European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 16, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 a a a the stars and stripes sunday september 16,1990 recent Rains in England Italy barely a drop in the bucket by the stars and stripes Britain needs More than the few recent scattered showers that have been moistening the parched Countryside to make up for a second summer of decreased rainfall and High temperatures meteorologists say. A if it Rains solid right through the autumn and through the Winter it  make up the deficit a said Derek Hardy spokesman for the country a meteorological office. The areas that have been hardest hit by the Lack of significant rainfall have been the Eastern and Southern regions of England. Most of Scotland and Wales have had a a Good summer a Hardy said. The recent scattered Rains have been falling mainly on the Western and Northern areas of England. But in the Southeast of England the Light showers have not been a enough to Lay the dust a Hardy said. Parts of Italy also have been suffering from a Lack of significant rainfall. A your problem in Italy is that no matter How much rain we get in any one year it will never overcome the backlog of rain that we need a said col. Michele Conte Weatherman for the military aeronautical service in Rome. A droughts in Italy continue to increase As the years go by temperatures have been getting higher and higher than those estimated and the amount of rainfall drops As the years go by. A in a period of 10 years we have had a total of around 15 percent less rain than forecast a Conte said. A a that a the same As going 1 i years without  in England less than half the Normal rainfall of 2.5 inches fell in most parts of the country during August. The driest area was East Anglia a predominantly agricultural area that had Only 38 percent of the Normal rainfall Hardy said. The rainfall figures for july a month of above average temperatures were even worse with the county receiving Only about 40 percent of the average 2.5 inches. In Southern Italy August Wasny tas bad. Rain during the month actually exceeded the average for the month by More than a half Inch said it. Cmdr Chris Gallagher of the naval oceanography come det Naples. Precipitation in the Naples area has been above aver a Safe journey Vernon l. Walters right the . Ambassador to West Germany Waves to the crowd Friday at Kaiserslautern train station. Joining Walters is Rudi Geil Interior minister of Rheinland Pfalz. The two were part of a group travelling with the third chemical munitions train which arrived safely in no Denham on saturday morning. Age this summer although most of it came in Early april and in August Gallagher said. Precipitation was also above average at Nas Sigo Nella Sicily. July a rainfall was 0.34 inches about 0.14 inches More than average and 1.71 inches fell in August far More than the average 0.6 inches. The decreased rainfall in England resulted in irrigation bans for Farmers and Hose and sprinkler bans at residences being imposed in August. As of Friday an irrigation ban still was in place in East Anglia. According to end of the month figures for August about 39 percent of the households in England were still not being allowed to use hoses or Spring elders said a spokeswoman in the office of water services the governments watchdog of private water companies. Some air Force housing areas such As those for personnel at Raf Lakenheath and Raf Mildenhall Are included in the water ban areas. Anyone breaking the ban can be fined up to 400 pounds or about $780. Service members at san Vito Dei Normanna air station in Italy a Puglia Region were More fortunate. Base spokesman staff sgt. Richard Tatum said limitations were much More serious last year than this year. For example service members Are allowed to water their lawns at base housing every other Day. Last year they were limited to watering their lawns once or twice a week if at All. The Low rainfall will have some effect on England a agriculture said a spokesman for the agriculture development and advisory service. A yields Are average or a Little below average in the most stressed areas a he said. In Italy the Small Farmers in Puglia wont have any crops this year because of the Lack of rain last fall and this summer Farmer Antonio Scalera said. Small farms in the Southeastern italian coastal Region done to usually have water pumps to obtain water from underground he said. Medium size farms with some pumping capability will probably lose about half their crops and even Large farms will lose 30 percent Scalera said. The big farm pumps have pumped All the fresh underground water and now they Are pumping Salt water which is not doing the crops much Good Scalera said. A last year we lost produce. This year we re losing plants Quot he said.3 East German ministers linked to secret police Berlin apr defense minister Rainer Eppelmann is one of three East German government ministers suspected of having cooperated with the former communist secret police an East Berlin newspaper reported saturday. The Berliner