European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 4, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday october 4,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 7 a i h fuel Price increase prompts warning 11/ a Cuit Ntim t a _ Caiman a Maui Hamm 1_____ a. Washington apr some americans May have to choose Between heating their Homes or buying food this Winter As they face soaring fuel costs a proposed new Energy tax and cutbacks in government Aid advocacy groups say. A a we re going Back into the a food or fuel problem of the Early �?T70s for Low income and senior citizens a said Edwin Rothschild an Energy specialist at citizen action a consumer and environmental group. The average annual heating Bill of $800 a a common in much of the Northeast a will approach $1,200 this Winter he predicted. Federal officials said tuesday that barring a further flare up in the persian Gulf there will be More than enough heating Oil and natural Gas to meet demand this Winter. The question however is whether millions of poor and elderly americans will be Able to afford it. The hardest hit Region will be the Northeast which relies heavily on Oil for residential heating. The wholesale Price of heating Oil has soared from about 56 cents a gallon before iraqis aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait to $1.03 a gallon last Friday although the Price dropped a bit this week. Retailers have absorbed Only some of the increase. Budget negotiators added to the Cost spiral. The new deficit reduction plan adds a 2-cent Energy tax on All refined Petroleum products including heating Oil. Clair Jarvis of the american association of retired persons said elderly people on fixed incomes May need to spend Money on fuel that otherwise would go for food and Medicine. A in the Long run they will suffer physically a said Jarvis a retired minister from West Virginia. Oil distributors say they also Are victims of the Oil Market. A Philadelphia area distributor said her company has passed Only three fourths of the Price increase on to customers. Nevertheless the Price has jumped 40 percent since in july to $1.28 a gallon. A the Hope is that prices will go Down a said Bernard Smith executive director of the new England fuel Institute which represents heating Oil dealers in the Region. Acting up members of act up an aids advocate in ton on tuesday. The group Demon was filed in new York City on behalf of group demonstrate outside the health started to demand Access to disability five his infected individuals who were and human services building m Wash benefits for women with aids. A lawsuit denied benefits. A. Mail Carrier thwarts bomb plot Dumfries a. A . Marine bomb technicians detonated a bomb in the parking lot of the Dumfries Post office on tuesday after a letter Carrier called a supervisors attention to a suspicious package officials said. The unidentified Carrier was making a routine Stop at. A collection Box when the appearance of the package led her to think it was a bomb said Paul Giraux a spokesman for the Washington division of the postal inspection service. Giraux declined to reveal what exactly caught the carriers Eye adding that the investigation is still going on. A she was exceedingly very Good at pick ing up the signs that the Normal individual picking up might otherwise have overseen a Giraux said. A it did save somebody receiving this  he said her identity is being withheld to protect her privacy while authorities assess whether she needs assistance in dealing with the emotional repercussions of knowing she handled a bomb. The Carrier took the bomb Back to the nearby Dumfries Post office and notified the postmaster said Kim Chinn a Prince William county police spokeswoman. Postal officials notified the county police the postal inspection service and a bomb squad from the nearby Quantico Marine base. The Small Box was then a Rayed and was found to contain an explosive substance Giraux said. Several Metal postal carts were placed around the package and it was detonated in the parking lot Giraux said. No one was injured although Giraux said the intended victim would have been a quite devastated if it was opened As intended. Officials declined to release information concerning the intended victim or the sender. Giraux said authorities have some leads in the bomb plot. Dumfries is South of Washington , 3 bodies found at . Plane crash site mount Washington . Apr three bodies and the wreckage of a Small air plane were found tuesday on treacherous ledges near the Windy Snow capped Summit of mount Washington authorities said. Police said poor weather forced Rescue workers to suspend their efforts to recover the bodies. They were to go Back up the Mountain wednesday. The victims identities were not immediately disclosed. Hikers spotted the crash site tuesday afternoon. The plane is believed to be a Cessna-172 that disappeared from radar Early tuesday during a night flight from Syracuse n.y., to Bangor Maine. Residents reported seeing a red Light and a Flash presumably As the plane slammed into the Northern Side of the Mountain near its 6,288-foot Summit. A it is snowing. The winds Are very High. This is All going to make the Salvage Effort very difficult a said fish and game maj. Henry Hock. Officials would have to use ropes and other climbing gear to bring Down the bodies and wreckage Hock said. Federal aviation administration officials said the Pilot of the Cessna-172 that disappeared from radar had not filed a flight plan so they did not know How Many people were aboard. Encephalitis strikes 26 in Florida Tallahassee Fla. A St. Louis encephalitis a sometimes fatal viral infection spread by mosquitoes has struck at least 26 people in Florida the biggest outbreak of the disease there since 1977, health officials said tuesday. Tourists and residents were warned to Wear Long sleeved shirts and pants or stay inside at dusk when the mosquitoes Are most Likely to bite. Fifteen of those infected have been hospitalized and two Are in comas state health officials said tuesday. A a it a not enough for people not to come to Florida for vacation but when they come i want them to know they should follow precautions a said or. Diana Wells a state epidemiologist. Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. St. Louis encephalitis so named because it was identified there in 1933, is the most common Type and belongs to a family of viruses known As arb viruses. Sync Toms Range from headaches and mild fevers to coma and death. Other symptoms May include stiffness of the neck irritability extreme lethargy tremors and seizures. The death rate is usually about 7 percent but no deaths have been reported with this outbreak Wells said. Last month the centers for disease control in Atlanta reported High Levels of St. Louis encephalitis in Texas and Florida and High Levels of Eastern Equine encephalitis a a More deadly arbovirus a in Massachusetts new York and new Jersey. Federal health officials reported 108 cases of arb viral encephalitis last year. Eight people died during Florida a last severe outbreak in 1977, when 110 cases were reported. The last major outbreak of St. Louis encephalitis struck nearly 3,000 people 15 years ago the cd said. There Are usually about three cases a year in Florida said Ernie Dufree a spokesman for the state department of health and rehabilitative services. Since late july 26 cases have been documented in Central and Southern Florida and preliminary blood tests show that another seven Are infected Wells said. About 35 More possible cases Are being investigated the cd said. The youngest person to be afflicted is 14 and both of the comatose victims Are Over 55, Wells said adding that older people Are most Likely to show symptoms. The state health department recommends that people stay inside for an hour before Sunset and two or three hours afterwards. If they do go outside they should Wear Long pants and sleeves and use insect repellent Wells said. Boy scout troops in Southern and Central Florida have cancelled camping trips and some High schools Are playing football games during the Day rather than at night. Several schools have sprayed Mosquito killer on Campus. The Florida outbreak is expected to Peak Early this month. The mosquitoes will die off when Twilight temperatures begin to fall into the 60s