European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 11, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday december 11, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 7 Furth Exchange shows Way for cafes Magnet stores by Ron Jensen Niernberg Bureau Forth Germany a the cafes Exchange near Furtha a . Darby Cavern will become a a Magnet store for those communities in the area hit by the draw Down of the army in Europe. As surrounding communities lose services the Furth Exchange increases in importance said Sabine Ellis Brown the store manager. And that importance carries a responsibility. A they can come and shop with us and find what they re looking for a Ellis Brown said. A if you drive 100 Kilometres to get it Well have  the concept is expected to spread throughout Europe As the draw Down closes some communities and reduces population and services in others. And Ellis Brown said her store is considered a prototype for the Effort. The plan has not been finalized but should include several a Magnet stores around Europe said Barbara Kirsch an cafes spokeswoman at the Headquarters in Birndorf Germany. Cafes officials Arentt speculating As to which communities Are Likely Sites. The Furth store has seen an increase in its weekend business As communities in Bavaria and across Southern Germany shrink. In fact the stores weekend business has grown from 40 percent of the weeks Trade to 48 percent said assistant manager Jerry Myers. Last weekends business accounted for exactly 50 percent of the weeks business. About 10,000 transactions Are recorded each saturday on the stores registers Myers said accounting for about 30,000 items. A if people Are going to travel we have a Respo Sibili 7.000 to 5,000. Moriyama  assumed his position in August said it took time to learn How to react to draw Downs and to know which products Are in demand. He said the takeover by the Agency was an evolving process and that it Wasny to until june that most commissaries began ordering All of their Semi perishables from the distribution Center at Raf Lakenheath. But customers still complain that they can to always find the products they want. A the people need to know its not the commissary officers fault a Brown said. A a it a not the managers fault. Its the fault of the system. The commissary officer no longer has any control. We re just caretakers. We re not commissary  until the Agency was created individual stores ordered their own items. Commissaries were United under the Agency in october 1991 and a list of about 5.000 Semi perishable items was created to ease ordering Moriyama said. Stores had to phase out any items that were not on the list. Navy and air Force stores in England and Scotland order their Semi perishables from the distribution Center at Raf Lakenheath. Stores in Belgium Germany Norway and the Netherlands order from a Center in Sermersheim Germany. Stores in the Mediterranean to to that customer Quot he said. The status of Magnet store Means the Exchange will focus on its inventory to ensure merchandise is Quot available. There also will be a closer relationship with vendors that should translate into More timely deliver of Stock Ellis Brown said. As part of the project the store began a major renovation in August. In flirt he Scase the store did no to require an expansion to handle the additional business but merely More efficient use of floor space and different groupings of items. Although the renovation is not yet Complete the store is holding a a grand reopening today through sunday. Some merchandise will be reduced and some purchases will be accompanied by a free gift. An obvious difference since the renovation began is the Transfer of the audio equipment to a room on the second floor. Customers there can Sample the merchandise by playing music without disrupting customers shopping for clothes. The renovation also allows the store to have a toy land year round and an expanded furniture department. The new concept will include shops within the store such As a menus suits shop a sports shop and a jewelry shop. A baby land which will feature everything for a baby up to age 2, will open after Christmas. A the selection will be better and deeper because you concentrate More on the merchandise in that area a Ellis Brown said. The finished product she said should be a store with the ambience anti the services found in the states. Also get most of their supplies from Germany. The distribution centers place their main orders with the defense personnel Center in Philadelphia which in turn makes the final order. That allows the Agency to get better prices Moriyama said. Denise Gomes spokeswoman for the Agency a european Region said the distribution centers also allowed each store to order More frequently and merchandise to be sent quicker. However Brown said 30 percent to 40 percent of the orders he placed in october and november were rejected by the . Center and had to be reordered. A a it a