European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Gospel themes live on today by David Briggs the associated press in legend and in Christmas cards they Are pictured together at the feet of a poor infant the Wise men with their Gold frankincense and myrrh alongside the lowly shepherds with nothing to Olfer but their adoration. If the depiction May be inaccurate a the two groups appear in different biblical accounts a it still illustrates the Central themes of sacrifice and love in the gospel infancy narratives Many scholars say. And it is a theme that continues to be played out in homeless shelters soup kitchens and hospitals today say modern Day Wise men and women. Quot being a Channel of compassion into the world is a Celebration of the themes in Matthew and Luke Quot which recount the nativity Story said Robert Smith professor of new testament at Pacific lutheran Seminary in Berkeley Calif. Compassion is what Raymond Mccann found in a skid Row Rescue Mission. Now he celebrates Christmas by giving it to others. Mccann a self described Quot falling Down drunk Quot before he entered the Union Rescue Mission in los Angeles eight years ago says he knows the hopelessness of the homeless at Christmas. Quot it in t getting a piece of Coal because you were bad it s just because you feel like a piece of Coal Quot Mccann said. But hitting Bottom sometimes makes it easier to discover the True spirit of Christmas says Mccann 50. Flow he works at the shelter. Quot the world s into materialism. It s giving and getting expensive presents Quot he says. A Welt we Don t have the Means to do that. The thing we give Here at the Mission is ourselves. That s about Alt we be  in Las vegas a few blocks from the strip where casinos tout riches at the pull of a Slot handle a to headed boy asked Sylvia Van Patten if Santa Claus is coming to her Crossroads shelter for homeless families. Quot of course he is Quot said the shelter director who takes Pride that there is room at one Las vegas inn for modern Day marys and Josephs. Quot one of the greatest Hopes Ever Given us was Jesus Christ a Van Patten said. Quot he provided Hope for the future readers action Linen co questions test scores tenure rules go a am concerned with the High year of tenure. My separation Date will be August 1992. With the draw Down of Raf upper Heyford i suspect they will be needing the most experienced people they can get. I am the Coic of locator mail in the Post office. I have worked this Section 2v� years. When the base starts to draw Down i figure a person of my experience would be greatly needed. The people rotating in Between now and August Are inexperienced. They will make up three fourths of our Manning level. With the draw Down i feel the rerouting of members May be delayed. My information tells me that there is no Way i will be Able to extend my Deros Date eligible to return from overseas beyond the High year tenure Date. Can you help me or at least give me a definite answer that i will have to separate also i am convinced that my was weighted airman promotion system testing scores May be incorrectly tallied 1 know a computer grades All tests and can make mistakes people affected with the High year of tenure should be allowed the Courtesy of having All their was testing materials re graded manually. If my tests were regraded i am convinced i would have made it sgt. Lindsay s. Good Raf upper Heyford England e senior master sgt. Fred Lopez and master sgt. Valerie Matias plays in the playroom at children a Hospital of Pittsburgh before Christmas and this is their Hope Lor the  at children a Hospital in Pittsburgh intravenous tubes hang from some of the Young patients like lights on a Christmas tree. But As Early As 4 . Christmas Day some of the children will be checking the stockings at the toot of their Beds and eagerly awaiting a later visit from Santa when even the sickest child May open his or her eyes for a few moments. Quot some of the kids May be sitting up in bed throwing up from chemo treatment Quot said Lyn Mulroy assistant director of child life a even at those times you get a smile and a thank you from the kids. The parents Are sometimes overwhelmed emotionally by the scene. A eight year old Valerie Matias a robust looking girl with Long Brown hair who portrays Mary when her family re enacts the biblical Christmas is writing her life Story beginning with her first Christmas which she spent in the Hospital. Quot Mommy did t think i was going to make it but i did Quot wrote Valerie who suffers from cystic fibrosis and diabetes Quot we think it was because god helped the doctors through the prayers people sent up to god. Quot at Harlem Hospital in new York even the babies in the neonatal intensive care unit Are not forgotten. Quot the poorest parents will bring something no matter How Small for Christmas Quot said or. Carlether Burwell Deputy director for nursing. Sharon Bernes he Safe personnel reply your concern regarding remaining on Active duty beyond your High year of tenure Hyt is Well taken and we Welcome the Opportunity to explain How the Hyt process works. Hyt waiver requests May be submitted for personnel whose separation or retirement from the air Force would cause severe Mission degradation. The request must be initiated by the Wing commander or the equivalent and is processed through personnel channels to the maj com major command chief of staff with final approval authority resting with the vice commander air Force military personnel Center. Requests May be disapproved at any level but Only the vice commander air Force military personnel Center has approval authority. Additionally individuals May also request an Hyt Extension request based upon extreme personal hardship and desires to remain on Active duty to resolve problems not common to contemporaries Hyt waivers will not be considered to resolve situations such As Lack of prospective civilian employment disruption of school year Manning Levels or similar circumstances. These requests Are processed through the members local command channels and forwarded through personnel channels to the maj com chief of staff. Again the request May be disapproved at any level but Only be approved by the vice commander air Force military personnel Center. Should you need further information on Hyt Extension waivers we recommend you Contact your consolidated base personnel office Capo. Your letter also gives us the Opportunity to explain the air Force policy regarding verification of promotion test scores there is provision in air Force regulation 35-8 for members to request verification of test scores however there Are exclusions. First there must be substantial evidence that a scoring error May have occurred it is not coincidental Many Bible scholars say that in his first Public teaching in the gospel of Luke that Jesus reads Quot the spirit of the lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring Good news to the  and in his last Public teaching in Matthew where the other Christmas account is taken from Jesus talks of the responsibility of caring for the poor homeless the sick and those in prison truly i Tell you just As you did not do it to one of the least of these you did not do it to me Quot Quot when christians read their Bible at the most elemental level they cannot but conclude that Christmas Speaks to the issues of poverty homelessness refugees Quot said William a Hendricks of Southern Baptist theological Seminary in Louisville. But it is not enough to contemplate these issues Hendricks and others say christians Are enjoined to do something about them if Only to reassure those who suffer that god is at work in the world Quot Christmas has a special meaning to these people if they find that they Are being provided for in some Way at least Quot said the Rev. Vincent Bono of the Brothers of the sacred heart who operate a new Orleans soup Kitchen. Quot if there was no place for them to eat if the churches quit helping and the social agencies shut Down it would be hard for them to receive gods blessings. To be open to them. Now at least they know his works go  further an individual s belief that his or her test score does not reflect the persons study efforts is not sufficient. Since the beginning of the use of promotion test answer sheets and the highly sophisticated scanning equipment which translates responses to computer files a double checks Quot have been conducted. After the promotion selection process for each Cycle is completed approximately 25 sets of answer sheets for individuals from both select and non select lists Are randomly pulled and manually scored with score keys provided by the air Force occupational measurement Center at Randolph fab Texas. This Check not Only ensures the accuracy of the scanning equipment but also assures the Correct scoring keys in the computer were used. The error rate since the inception of answer sheets scanners has been a constant Zero. That s Why the regulation leaves Little latitude for requesting verification of scores. If you still believe you have evidence that an error occurred and your situation is not mentioned above you submit your request to your servicing Capoto write us readers action line is the readers Quot court of last resort striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you ave a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes Apoate 09> it. Ail letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those Seekin information of general interest to our readers. Page 16 a the stars and stripes tuesday december 24, 1991