s not the one that makes policy. She does t lobby Congress. She s not  meanwhile mrs. Bush had Tea with Naoko Takeshita wife of japanese prime minister Noboru Takeshita and expressed sympathy Over the death of Hirohito who died of cancer at 87. In turn mrs. Takeshita offered her congratulations on Bush s election. The two women met at the official residence of the Takeshita although the family actually lives in a private Home i Tokyo. Sun to interfere with an reception by Jimi Jones staff writer Sun interference will disrupt midday television service next week for some viewers of the american forces network in Europe network officials said thurs Day. Viewers in Central Europe and the United kingdom can expect disruption in their signal to last Between one minute and eight minutes for six Days beginning at 12 20 . Sunday officials said. An spokesman capt. Jeffrey l. Whitted said Sun interference occurs when the network s satellite and receiving dish Are in direct alignment with the Sun. The disruption is highly predictable. Whitted said viewers can expect their screens to become snowy getting progressively worse until the picture is totally lost when Sun interference occurs. Television reception returns the same Way getting better As the interruption ends. Stateside television stations use a series of satellite dishes that automatically switch when Sun interference occurs Whitted said. An is susceptible because it uses a single satellite dish. Viewers can expect an television service to be interrupted at the following dates and times. Times indicated Are Central european time sunday at 12 20 ., for one minute. Monday at 12 17 ., for seven min utes. Tuesday at 12 16 ., for eight min utes. Wednesday at 12 16 ., for eight minutes. Thursday at 12 16 ., for seven minutes. March 3 at 12 18 ., for three min utes