Zeitung said construction minister Axel Viehweger and former economics minister Gerhard Pohl were also suspected of being former agents for the secret police known As the Stasi. Eppelmann denied the allegations saying they were a totally made up a the East German news Agency adn said. Prime minister Lothar de Maiziere said the government will investigate the latest allegations. Eppelmann a lutheran pastor often sheltered dissidents during the communist regime and played a leading role in the popular movement that brought Down the communist government last year. He later helped found a Small conservative party the democratic Awakening and became minister of defense and disarmament in East Germany a first democratically elected government in april. De Maiziere a government has been rocked by growing allegations that members of his Cabinet and Many legislators have a Stasi past. The Issue has overshadowed preparations for German unification on oct. 3. Officials overseeing the dismantling of the Stasi have said that three government ministers and 68 deputies in the 400-member vol Skammer or parliament who were elected in the country a first free elections in March Are suspected of having been Stasi agents. Their names had not been published until saturdays revelations in the Berliner Zeitung. A fourth Cabinet member environment minister Karl Hermann Steinberg also has been named As a suspected former Stasi agent. Meanwhile Interior minister Peter Michael Diestel came under More fire saturday when an official charged that Diestel has been hindering and delaying the purge of Stasi agents. Military Roundup Allied soldiers honoured for aiding Forest cleanup Wall turn West Germany a the state of Baden Wiir Temberg has paid tribute to american Canadian French and West German soldiers who helped clean up forests ripped apart by Hurricane Force winds last Winter. State minister president Lothar Spath presented a Streamer to he co Vii corps at a ceremony monday in Waldum about 30 Miles North of Heilbronn. The company accepted the Streamer on behalf of the 1st inf div fwd2nd corps support come 7th engr brigade and the 11th aviation brigade. All four units sent soldiers to assist the cleanup. The Canadian forces 3rd Royal Canadian regt received a commemorative plate from Spath on its own behalf As Well As that of the 4th air defense regt 8th Canadian Hussars 4th combat engr regt and Canadian forces base Lahr personnel. About 250 . Soldiers and 200 Canadian troops were among the 1,600 guests who attended the rain shortened event which featured music and refreshments. The presentation was held in Waldum because that area was one of the hardest hit sections and Many German units that helped clean up the forests Are stationed  still available for Christian seminar Mannheim West Germany a author and radio minister Charles Swindoll will present a Christian growth seminar sept. 21-23 in Mannheim. The pastor of the 6,000-member first evangelical free Church of Fullerton calif., and author of More than 25 books will encourage participants to a invest in a life Worth  Swindoll a radio program a insight for living is broadcast internationally. The seminar which will be held in Mannheim a Rosengarten auditorium still has openings for 700 people seminar organizers said. The seminar is being sponsored by the overseas Christian servicemen scenters Europe. Special sessions will be held for children in kindergarten through sixth Grade. No care will be available for preschool children. Conference fees Range from $20 for children through Grade six to $45 for single adults. For additional information accommodations or a registration form Call conference registrar Marla Mancini at civilian 06227-53665 or 06227-51577.gis in Germany sweep in chess championship fort Belvoir a. A soldiers based in West Germany nabbed the top three spots thursday in the army chess championship. Winning the army tournament was sgt. Wade Regensberg of the 256th my co in Frankfurt. Finishing second was capt. Jason Whitten of he co 4th in 32nd Armor in Kirch Gons while spec. John Langreck of co a 165th military intelligence in in Darmstadt placed third. They Advance with three other soldiers to the interservice championships against six Navy and coast guard competitors next week. The air Force is not competing this year. Regensberg holds a . Chess federation a a expert rating of 2,123 Points. The highest rating is a a master and requires at least 2,200 Points. About 3 percent of the 53,000 members of the federation Are rated As masters. Players increase their Point totals by beating others with higher  Star Dies at 61 Nashville Tenn. Apr Ben Smathers whose agile legs and fast feet helped spread the popularity of clog dancing during a 32-year career on the grand Ole opry died thursday of complications following open heart surgery. He was 61. Smathers Learned clog dancing As a child by watching an old Man do it in the mountains of Western North Carolina. His eight member Stoney Mountain bloggers often danced on the opry to fiddle tunes such As a Black Mountain rage and a old Joe