European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 24 a the stars and stripes thursday january 7,1991 by Jimi Jones education writer some fearful parents kept their children out of school wednesday but educators say the Best Way to ease War jitters is to keep classrooms full and Young minds Busy. For children anxious Over the possibility of War or terrorism school May be the Best place to be officials said. A a a. Quot a v  a a a Many of our students have been directly affected by deployments to saudi Arabia a said Joe Blackstead the Germany regional director for the department of defense dependents schools. A for them schools Havene come a most secure place and teachers continue to be stabilizing forces in their  not All parents agree. Manuela Hicks who lives in Darmstadt Germany took her two children Robert 8, and Christina 10, out of school wednesday. A you done to know what a going on a she said. She fears that if War starts in the persian Gulf there a no guarantee a that they done to blow up the school Over  she said she did no to know How Long she would keep her children out of school. A a in be got to see what a going on a she said. Minerva Mccann assistant principal at Frankfurt s Atterberry elementary school warned that a we cannot barricade  we done to want the instructional program to be affected a she said. A we need to keep their Little minds  a / v. Jane Lewachowicz also of Darmstadt kept her children John 10, and Erin 7, in school wednesday. A if you keep them out one Day the terrorist activity Isnit going to be Over tomorrow a she said. A and i done to want to scare them any More than they Are. You have to get on with your life.�?�. Some schools reported a slightly higher Absentee rate wednesday but the regional Headquarters officials did not consider the increase significant. V a the overwhelming majority of parents feel very secure sending their children to school a Blackstead said. A a we re confident that military commanders Are taking every necessary precaution to safeguard Dodds students personnel and facilities.�?�. Principals said some parents May have overreacted a we afe doing All we can a Mccann said. A i done to see any danger. The children Are protected and monitored ail Day a she also said that each bus has an adult bus Monitor. A if hostilities increase then Security would  a a a a a a at Hanau High school principal Allen Davenport said a number of children skipped school wednesday but the Absentee rate Wasny to necessarily related to the persian Gulf crisis. Quot a we picked up a number of them and brought them Back to school a Davenport said. A High school kids don�?Tt3 Tell you everything. Maybe they were just glad to see the  however he said a few parents Are a keeping kids locked in the House a glued to television news. And at school a a we be had a few stressed out ones but no  a a a a. About 70 percent of the Hanau students have at least one Parent in the Gulf Davenport said. It most communities have improved Security Over the past few weeks including armed guards patrolling facilities and armed guards aboard school buses Hanau tested its plan Jan. 10 and 11, Davenport said. A we have a plan to secure the school if there is a threat a he said. A we can to hide in a closet. We have to Trust the  ,. Contributing to this report Ron Mckinney in Darmstadt Germany Saddam from Page 1 1 a a a. A. A a wednesday that a military strike against Iraq a could begin at any  the White House said its decision not to strike immediately after the Midnight deadline should not be taken As a sign of wavering. A your forces Are still there. This is not Over a said White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater. 1a the president has gone the extra mile for peace. Saddam Hussein has yet to take the first step a Fitzwater said. Fitzwater told reporters in Washington that the Bush administration remains hopeful but added a there is a growing sense that we have to carry out the planning for the use of Force with some  asked directly if Bush had decided to use Force Fitzwater said �?o1 can to comment on any military decisions at this  Bush met with Secretary of state James Baker and defense Secretary Dick Che Ney in the Oval office. French lawmakers wednesday overwhelmingly backed the socialist governments commitment to use Force if War broke out. Britain and Canada also have committed their forces in the past two Days to possible combat. Italy a government wednesday asked parliament for permission to use Force. A a the diplomatic phase is Over a French foreign minister Roland Dumas told his Cabinet. A two other members of the multinational Force Belgium and Portugal wednesday said they would not Send combat units to Iraq. Iraqis ambassador to the United states who was recalled on tuesday urged More time for peace efforts a this warmongering has to Stop and More time has to be Given to a diplomatic solution a the envoy Mohamed Sadiq Al Mashat told reporters during a London Stopover. Pope John Paul ii sent appeals for peace to Bush and Saddam and the soviet Union told Iraq wednesday that if it withdraws from Kuwait the soviets would work toward an Overall settlement of Middle East conflicts. Saddam has tried to tie a Resolution of the Gulf crisis to the palestinian problem a linkage the United states has rejected. There was no iraqi response to the peace efforts. Fitzwater said Bush would respond to the Pope and expressed appreciation for his efforts