European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday August 28, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 5hairline cracks in f-16s ground top gun pilots by the los Angeles times san Diego a structural cracks in the f-16n Falcon aircraft used to train Navy aviators have forced the cancellation of the current class at the famed top gun fighter Pilot school officials said monday. Pilots attending the school at Nas Miramar 10 Miles North of san Diego Fly the f-16s in simulated Battle against soviet combat aircraft. A they can to do it the training without the f-16s. Right now they re trying to look at some alternatives to use As adversarial trainers a said or nor. Mark Van Dyke a Navy spokesman in Washington. Officials said they plan to inspect All of the Navy a 26 f-16s. Similar cracks have also been found in Many of the 1,800 f-16s flown by air Force pilots. But capt. Betsy Freeman an air Force spokeswoman in Washington said that the air Force does not consider the cracks a safety risk and has instituted a strict maintenance program instead of grounding the planes. Some of the planes were flown by the air Force during the persian Gulf War and performed without problems Otti vials said. A Navy Pilot at top gun said the cracks cannot be seen with the naked Eye tilt Are located in critical Bulkhead areas that undergo tremendous stress during flight. The Pilot who requested anonymity said that the cracks were first discovered about eight months ago and have been found in 13 of the 14 f-16s used at the school. The cancellation is a first at top gun where pilots chosen to attend the six week course a known officially As fighter weapons school a consider it a highlight of their Navy careers. Navy officials said. Monday that they were Uncertain whether the 20 pilots in the cancelled class would have another Opportunity to attend top gun. The next class is scheduled to begin in october but officials were Uncertain whether it will proceed on schedule. Miramar officials who requested anonymity. Said that the Navy and general dynamics corp., the plane s manufacturer Are arguing Over who will pay Tor the repairs. Look. At us Iii Allyl ild Rivwa in us of wildlife researchers tackle a prickly project University of Hale weighs a Massachusetts graduate student Molly captured male Porcupine monday. Amherst mass. Apr How do you put a radio Collar on a Porcupine \ a very carefully a said Todd Fuller a University of Massachusetts professor of wildlife management who is using the devices to learn More about the habits of the quilted rodents. The Porcupine was picked for study because it is considered a Good indicator of How other Forest animals Are doing and How healthy the Forest is. A and one of the Best things about them is they Are easy to study because they done to move far and can be easily caught and re caught a Fuller said. Well at least in theory. It took two graduate students wearing thick Barbecue gloves the better part of the summer to refine their Porcupine bagging techniques. Along with a few scars Molly Hale and Sara Grei Semer now have about two dozen porcupines broadcasting their whereabouts around qua bin Reservoir. A we have been quilted quite a few times but nothing serious like a whack from the Tail a said Hale. The quills relax when they the porcupines Are anaesthetized so they Are fairly easy to work with. But there were one or two that got too Small a dose. A you just have to yank them out As quickly As you can a she said of the barbs. A it does Hurt but if you done to do it quickly they work in deeper. And then its  initially Fuller hoped the porcupines would Waddle into Box traps baited with apples. Some did. Others were trapped in stick corrals the students set up under Trees. But the students have had to follow some reluctant research subjects up Trees. A we have a joke about them taking disappearing pills a Hale said. Quot you will know they Are in a certain tree and yet when you look up you can t Fin them. Despite their poor eyesight they Are Able to sense where you Are and scrunch around to just the right Angle where they can to be  once a Porcupine is in hand the researchers flip it on its Back to expose the unprotected underside and Tranquiline it with a shot in the meaty part of a Back leg Fuller said. The Collar goes on just behind the quills of the  a a they have More neck than you would think a he said. A a it a just that when they Are frightened they Hunch their shoulders and pull in their head so they look like big round  the researchers eventually Hope to follow about 50 porcupines for at least two years to learn about their mating and feeding practices. Students will use the radio signal to find the porcupines in the Woods and observe them. The thorny subjects display a lot of