European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 09, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday february 1990 the stars and stripes Page 3 thawing out the commissary freeze exhem store stocks up on is to Oid opening by Mary net ii slut writer Derheim. West Germany when sgt. Gerald Bishop entered the military he never dreamed he d be working in a grocery store. That however is what he and sgt. Mark Lewis of co d. 12th engr in. Arc doing. For the past week they be been unloading delivery vans blocking shelves moving equipment and even scrubbing Down floors at Dix him s new commissary. Those jobs arc generally performed by paid commis sary employees. But those employees Don t exist be cause of a Pentagon freeze imposed on civilian hiring Jan. Ii. The commissary which is scheduled to open feb. 21. Is 12 people Short. It does t even hav c a manager. We were just at the Point where we could have begun hiring employees said Denise Gomes of the army commissary system. Then the freeze  until the freeze ends oct. I. The military will have to keep the store running. Four soldiers have been work ing in the commissary and As opening Day approaches that number will increase to eight. After the store opens eight soldiers will continue to work there. Three will work in the warehouse three in the grocery department one in the meat department and one in the produce department. Beside the servicemen people from the Frankfurt commissary District arc Down Here pitching in said Bob Vitikacs. Frankfurt District manager who has been blocking shelves himself. We would t be Able to open the doors without the  Vitikacs said the new commissary s problems Are compounded by the old commissary. We need our six regular employees at the old store. S5 Scon a. Milf sri. Gerald Bishop uses a Handcart to move Stock out for placement on the shelves of the new commissary. Which we arc keeping open until the grand opening of this  he said. After we open we will have to train those people to use the new computers and scan  it took $6.5 million and five years of planning be fore ground was broken for the building in november 1988. The old store was not adequate for the base which has a projected population of 3,442 this year. It did t even have a warehouse. Some Stock was kept in an old Van but the store was mainly supplied by daily deliveries from trucks that made the 30-mile trip from the bad or Cugnach commissary. Including the warehouse the new building has 21 times As much floor space and will hold three times As much Slock. The soldiers arc being rotated for commissary duty so they Don t lose out on regular training. If i had t been asked to do this. I d be looking after my vehicle right now Bishop said. But is said the break was of because he s helping out the Community. Killer winds blamed on shifting storm pattern by Chuck Roberts Staft writer the windstorms that have been punishing Europe can be traced to the shifting paths that Winter storms arc taking. Atlantic storms now arc winding their Way South across Sweden and Denmark said Harold Straus a meteorologist with 2nd weather Wing Headquarters at Kapaun As. West Germany. Previously the storms made their Way across Northern Scotland on their Way up the norwegian coast. Taking a new path three storms have produced winds causing 29 deaths and millions of dollars in damage since Jan. 25. The latest storm occurred thursday when winds of 50 Mph to 60 Mph swept across West Germany. Heinz Zankl. Spokesman for the West German weather Bureau in Offenbach said one theory about the powerful storms involves the greenhouse effect. The effect caused by a buildup of pollution in the upper atmosphere prevents solar heat from escaping into space. According to the theory Zankl said the Green House effect warms the oceans. This warming creates More evaporation which leads to More storms Over Europe. The problem with Hal theory is that if it were True there would be More typhoons and hurricanes in the Caribbean and the u.s., which is not  he said. The greenhouse effect also has the effect of warming up the atmosphere. Bui the storms sweep ing across the country Are the result of the collision of very cold and warm  Straus also challenged the theory saying scientists Don t have enough data to support such an assertion. But there is a plus Side to the shift. The changing pattern is bringing pleasant weather because warm moist air is picked up Over the Atlantic Ocean and carried across Europe said it. Col. John Cipriano. Chief of aerospace sciences at the Headquarters of fice. Windy Winter in Europe North Atlantic Ocean norwegian sea recent storm tracks have changed from a flow along the coast of Norway to a flow through the North sea across Northern Europe to the Bailie sea. Is Susan hams the weather also is warmer because Europe has avoided cold fronts coming from Russia. Straus compared the recent storms to those of january 1976, when six similar bouts of severe weather struck within a three week period. The new weather pattern has left a path of destruction at military installations throughout Europe. At Raf Greenham common a windstorm knocked out electricity for More than 18 hours at the Clayhill housing area from wednesday evening through thursday morning. Two housing areas were without Power for four Days after a Jan. 25 windstorm that hammered eng land with gusts of up to 110 Mph Greenham com Mon spokeswoman Joan Burke said. There was no information on damage caused to other 3rd air Force facilities by thursday s storm. In West Germany spot checks showed that thurs Day s storm caused Little damage. But saturday s storm did wreck facilities. The Hanau military Community suffered $1.3 Mil lion in wind damage. About 1.25 Miles of fencing were knocked Down and damage to military family housing areas was estimated at $300,000. The Karlsruhe military Community is still recovering from $500,000 Worth of damage inflicted by saturday s storm Community spokeswoman Ruth Dyal said. The gymnasium in Germer Shim remained closed thursday because winds last weekend pried up the building s Metal roof. Meanwhile Safe said last weekend s winds caused $3.1 million Worth of damage to the com Mand s facilities not $6 million As originally Esti mated. Damage costing $3 million occurred at bases in West Germany. . Army helicopters also have been damaged in the recent blast of winds. I. Col. Arthur w. Hapner. Who commands the 421st medical in evacuation unit in grips him West Germany said his unit usually goes one step beyond the minimum precautions when it knows High winds arc on the Way. But sometimes the precautions Aren t enough. Two of the unit s 45 uh-60 Black Hawk helicopters suffered Between $7,000 and $16,000 in damage sunday when the pins that were connected to the choppers tie rope were broken Loose by the wind. Although his helicopters could take off and land in winds of up to 52 Mph All but the two aircraft which were on Mission standby were tied Down moored and placed facing the wind behind hangars and vehicles thai Are used As windbreakers. Contributing to this reported Reavis and Bon Mckinney in Darmstadt. West Germany