European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 12, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday. April 12. 1992 the stars and stripes Page 9 Syc a Rix r�chsr�5�ke is in cd 0f pay a in so he a quoth records Quot he us a Quot a a a a  residents irked by clinics closure by Vince Crawley staff writer Garmisch Germany a officials of the 7th medical come who Are holding a conference this week in this Alpine resort town might get a Chilly reception if they visit the local military health clinic. Local residents Are up in arms about the commands decision to close the health and dental clinics on Short notice even though the tiny military Community is actually getting somewhat larger. The closure due to take place june 1, was announced March 31 at a town Hall meeting. A yes i know there is a draw Down going on in Europe and there is a budget crunch All Over a Melita a. Repp a family member said in a recent letter to the stars and stripes. A but even when a neighbouring military Community bad Tolz closed the clinic stayed open until the last Soldier left a Repp said. A your Community is growing. To close our clinics makes no  of More than a dozen Garmisch residents interviewed All agreed. A i think 7th me com is making a big mistake leaving a lot of people Down in Garmisch with virtually nowhere to go a said pfc. Peter Formato who is assigned to the clinic. Garmisch is one of the few american posts in Europe a a that a expanding with a goal instead of shrinking and trying to hold on to what they had a said col. John h. Prokopowicz the commander of the . Army russian Institute and the senior officer in Garmisch. He too opposes the closure he said. His Institute a with about 40 staff members and 90 students a will nearly double in size in mid june but medical officials say the Community will still be too Small to warrant its own health clinic. The three major military activities in Garmisch Are the russian Institute the armed forces recreation Center he and the nato officers school at Oberammergau and none of the them Falls under the command of the . Army Europe. However Usa eur is tasked with providing logistical support for the Community. The decision to close the clinic was driven by economics and based on the predicted Active duty army troop strength in the area after the draw Down said Barbara Slifer a spokeswoman for the medical command. A it has remained open until now because 7th medical come had sufficient funds before the draw Down began Slifer said. The clinic sees 15 to 30 patients a Day and maintains health records on 1,100 people including 130 Active duty troops and 250 of their family members. Those who attended the March 31 town Hall meeting say medical command officials told them that a Community needs about 750 Active duty troops to support a health clinic. Residents however Point out that Garmisch is no Ordinary troop town. Lured by the Zug Spitz Germany a tallest Mountain thousands of tourists and convention goers Are attracted to Garmisch every week. And on any Given Day 400 or More Are military id card holders stay at arc hotels. Also at least 400 military retirees live in the area making about 1,500 people a Day eligible for military health care. The 7th medical come Calls the tourists a a transients and does no to figure them into its health clinic requirements. To do so a would Drain resources from those areas where they Are permanently assigned a Slifer said. Residents disagree. Travellers visiting the armed forces recreation centers a make up 15 percent of our patients or More a said sgt. John Wiltinger the senior enlisted Man at the clinic. A people who live Here they done to fall Down when they go  a Ugis from the North come Down Here with their kids. What happens if one of their kids gets sick a asked retired warrant officer David j. Brinson. A a in a not guessing about what in a saying. During ski season this place is loaded with sprained  by the end of the summer the nearest . Medical facilities my be the army Hospital in Niernberg about 150 Miles away. The highways Between Garmisch and Niernberg Are a probably one of the most dangerous stretches of autobahn in Germany a Brinson said. A fall sorts of accidents Are happening on that Road. The Garmisch health clinic costs about $250,000 a year to operate said maj. Edward f. Fagan the Amer ican support team commander in the area. Annual costs for the dental clinic which also is closing Are $8,000. The clinic has seven enlisted troops one officer and three civilians. A the 7th me com May save Money a one clinic worker said a but a lot of Money a going to be dished out on the army Side because of  Many Community members said that when travel costs and the expense of German health care Are added up they doubted . Taxpayers would end up saving any Money once the Garmisch clinic closes. The military promises free health care to its troops Formato said. A now they re being told a we re not going to provide it for you unless you re going to travel four  a Wiltinger the sergeant in charge said his Crew is trying to close the clinic on extremely Short notice while troops and retirees Are lining up trying to get seen before it closes. Officials a intend to have patients Here use local facilities but Haven to worked it out a Wiltinger said. An existing agreement Calls for americans to receive emergency and after hours treatment without any Cost to soldiers Wiltinger said. The agreement stands As Long As the americans agree to keep a clinic open 40 hours a week to handle routine patients and a keep earaches and Runny noses out of German hospitals a the sergeant said. With Uncle Sam abandoning his part of the bargain a that whole program is shot Quot Wiltinger said. Clinic workers also help smooth relations with the downtown Hospital which contacts them when trying to collect on Bills from i tourists. And one doctor pointed out when americans run into trouble in Europe the first place they usually head is an american base. German medical systems and american medical systems Are different said Sandra Galvin who has been a nurse at the clinic for three years. Americans Are hesitant to use the foreign services except in emergencies. One drawback with Garmisch is that the Mountain Paradise has sort of an image problem in reverse pro Osowicz said. A a univ univ we us ,. ,lfu1�.6u,i Mai Luau. Ine army would of More willing to support i comics and based on the predicted Active duty army the Garmisch health clinic costs about $250,000 a Prokopowicz. A a there a got to be some calvinist troop strength in the area after the draw Down said year to operate said maj. Edward f. Fagan the Amer ethic that says its got to be Nasty to be  jewish group can buy Back cemetery City so Hamburg Germany apr a have been protesting plans to build a ish Community to private developers. Is ration Thomas Mirow said that 17th-Century cemetery that was sold by shopping Center on the location. Current developers suspended planned opera have offered to sell the Cut Hamburg s jewish Community to private the protesters say the cemetery still construction at the site in March after Back to the jews for 50 million Hamburg Germany apr a 17th-Century cemetery that was sold by Hamburg a jewish Community to private developers in 1950 can be bought Back by the group for 100 times its original Sale Price a City official said Friday. The cemetery in Hamburg a Altona District has been the scene of recent demonstrations by orthodox jews from Britain Belgium and Switzerland who have been shopping Center on the location. The protesters say the cemetery still contained 4,000 Graves and that the City a jewish Community had no right to sell it. The complaint was taken up by a City court. A Hamburg administrative court ruled thursday that the site had lost its cemetery status because of the Sale by the jew ish Community to private developers. Current developers suspended planned construction at the site in March after razing a nazi air raid Bunker and a retail outlet constructed after the 1950 Sale. Despite the court ruling developers Bull amp or. Liedtke said they still wanted to negotiate a solution satisfactory to the jewish Community. On Friday Hamburg a chief of administration Thomas Mirow said the developers have offered to sell the cemetery Back to the jews for 50 million Marks $31.6 million. He said the cemetery was sold in 1950 for 500,000 Marks $316,455 at current Exchange rates. City spokesman Reiner Rohde said the site is about 10,000 Square meters of property or about 108,000 Square feet