European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 9, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes thursday january 9, 1992 Man s monthly water Bill gushes to $52,100 Mark from wire reports Albuquerque . A Bill Burke has had a lot of company lately but. A water of Bill for $52,100? Burke opened his mail new year s eve to find the big Bill. He said his Bill normally ranges from $30 to a Little More than $100. A somebody slipped up a said Alberta Jones customer services supervisor of the City water department. A a we re  said Burke a a we a had a lot of company the past two weeks 10 people in the House when it normally has two so i went out and asked my sons if somebody left the Shower  wiping the slate clean Charleston . A an announcement that the local . Kress store would be closing jogged somebody a guilty memory after 50 years. Store manager Jim Cooke received an Anonymous letter this month that referred to the closing and contained a Money order. A the mention of the name reminded me of a fact that i had forgotten for Many years. When i was about 10 years of age i stole an exact knife from an . Kress store in North Carolina a the letter said. A the Cost then for the knife was 25  the Money order was for $30, which the writer said was the Cost of the knife plus interest compounded for 50 years Cooke said. The letter postmarked dec. 31, was signed a. Clear conscience. Exact knives today Cost about $2.59, but Kress no longer Sells them. Crises to be discussed Atlanta a former president Carter and former soviet foreign minister Eduard a. Shevardnadze will preside Over a conference of 200 world figures seeking ways to end eight continuing conflicts. The group also includes former . Secretary general Javier Perez de Cuellar and two Nobel peace prize laureates Oscar Arias and anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu. They will gather at the Carter presidential Center for three Days next week. The conference closed to the Public will discuss conflicts in Afghanistan Angola Burma Cambodia Cyprus Korea Liberia and Sudan. It is the first meeting of Carters International negotiating network organized in 1987 to fill a a mediation Gap created by the . Charter provision that bars member nations from getting involved in internal conflicts and civil wars. Arias a former Costa rican president and Tutu the anglican archbishop of South Africa have joined Carters mediation team. Perez do Cuellar who left office dec. 31, is its newest member. Carter aide Dies of cancer Washington a Gretchen Poston who was White House social Secretary to Rosalynn Carter died of breast cancer monday at Georgetown University Hospital. Poston 59, had been in the Hospital about 2\/> weeks. She underwent a Radical Mastectomy in 1988. She was a co author of the wonderful wedding Workbook published in 1966. She also organized social events for democratic National conventions. After leaving the Carter White House Poston was associated with a consulting firm. . Judge to quit Washington . District judge Michael Boudin announced his resignation monday Only 1 i years after he was confirmed to the Bench. Boudin said the resignation was effective Jan. 31. The judge who was confirmed in August 1990, said he wanted More time to commute to Cambridge mass., where his family lives and his wife works. Sen. Edward m. Kennedy spells out in Boston his plan to Cut Pentagon spending by $210 billion Over seven years. Kennedy proposes to slash Dod funds by $210 billion by the los Angeles times Washington a sen. Edward m. Kennedy advocating the largest peace dividend to Date proposed tuesday a $210 billion Cut in defense spending Over seven years to stimulate the Economy Ana support Domestic programs. The Massachusetts Democrat said the collapse of the soviet Union would allow the funds shift without jeopardizing National Security. He did not specify where the cuts in Pentagon spending which totals $291 billion this fiscal year should be made. A for too Long the american people have waited for effective leadership to revive the Economy a he said. A economic mismanagement Over the past year has allowed a mild recession to turn into a near  his plan Calls for changeling $40 billion to state and local governments during the next nine months. The funds would be earmarked for government construction projects education Job training and health care. It also Calls for $170 billion to be allocated through 1999 for education Job training research and development and a Universal health care system. A we must begin to repair the damage that a decade of neglect has done to our economic strength a Kennedy said at a Boston news conference. A copy of his remarks was made available in Washington. The proposal was the latest offered to Congress on How to use the major reductions anticipated in military outlays in the 1990s with the demise of the soviet Union and the military threat it posed. It came a Day after sen. Phil Gramm a Texas proposed a 5 percent decrease in Pentagon outlays in the next fiscal year to pay for an across the Board tax Cut that would yield savings of $466 a year for a typical Middle income family. Earlier democratic leaders in the House and Senate had said they favored using cuts in defense spending to bolster Domestic programs. President Bush who has promised to present his own Economy stimulating plan to Congress when he delivers his state of the Union message Jan. 28, has said he favors returning any peace dividend to taxpayers rather than raising Federal spending on Domestic programs. The conflicting ideas Over How to combat the recession and How much to reduce Pentagon outlays Are expected to dominate the election year session of Congress. Kennedy said it would be a mistake to use Pentagon savings to reduce Federal income taxes. Kennedy said he favors a tax Cut for Middle income families but Only if it is financed by raising taxes on the wealthiest americans. Helms dismisses most of gop staff working for foreign relations panel washing i on apr sen. Jesse Helms the senior Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee has fired nearly All of the panels top gop staffers committee officials said tuesday. The firings carried out on monday were part of a restructuring designed to increase the staff a effectiveness said Bud Nance a retired Admiral whom Helms brought in As staff director two months ago. Others familiar with the purge said it came because Helms Felt his minority staff was pursuing an Independent Agenda which was isolating him from the Bush administration and other Senate republicans. A i Felt we had too much overhead and not enough operators a said Nancy a whose ties to Helms go Back to their school Days in Monroe . A it was difficult for me to see exactly who was doing  Helms who authorized Nance to make the changes said Nance was a absolutely rights in his description of the problems. �?o1 just done to believe that holding a Job with the Federal government ought to considered membership in a private club a Helms told the Greensboro . News amp record in a Telephone interview. A if you done to do your Job you just ought to get out. 1 just Hope the word goes out that we re not going to have people who done to do their  among the casualties was James Lucier Nance s predecessor As minority staff director and a legislative aide to Helms for 24 years. Lucier did not return Telephone Calls seeking comment. Others dismissed were Cliff Kiracofe an expert on Europe Bruce Rickerson who handled state department budget matters and Tracy Usry a specialist on pow Mia issues. Five other aides and two consultants were also let go committee officials said. Republican sources said the change was triggered by Helms realization that some of his aides had become too Independent and were pursuing their own policy goals. Gop committee members complained to Helms last Spring that the staff did Little to serve their needs for information and analysis. Senators also were frustrated that the committee once a Plum assignment is now seen by Many As an irrelevant Backwater unable to Complete action on key legislation and reduced to processing meaningless resolutions