European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 17, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 the stars and stripes Friday april 17, 1992 european edition col Gene e. Townsend Usan Commanda Public saw Bernard a. Zovistoski editor news and editorial Sill Welker european editor Deborah Absher news editor Bob Wicker sports editor Bryan Nolan City editor George Manet special sections editor to write us unit 29480 Apo a 09211 or Postrach 11 14 37 6100 Darmstadt 11, Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to Call us dial 06155-601 plus Extension or ets 348-8 plus Extension As follows news ext. 237, 255, 282, 226, 326. Sports ext. 225, 269, 263,332, 321, 221. Features ext. 230, 245, 341. Letters to editor ext. 208. Education Jimi Jones ext. 226. Business news ext. 326. News bureaus Bremerhaven Germany Ken Clauson building 103, Carl Schurz Cavern Apo a 09069 Telephone ets 342-b659 or civilian 0471 -88702. Kaiserslautern Germany Peggy Davidson Kevin Dougherty building 2899, Pulaski Barracks Apo a 09227-3717 Telephone civilian 0631-52104 Tel fax 063150696. Munich Germany Call news Bureau in Nurnberg. Nurnberg. Germany Ron Jensen building 21, William 0. Darby Cavern Apo a 09222 Telephone ets 460-7256 or civilian 0911-712563. Stuttgart Germany Joseph Owen building 4303, room 201, Wallace Barracks. Mailing address co Vii corps in. Group of amp to Wallace Konecka Apo a 09154 Telephone ets 420-7179 or civilian 0711 -542571. Wurzburg Germany John Millar room 110. Olvar building Apo a 09036 Telephone ets 350-4704 or civilian 0931-71569. Brussels Belgium Rosemary Sawyer co . Embassy. Pc 82, Box 002, Apo a 09724 Telephone civilian 0032-22380967 Tel fax 0032-22309088. Mediterranean j. King Cruger and Gary Miller Naples Italy Asa Box 56, Fpo 09521 Telephone Auto on 6251110 ext. 4680 or civilian 0039-61 -7624049. New York City room 401, 252 seventh ave., new York 10001 Telephone 212-620-3333. United kingdom Mur tilth Winder building 464 Cess us. Raf Mildenhall Apo a 09459 Telephone Dow 238-2226 or civilian 0638-512226. Washington . Chuck Vlinch Ray Rowden Oast a the Pentagon. Room 2e756 . Sox 46095, Washington . 20050-6095 Telephone 703-697-6695 Tel fax 703-693-63b6. Business departments Christopher a. Eddy not general manager la col. Thomas e. Conrad Usa Deputy commander Marla Kohl Nickl production manager Dale Estes advertising manager James by sock i circulation manager Chris Ryan comptroller circulation for Home delivery service and inquiries Call the office nearest you listed below main office unit 29460 Post Lech 11 14 37 Apo a 09211 or 6100 Darmstadt 11, Germany circulation Tel fax 06155-601417 Germany Berun civilian 030-8331846, ets 332-3548. Bremerhaven civilian 0471-85166, ets 342-8119. Rhein main a civilian 069-692050 of 692665, ets 3306025 or 7103, telex 412712, Cen req Tel fax 069694067. Kaiserslautern civilian 0631 -57070 or 57079, ets 4897100, Tel fax 0631-50696. Munich ets 4406209. Nuhn Belg civilian0911-712558, ets460-7001. Stuttgart civilian 0711-546743, ets 420-7175. Italy Naples civilian 003981-56b5306, ets 625-5306. Vicenza civilian 0444-515358, ets 634-7545, Tel fax 0444-300-641, Spain Madrid. Ets 665-5b07, civilian and Tel fax 003416561465. Turkey Istanbul civilian and Tel fax 0090-1-1724843. United kingdom Newbury civilian 0635-44768, Dan 266-3209. Advertising display Germany 06155-601247 or 601309, ets 3466247. Classified Germany 06155601349, ets 348-6349. Advertising Tel fax 06155-601412. A please Recycle this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication Lor members of the military services overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes do not necessarily reflect the official views of. Or endorsement by a . Government the department of defense or the . European commend. The appearance of advertising in this publication including inserts or supplements does not constitute endorsement by the department of defense or the stars and stripes of the products of uni Cut . Everything advertised in this publication Shell be made aval table for Purchase use or patronage without regard to race color religion sex. National origin age marital status physical Handicap political affiliation or any other non Mem Factor of the purchaser user or  to Apo i have read a great Many letters recently about postal service. Most have been letters of complaint. Id like to give them credit for some recent excellent service. On a recent Friday just before noon in Garmisch i mailed two rather Large boxes by priority to Athens a. I was surprised and pleased three Days later on monday afternoon to get a phone Call from Athens saying that both packages had just arrived. Great work by the Apo and thanks by the Way to the postal workers in Garmisch who were Friendly and helpful. A Virginia Berg kit Zingen Germany mail complaints minor this letter is in response to a postal system  everyone in Germany especially in Bremerhaven knows that the mail takes about 10 Days to get to us. Yes sometimes there Are dissent letters but the Only thing that can be done to prevent that is to have fewer people write letters to their loved ones Over Here. Everyone always complains that the mail takes too Long or that it gets dissent a lot. The reason for that is that there is such an abundance of mail and there Are not enough mail clerks. What i suggest you do is quit crying that it takes your mail a few extra Days to get Here and cry about something More important like the homeless and babies born addicted to drugs. A Tyree r. Cooper Bremerhaven German non person in Berlin your recent article a Oberlin officials offer jobs benefits was Correct in reporting that there Are numerous Job openings in the Berlin military Community. But while spouses and off duty military find it quite easy to be offered a position those of us who have registered ourselves As residents in Germany regardless of our previous years of military service Are treated like former convicts. Last july i took an Early out and separated with an honorable discharge after nine years of service eight of them in Berlin As a German translator. In october i applied for one of the several local openings requiring translation ability and easily passed the required tests. Then the Long wait began. Not for an opening. For several months there have been and still Are openings for German translators in the command. No i have been waiting for a a background  it appears my unblemished eight years of service in the Berlin command did no to attest to my character. The fact that i held a top secret Sci clearance the entire time also does no to make me Safe enough to hire for a no sensitive civilian Job. German applicants who apply for jobs with the army done to have this problem. They simply get a form from the Polisei German police to confirm the absence of any convictions. An american who comes to Germany armed with Only an american passport is also quickly hired. Its Only after an american gets a residency stamp in his passport that he becomes a non person because of the red tape of army civilian hiring practices. A Jonathan Davis Berli editor s note letters from readers expressing their viewpoints Are published daily in this space. All letters must be signed. