European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 8, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Inn Landers dear Ann Landers i have never seen this problem in your column and in be been Reading you for years. Please com a ment. Yesterday we once again took a neighbor s child with us for a sunday Outing. She is a pleasant youngster and gets along Well with our children. As usual she came with no it Money. The Price of admission to the Park is $13 per person. We paid for her. We spent nearly that amount on her hot dog French Fries Coke Cream sundae Caramel com and Popsicle. Her parents never invite our kids anywhere. They re no worse off financially than we Are. We also find it Odd that they never once have said a thank you for being so Nice to their child. We Are beginning to feel like chumps but we hesitate to say anything because she is a Nice girl and our children Are fond of her. Please advise. A West coasters Iraq Landry dear . Quandary since the child a parents Are no worse off financially than you Are i suggest that you ask them before you invite their child again if they realize that these outings Cost about $25 a person and would they like to pay her Way. Its Nice to be generous but your neighbors seem like strange Birds. I hear sounds like a cheap  dear Ann Landers an article in the paper says Christopher Columbus and miss Liberty Are getting married. The wedding will take place on Valentines Day 1992, in Las vegas. I am not making this up. In fact i will enclose the clipping As proof. Whose  was this anyway if the marriage does no to work out we will probably have to Send Alimony to Spain. Have people gone totally nuts it says philadelphian provided $193,000 for a cake shaped like a Bell. I always had a lot of respect for Philadelphia but no More. To put out that kind of Money for a cake no matter what it is shaped like sounds crazy. Done to they have any homeless in Philadelphia a Margaret p., Bellevue Mich. Dear Margaret in a glad you sent the clipping. It Wasny to a news Story it was an and. Did no to you suspect something was a a unusual when it said the Bride was 111 feet tall the a a nuptials Are the brainchild of Spanish artist Senor Antoni Miraldi to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus voyage to America. Its a Public relations stunt. Wake up and smell the sangria Margaret. Dear Ann Landers my aunt age 78, cracks her Knuckles constantly and it drives me up the Wall. Is this harmful please answer in the paper so she can see it. Hillsdale Mich. Dear Hillsdale there have been no scientific studies on this but a nursing Home Survey revealed that the knuckle crackers had slightly less arthritis in their fingers than the no crackers. So crack away folks c creators Syndicate monday october 8, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 11 letters a if retirement pay issues addressed. Answers to the following questions will probably be of interest to Many retired military department of the army civilians Days working in Usa eur in regards to the anticipated reduction in Force if. 7"  non military retired Days have seniority Over retired military Days during a if specifically do retired military Days get separation notices before non retired military Days separation notices affecting retired military Days result in overseas Tours being curtailed or Are overseas retired military Days in a different category than stateside retired military Days Are retired military Days eligible for any Severance pay under a if a when the if occurs Many will fall Back on the Money they have in their retirement fund. But like me Many May not know How much they have accumulated. The question is How does one determine How much Money they have accumulated in their retirement fund does the amount shown in the a a retirement Block on an earning and leave statement indicate the Correct amount its confusing because the amount of Money deducted from my pay for retirement was the same before and after i involuntarily went under the fers but i was told that a larger portion of the retirement goes into social Security under fers and a much smaller portion goes into the retirement fund. A when an employee is separated during a if what happens to the Money he or she contributed toward the Federal insurance policy is it possible to convert this policy to a commercial policy a name withheld Grafe Wohr Germany editors note a Shirley Wehr personnel staffing specialist civilian personnel division Deputy chief of staff personnel he. Usa eur replies the following answers to questions concerning if and retired military civilian employees Are provided with the caution that specifics on individual if actions should be directed to the local co a non military retired Days do not necessarily have seniority Over retired military Days during a if. . Appropriated fund employees compete in a if based on such factors As veterans preference number of years of service and additional service years credit for performance. The fact that an employee is a retired military member does not affect his or her retention unless it has an Impact on entitlement to veterans preference for if purposes. Generally retired military Are not eligible for preference in if unless their retirement was based on disability incurred in specific duty related circumstances or their retirement pay was not based on 20 or More years of full time Active service retired military at or above the rank of mayor must also be classified As disabled veterans. A when an employee receives a a a separation notice then his or her overseas tour is curtailed As is employment with the . Government on the effective Date of the if action. However career or career conditional employees who were recruited from Continental United states conus Dod activities usually have re  ploy Cut rights to positions they left to accept their overseas assignments. When employees with re employ mint rights face separation from their overseas position they have the added safety net of statutory rights to return to their former positions in conus. Overseas limited employees do not have rights of employment in conus. A the writer asks whether overseas retired military Days Are in a different category than stateside retired military Days. This depends on the Type of appointment that the employee has i.e., overseas limited or career career conditional. The Bottom line is that the same if regulations apply to conus and Uconus outside Continental United states civilian employees. The key difference is that a retired military civilian employee May be on a special appointment for overseas employment Only thereby limiting his or her placement rights to Uconus positions. A in response to the question on Severance pay employees in appropriated fund positions Are not entitled to Severance pay upon termination of employment if they Are eligible for an immediate annuity from the uniformed services. T a As far As the total Money withheld for retirement is concerned the earning and leave statement will show the total withholding withheld while continuously employed with the department of army. If an employee has worked with other agencies he or she must write to the office of personnel management at n civil service retirement refunds Washington . 20415 to find out the total amount accumulated in his her retirement fund. Yes under fers a greater percentage of your total deduction is placed in social Security. Fers contributions were 1.3 percent for 1987, .94 percent for 1988, and 0.8 percent for 1990. A any Money contributed toward the Federal employees group life insurance Regli is not refundable. Regli is term insurance conversion to a private individual policy is possible upon separation. Employees should Contact their local co for answers to questions pertaining to their particular situation. A writer worries about new world order recent activities in the Middle East have ushered in a new cooperation and working relationship among Many nations. Besides creating an Opportunity for the Western nations to break up open and establish a foothold in the Region the invasion of Kuwait has provided the United nations the impetus to assume its intended role As a governing body. The United states thought it necessary to seek approval through the United nations for the embargo against Iraq. Gorbachev advocates a military role through the United nations. Even Qadhafi has agreed to join the cause but through the United nations. The world is experiencing an in parallel Unity and cooperation. So what will be the result its possible that support might deteriorate if nothing continues to happen in the Gulf. But my guess is that this crisis will be resolved in favor of the United nations. Then the world will Herald the Success of the cooperation among the nations. The Bush administration labelled the . Sanctioning of the embargo against Iraq As a a new world  my question is a what will be the policy toward those who have dissenting views under the a new world order a a a Ayub g. Spencer bad sibling German the or a  european edition circulation 170,000 col. Gene e Townsend Usan commander editor in chief it. Col Gayle w. Fix Usa Deputy commander editor in chief Marie Kominicki Bob Wicker Deane b. 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