European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 13, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Page 11letters dear Ann Landers my sister and i read with interest the letter from the Reader who said he would give anything to see Quot dear old dad dance again. A a f the letter brimming with affection described How a a dad loved to Waltz to the Victrola music in the living room. An Ltd when dad and mom went out dancing everyone stepped off the floor and stood around to watch. We grew up watching a dear Young dad a then a dear Middle aged dad a and later a dear old dad dance his feet off but not with our Mother. Mom was a terrific woman. She raised us without a Nickels Worth of help from twinkle toes. He was never a part of our lives nor of mothers either. We never remember him taking her anyplace but he went out a lot All sniffed up with shoes shined like mirrors and a silk handkerchief in his pocket. Dad was a fabulous dancer but As a husband and father he was a Flop. I think of him when i see old goats making fools of themselves on the dance floor. Its a funny thing these dudes Are never dancing with their wives. Just look around and you la see what i mean. A the Melody lingers on Brooklyn dear Brooklyn sorry about the sour notes in that Melody but we appreciate your sharing your Story. Dear Ann Landers in a recent column you wondered How the City in new Mexico named a truth or consequences got its . Of course everyone who lives Here knows the Story but i am sending a clipping that will explain it to the rest of the world. A Kathrin w. Dear Kathrin thanks for sharing. I found the history fascinating and i m sure my readers will too. Here it is folks Between Las Cruces and Albuquerque n.m., lies one of the most publicized and unique health resorts in the United states. Originally it was called hot Springs. It is now known As truth or consequences. This City has received More National publicity from television and radio than any City of its size in the United states. One of the first things people who come Here ask is a How did this place get its  a in 1950, no cd a Ralph Edwards the producer of the radio show a truth or consequences a called a staff meeting and said a i wish some town in the United states liked our show so much that it would be willing to change its  to a truth or  it would be terrific promotion for our 10th  new Mexico state tourist Bureau Learned of or. Edwards wish and relayed the news to the hot Springs chamber of Commerce. The towns citizens voted overwhelmingly to change the  to a truth or  dear Ann Lande Sarc a n lancet a British medical journal that a 17-Ifi?r jul y l 265,000 japanese males showed that men  every Day Are 12 times More Likely to g l cancer of the Colon than those who drink no Alco Noi. Do you believe it dear Iowa Iowa ,nfr�k5.rieht a up there with the new England Ibel eve it it Dame for re i ability. If lancet printed it c creators Syndicate a abuse of sick leave benefits discussed i am a Naf employee who has been working for one year on the american payroll. 1 work in Berlin. I am not sure if the problem is All Over Germany or just where i work. The problem is sick leave abuse by the turks working on the local National payroll. What they do is go on vacation and afterwards they Call in sick and get another three to four weeks off. This has been going on every time they go on leave. It is not just one or two people who Are abusing the system either. Where 1 work the management is afraid of the works Council. If management wants to reprimand or dismiss employees they go crying to the works Council and the works Council backs them up. Everyone knows All these employees do is go and pay a doctor under the table and he will give them a sick slip. So where does that leave the employees on american payroll working double shifts including saturday and sunday because others Call in with the Blue flu. Then to top things off management lets people go on leave knowing that they will be Short on people Over that time period. Again management a reasons for this Are that the employees will go to the works Council and they will have to let them off work anyway. Does the works Council really have this much Power if so Why. Why do other employees have to work Long hours because some people pretend to be sick Why can to management just a say not to people who want to go on leave until they have full personnel backup being on american payroll i have nobody to complain to except management. They say their hands Are basically tied because of the works Council. What can be done about this Why does no to management have the Power to dismiss people who Are not doing their Job a  withheld Berlin editors note a Russell g. Thomas director civilian personnel . Come Berlin replies your Reader has raised a frequently voiced concern of both supervisors and employees. It has been our experience that this frustration is often based upon misinformation. While we Are not in a position to dispute the specific assertions made by the Reader with regards to that particular employment environment we Hope that our response will serve nonetheless to provide valuable