for peace. Shortly after tuesdays Midnight deadline the Bush administration gave no indication it intended to attack immediately preserving the element of Surprise and leaving the door ajar for Saddam to Back Down. The first stage of a  attack was expected to be an Aerial bombardment taking advantage of Superior night fighting technology. The allies estimated 2,000 military aircraft outnumber iraqis warplanes 3-to-l. . Officials said the number of american service members in the Region Rose 10,000 to 425,000 a the largest . Deployment since the Vietnam War. Iraq has an estimated 545,000 troops in Southern Iraq and Kuwait which it seized aug. 2, doubling its share of world Oil reserves to 20 percent. In Baghdad Iraq soldiers stood behind anti aircraft batteries As thousands of popular army militiamen roamed the City with ak-47 rifles. Morning Rush hour traffic was unusually Light around Baghdad More residents were fleeing the City of 3.8 million and most shops were closed. The speaker of iraqis rubber stamp Teg Slature said Saddam already de Facto military commander would a from now on direct the  a the iraqi parliament speaker Sadi Mehdi Saleh said Iraq was ready for talks with the United states if it withdraws its forces from the area. But he reiterated iraqis threat to use. Chemical weapons if attacked. A a a. / Jordan Israel and Turkey prepared for a possible War. Syria and Jordan called up thousands of reservists and Turkey said Iraq has closed the Only crossing along the iraqi turkish Border. Israel closed primary and secondary schools so children could remain near Home in the event of an iraqi attack. Contributing to this report was staff writer Joseph Owen in saudi Arabia. Fear from Page t Here for months. I can to imagine what it was like being at War for years. We be Only been Here for a few months and it seems like in be been Here  Many residents began leaving the kingdoms pastern province Over the weekend heading West to Riyadh or Jeddah. By wednesday traffic in the normally bustling dam Mam Dhahran Al Khobiar area was sparse. Among those remaining the talk unavoidably turned to the Prospect of War and an iraqi missile attack. Asked if War was a certainty a smiling sri lankan pumping gasoline quickly answered yes. A Saddam is a crazy Man a he said without losing his smile. In Riyadh a filipino Bellhop asked a guest How Safe the hotel would be in the event of a War. He acknowledged his fright but said there Are no Job prospects in his Homeland. In at Khobiar workers at a computer store in a usually Busy mall said Only a contract with the . Army in the area had prevented them from joining those shopkeepers leaving the City. Sved Hus mat an Indian fruit and vegetable Vendor said his income was off 80 percent As shoppers in Dhah ran opted for More durable canned goods. A i stayed because in a not afraid to die a he said. A i believe m god and i Trust the holy Koran. We All have to die  less than a mile away a Public water Well was crowded with people filling plastic jugs and pots of All sizes. A a week ago everything was Normal a said Agaloos a filipino employee of a saudi engineering company. A most of us come Here All the time to get water. But the last two Days there have been a lot More people than Normal. They seem to be taking More than usual. In a taking about twice As much  Nazeema cot a 26-year-old cashier at the Al Johar supermarket in Riyadh said panic buying in the last week had stripped shelves of candles batteries flashlights Bis Cuits and canned food. In Al Khobiar the manager of the popular Safeway grocery store said canned goods sales had increased by 15 percent to 20 percent since monday. School attendance in the kingdom also was off wednesday reflecting the number of families who have left City centers or the country. The american Branch of the inter National school in Riyadh for example started Christmas vacation with More than 1,500 students but wednesdays attendance was 650. A the general reaction of parents is uncertainty mixed with mild hysteria and fear of the unknown a superintend Dant Daryle Russell said. The City a British school which started the school year with 750 students had 400 in attendance after Christmas vacation and 132 on tuesday the school closed wednesday for at least a week. The tension was eased occasionally by a Little humor. Scribbled in Chalk on some hellfire missiles belonging to the 82nd airborne div were such messages As a a Here a looking at you.  a we Knovs hell never be Able to read the messages a said spec. James Cox one of the Graffiti writers. A a it a a state of mind. I gave him my two bits a said the Houston native who works As a Supply technician on an Apache helicopter Crew. More seriously it. Col. Don Allyn a chaplain with the 2nd corps support come said he has spent time talking with members of a Graves registration prut. A i told them what they do will have an enormous Impact. If they Are to mis identify somebody that would have an Impact on several families. They have to do it very Well. They have got to be professional in their Job do each step that needs to be done treat the remains with  but there is no formula he said for preparing soldiers to face their own death. Contributing to this report staff writers Joseph Owen in Riyadh Ron Jensen in Al Khobiar arid Dave Schad in dam Mam plus Media Pool reports a amps Dave Schad a saudi civil defense official in dam Mam collects identification before handing out Gas masks