European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 24, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 a the stars and stripes sunday May 24,1992a group Effort workers for the general services administration in Washington prepare for Flag Washington Monument. On thursday the workers refolded the 7.7-ton creation Day june 14, when the lag believed to be the worlds largest will be displayed at the which was presented to the government in 1983. Each Stripe on the Flag is 16 feet  packs fun Between his pages Sis Jim do Helm author Gordon Korman says social issues turn Young readers off. By sue Harper staff writer Darmstadt Germany a Gordon Kormanos books Are sometimes pointless. He likes them that Way. Korman author of 14 children a and Young adult books said he believes Reading and writing should be fun. So if the plot of some of his works does no to always hold True he figures its no big Deal. Korman said some studies indicate that children Between the Ages of 10 and 16 lose interest in Reading. He attributes that trend in part to books that focus on morals and social issues which turn Young readers off. His books hardly fit that description. A no one Ever came away from one of my books knowing the meaning of life a he said. Korman 28, began a tour of department of defense dependents schools in Germany on Friday at Pitburg Middle school. He planned to Tell his Young audiences How he wrote his first Book at age 12, then to show them How writing a Book can be just As fun As Reading one. This week he plans to talk to audiences at Ramstein Heidelberg Lan Stuhl Baden Solingen and Mannheim. Korman stresses that writing is one Way that children can control their world. Stories follow a path that Only the children can decide he said. Children with control Over their lives is a Standard feature in Kormanos books. His characters often participate in a teacher Friendly rebellion that makes a Point but does not damage property people or animals he said. In one of his Bruno and boots Book series the school swim team loses a meet. The winners rub it in. Bruno and boots retaliate by pouring a Seltzer like substance into the winners swimming Pool. All that is lost is a few hours in the Pool. The fizz goes away and the Pool returns to Normal Korman said. Selling the idea of writing to children Isnit easy Korman said. He compared a child who is interested in writing to an adult who is a peeping Tom. A looking at kids in schools today being interested in writing is not exactly your a number one Cool thing to be into a the Canadian native said during a stars and stripes interview last week. Kormanos main interest when writing is what is funny. He wrote radio fifth Grade based on his experience while working at new York University a radio station. He thought a radio station would be a place where a lot of funny things could happen he said and they do in radio fifth Grade. Some of Kormanos inspiration stems from his childhood memories and fears. Korman said he remembers lying awake at night As a child in Canada wondering whether a Volcano would develop near his House. He said children often take things literally. A child who swims in Lake Ontario for example might figure out that a River connects the Lake to the Ocean. That same child might begin to worry about Sharks he said. If some of Kormanos childhood fears seem Odd the names of some of his Book characters and places Are sometimes Odd too such As Gara Raxa which he used in the first chapter of radio fifth Grade. Then there a Root Beer Ras Enett found in his Book losing Joe a place. The name Ras Enett is a spinoff of a a Asinett a the French Canadian word for Root Beer. A Friend of Kormanos saw the word on a Road sign. He told Korman the word sounded liked the name of one of Kormanos characters and dared him to use the name. A i never blow off a dare a Korman  sewage leak blamed on buildup of air in pipe by the los Angeles times san Diego a a buildup of Trai _ air in a 29-year-old pipe triggered the feb. 2 explosion that contaminated beaches with billions of Gallons of partially treated waste according to a preliminary report. If the finding proves True it would Bol Ster the Contention of some City sewage workers that human error caused the formation of a giant Bubble that burst the pipe. City officials have blamed a external forces a such As heavy Waves. The disclosure came Friday in the courtroom of . District judge Rudi m. Brewster. The judge also criticized the City a plans to spend $61 million on extending the recently repaired outfall and building an adjacent parallel pipe As insurance against the Kina of catastrophe that marked one of the worst sewage spills in . History. The spill contaminated up to 20 Miles of beaches from Early february until Early april when the pipe was sealed. Before then up to 180 million Gallons a Day of partly treated waste had spewed into the Pacific Ocean. The Independent firm of failure analysis associates of Menlo Park Calif came up with the preliminary finding or the accidents cause