information with regard to the More generalized notion of sick leave abuse. No matter where we May choose to work there will always be some individuals who will abuse the sick leave policy and other entitlements associated with the Job. Clearly the problem will exist in varying degrees when we move from one work place to another. As far As the Berlin military Community is concerned we Are pleased to report that the average sick absence rate for local National employees has been steadily declining during the past 18 months. Our sick rate is below that of comparable military communities in the Federal Republic of Germany and lower than the rate found in private Industry with West Berlin. There is nothing in applicable regulations or the labor agreement with our local National work Force to support the concern of the Reader about works Council pressure upon management to tolerate those who abuse the sick leave policy. While it is True that management must consult with and seek the cooperation of the works Council on matters of employee discipline including dismissals the . Come Berlin has experienced very few instances of noncooperation on the part of the works Council in such cases. In fact our experience has been just the opposite. Effective cooperation has resulted in the removal of a significant number of employees each year for sick leave abuse. If supervisors Are alleging noncooperation on the part of the local works Council As their reason for inaction in the face of obvious sick leave abuse they Are either misinformed or using a readily available excuse for failing to take required action. The key to preventing sick leave abuse is Early identification of the problem by the first line supervisor. Once a potential abuser has been identified the supervisor should coordinate with the civilian personnel directorate to ensure that appropriate disciplinary measures Are promptly implemented. If the supervisor chooses to ignore sick leave abuse morale problems of the Type expressed by the Reader will be inevitable. It has been the experience of this command that the vast majority of our local National employees Are hardworking conscientious individuals who will support efforts to discipline those who abuse the system. If your Reader or anyone else would like to bring a specific problem to the attention of the civilian personnel directorate or the inspector general a office such information will be handled in the strictest of Confidence by both organizations. Reader objects to columnists photo in a amps i cannot believe i am actually writing to the stars and stripes. I always thought writing to the editor was for people with poor coping skills or lacking a Chain of command. No 1 am not writing about cafes believe it or not i like the nor about the commissary. Nor about the enlisted promotion system nor about being discriminated about being single i kind of like that too being single that is. Nor am i adding my Public school educated opinion about Berlin Selling the Wall. It is about the stars and stripes. No it is not about the fact that it looks like an my blotter on Page two every morning the Back Page is a treat sometimes when they run out of space on Page 2. Of i am ready do something about George \ Ecsey a photograph he a a Good sports columnist but his touched up Abe Lincoln look ruins the entire sports Section. There i feel much better. Now to finish the rest of a great tour. . W Al Baum Heidelberg Germany pen pals i am a 30-year-old widow who has two children. I like singing strumming the guitar watching movies and swimming. A Erlinda Jasmin Remc Makar Annex general Santos City 9500 South cot Abato Philippines i am a 20-year-old student. My hobbies Are music dancing skiing sports and especially travelling. I would prefer writing to people in Germany a Oktay Kilinc . 1.tb. 6.bl. 06654 Ankara Turkey i am 21 years old. My interests Are sports travelling and meeting people. A Joseph j. Pacheco pc #1, Box 2884 Apo n y. 09283 i am 16 years old. My hobbies Are looms. Gall hockey and horse Riding. I like movies animals letters and cloth of. A Alison Gray 4 Cheviot St. Oil monks lid Lincoln ln2 5jd Lincolnshire. England the a  european edition col. Gene e. Townsend Usan commander editor in chief ltnc0l so Suzanne 1�?o Phillips Usan Deputy commander editor in chief Psi mar St pro Jor Deane b. Mcdermott this news managing editor circulation manager he military sbrvir1,1 a Riz de Una hic Al publication for members of Quot eyes parity the on Tjai vintf3 of tt1e stars and stripes ar0 not d0partmenl of defense or to i in  by the  of government the the an 30 0mhe  a european command. Supplements does Nita or ? no Al s publication including inserts or Ense or the stars and ? endorsement by the department of de Ewy Chinn i products or services advertised. Purchase use or0atrnni la Yipu cat on made available for National origin Ana Mariia a in lr�9arc to race co or. Religion sex and other non Merit Fantl if 2 s Palcal Handicap political affiliation or actor of he purchaser user or Patron. Main office switchboard 06155-6010. Ets 348-5741 or 5823. 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