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. Preference is Given to Shorter letters so that More can be published in a timely manner. Letters should be addressed to letters to the editor the stars and stripes. Unit 29480, Apo a 09211. Too letters requesting information or assistance Are answered in a feature called readers action line which appears on Page 16 every Day except thursday and sunday. Such letters should be addressed to readers action line the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211.praise for articles please accept my compliments for some especially Good reporting in the past few weeks. I especially liked the investigative reporting stories such As the new automobile series the Story on the Apo mail system and the co civilian personnel office Grade adjustment Story. An earlier Story from reporter de Reavis about the old Man in Frankfurt who is again afraid to speak his mind on the Street because of the Neo nazis captured the intensity of the situation. Since i have experience with the areas of the Apo trying to buy a new car and the Grade adjustment Maze i think your reporting was fair and accurate. With regard to your co Story this is my first foray into the civil service system and my opinion of it is that it is patronage or cronyism at its Best a or worst Archie Grimmetty a comments to Afna Sann Mulligan disparaged your Story and spoke of it As being history but my experience with trying to get my position upgraded verifies your findings. One of my colleagues who worked at the Frankfurt co told me confidentially that your Story Only a a. Scratched the  last december i contacted the pm representative about buying a new car. The Price seemed a bit High and he  negotiate at All i called a Chevrolet dealer in the United states and talked with a Salesman who beat the pm Price by almost $1,000, including shipping and he would even get a trailer hitch put on the car. The pm Salesman in Frankfurt told me that i should take the stateside Deal. I bought a new car through the Exchange in Vietnam and i know that i saved a substantial amount of Money because the dealer where i picked it up showed me that he  match prices on accessories or extras that i had ordered. Its been 24 years and my memory is hazy on this part of the Deal but i remember that the Salesman in Vietnam represented a car dealer in san Francisco exclusively. In other words there were several salesmen in the Saigon Exchange each vying for my business and each representing a different automobile dealer in the United states. This Competition letters to the editor kept the prices Low is. The situation now where two organizations offer you a car and both realize they have a captive Trade. Cafes could re Institute this old idea and allow individual car dealers in the United states to get a share of the millions of dollars spent each year plus allow the Market to regulate prices. The car dealers in the United states Are victims of a recessionary Economy and would like to boost their sales while the dealers Here in Europe have been insulated from the recession and have been reaping profits. In closing again please accept my compliments for some outstanding reporting As of late. Please keep up the Good work. A Richard Bridges Frankfurt Germany gobble up those gripes every Day i cringe As i read the ridiculous complaints Many of the readers voice and am constantly forced to hide my pen from myself to avoid writing As Well. A letter from Frankfurt Germany however finally pushed me to my limit. You remember the letter a i know All of the readers in Italy Greece Turkey and especially those in the Remote Sites know which one i speak of. It was the one where the writer whined about the a lard laced Burger King hamburgers the a chemically Rich imitation cheese at Chi chips the a Greasy Chicken fat at Popeye a Fried Chicken and the a a putrid pizza from the cafes pizza parlor. What a crybaby. Those of us not stationed in a Little american would love to have the problems this Guy has. Most of us Are very thankful for the few services we have which Are Only a fraction of those available to folks stationed in More built up areas. I think we can All find something better to be worried about than non issues. There a always someone less fortunate who a be willing to Swap places in a heartbeat. A Charles Flint Camp Darby ital skunked by gimmick i read in the stars and stripes that the people of Lincolnwood 111., Are looking for ways to get rid of skunks. When a Skunk got into my basement Back in Virginia i Laid a Trail of bread crumbs from the basement Back to the Woods. Then i had two skunks in my basement. A Gene Phillips Frankfurt Germany pen pals i would like to have an american pen pal. I am 42 years old divorced and have two sons. I like pop music and watching television. A Vera Johnson 24 Merela House Denmark Road se5 London England i am 29 years old work As a Secretary and would like to correspond with american service member stationed in England. I like nightclubs restaurants travel and psychology. Sally j. Mills 7 Pinewood close Woodley Ramsey Hants s051 7tn England i am 28 years old and i enjoy Reading keeping tit and most types of music. A Karen Sharp 87 Tennyson Street St Helens Merseyside wa9 48h England i am 28 years old and my hobbies Are going out having Tun and cooking. A Debra Mitchell 83 Wheatfield Crescent shr Green Sheffield s5 org England