individuality Hale said. A some Are quite docile a she said. Quot others Are pretty feisty and bang around in the  the Porcupine lives seven or eight years and has few natural enemies. Museum skeletons suggest that one of its prime perils could be falling out of Trees Fuller said. Fuller bristled at suggestions that the Porcupine is not the brightest of beasts. A they Are slow moving and people relate slow to stupid a he said. A but they have no reason to move fast and they do live a Long time so they can to be All that  in thl stars and stripes 10 years ago aug. 28,1981 the United states requested a meeting with the North korean government to protest a violation of the 1953 armistice agreement after a missile was fired at a High flying . Spy plane in South korean or International airspace. 1 million More latino children join ranks of poor in 10 years 20 years ago aug. 28,1971 West German defense minister Helmut Schmidt said he believes a . Military presence in Europe will remain essential even if agreement is reached on an East West reduction of forces. 30 years ago aug. 28,1961 East German communist forces pulled their an it Mored vehicles and weapons Back from the dynamite Laden Border they erected in Berlin and posted guards carrying Only pistols to hold their new position. By the los Angeles times Washington a the number of latino children living in poverty in America grew by nearly a third during the past decade a rate that easily outpaced escalating Levels of poverty among caucasian and Black children according to new research findings released monday. Across the country More than 1 million latino children were ranked among the poor Between 1979 and 1989, the most recent year for which figures were available according to the children a defense fund a Washington based nonpartisan advocacy group. The new findings based on analysis of census Bureau figures support a mounting number of private studies and govern ment papers documenting a nationwide Rise in childhood poverty. The accumulated research shows that child poverty rates have increased during the past decade for All of the nations racial and ethnic groups. Although a larger proportion of Black children still live in poverty than latino children the report showed that tre Gap is narrowing. The number of poor latino children grew at a rate of 29.3 percent Over the 10-year period. Among Blacks 542,000 additional children fell below the poverty line from 1979 to 1989, a growth rate of 6.1 percent. Altogether the number of impoverished White children under age 18 increased by 1.4 million a growth rate of 25.4 percent. Latino children who Are classified in Federal data sources As an ethnic group and not a separate racial category Are included among the while poverty figures in the defense fund study. Quot the growing number of poor latino children is responsible Lor much of the growth in the number of White children who Are counted As poor in the official poverty data As Well a the study said. Altogether 2.6 million or 36.2 percent of the nations 7.2 million latino children were living below the official . Poverty line in 1989, the groups study found. That compares with a poverty level of 43.7 percent for Black children and 14.8 percent for All Whites including latinos. Hostage holders apparently stockpiled food. A a a. In ii i. Tii Krikl Uii /1 it t r\/\t�11 to x 40 years ago aug. 28,1951 president Truman urged striking Copper workers to return to their jobs. The Industry was paralysed when 58,000 Union members walked out and an additional 42,000 workers were idled. Talladega Ala. Up1 cuban inmates who have been holding 10 hostages at a Federal prison since last week probably stockpiled food in preparation for the attempt to prevent their deportation to Cuba officials said monday. Authorities believe the inmates Are rationing their food and sharing them with the hostages. They think the inmates supplies were supplemented by food they bought from the commissary at the Federal correctional institution at Talladega. Prison spokesman de Crosley said two inmates had been removed from the general prison population for medical treatment but he quickly pointed out those cases were a not in anyway related to the hostage situation we Are  cuban detainees have been holding 10 prison workers a including three women a As hostages since the takeover began aug. 21, just one Day before 32 of the 121 detainees were to be deported to Cuba. Crosley also said there had been approximately 500 Calls from family members concerning inmates incarcerated at the prison. Officials set up a toll free number aug. 23 for relatives to Check on family members. Meanwhile 150 prisoners were moved out of the Penitentiary sunday to help ease the Burden for additional Security placed on prison officials