the same All Over a said another commissary officer  asked not to be identified. That officer and another said they were experiencing the same percentage of rejections. A third commissary officer said his store got fewer rejections. A Moriyama said the percentages could be misleading because they Only included items not on hand at the warehouse for instance. Another commissary officer agreed and said it would be better to talk about the percentages of Stock on shelves. Other figures show that since september stores have carried an average of 91 percent to 92 percent of the types of products they Are supposed to carry. A Small percentage of these items Are substitute brands said Shirley Marshall Central distribution manager for Agency a . District. Still defiant Neo nazi draws 2 years 8 months from wire reports Berlin a a court has sentenced Neo nazi Leader Thomas Dickel to two years and eight months in prison after a two Day trial during which he repeated the very Neo nazi propaganda that landed him in court. Sentencing came wednesday As the government took the rare step of asking the Federal constitutional court to limit the rights of Dienel 31, and another Neo nazi Heinz Racisz 54. Only two such applications against rightists have been made since the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949, and both were rejected. If stripped of their civic rights the men would be barred from running for Public office taking part in or organizing political meetings or making political statements. Rightists beat immigrant Rome a three rightist radicals beat up a Romania immigrant on a subway train a news Agency reported wednesday. The attack came after right Wing extremists reportedly set fire earlier in the week to an italian  was born in Somalia. The news Agency a i reported that Vasilic Staicu 34, was beaten while going Home from work late tuesday. Staicu said three youths wearing Black jackets boots and Short haircuts jumped him for no reason. He said he got out at the next Stop and approached police officers  took him to the Hospital. He was recovering from bruises All Over his body. 8 Hurt by bombs at mall London a two bombs rocked a North London shopping mall thursday slightly injuring eight people police said. The blasts came less than a half hour after a Man claiming to speak for the Irish Republican army said in a telephoned warning to the associated press that two bombs had been planted at the Wood Green shopping Center. He said police had 20 minutes to Clear the area. Police were apparently evacuating the area when the bombs went off in two shops a Scotland Yard spokesman said. The bombs had been placed in garbage cans British broadcasting corp. Television reported. High toll feared in slide la Paz Bolivia a with the known death toll nearing 100 thursday heavy Rains thwarted rescuers attempts to reach a mining town that was covered in a mudslide. Hundreds of residents arc feared dead in Lipi. At least 10 Relief workers trying to reach the town in the andean Foothills 120 Miles North of la Paz were killed wednesday when their bus plunged off a Cliff. Two air Force helicopters dropped emergency supplies wednesday in Lipi which was buried by mud tuesday. The helicopters could not land because of rough terrain and rain. Russia Sells subs to Cuba Madrid Spain a Russia has sold two submarines to Cuba As part of a Deal that could include up to 30 fighter jets several ships and other military hardware a news report said wednesday. The Madrid daily Abc citing unidentified sources said one of the non nuclear powered submarines was in route to Cuba under the pact signed nov. 4. The Deal could be Worth up to $2 billion Over four years. Germans pass health Reform Bonn Germany a by an overwhelming majority German lawmakers have passed a health care Reform package designed to trim $6.8 billion from the annual Federal budget. The package had been sharply criticized by doctors dentists pharmaceutical companies and consumer groups which opposed the cuts in government spending on health insurance. Responding to the criticism health minister Horst Seehofer told members of the bundestag on wednesday that germans would not be denied essential drugs and services. But Seehofer said the state would no longer pay Foi medical luxuries. A we Are the world champions in swallowing tablets a he told the deputies. A total of 457 members voted for the package and 54 voted against it. Commissary officials for Britain defend system for ordering food by Nancy l. Torner . Bureau Raf Lakenheath England the defense commissary Agency a system in the United kingdom needs help according to a recently retired commissary officer. But Agency officials in the . Disagree. A i think we re in the Fine tuning stage a said it. Col. Rick Moriyama . District commander for the Agency. A we know what we need to  former commissary officer Otis Brown Isnit convinced. Brown retired As commissary officer at Raf Alconbury England at the end of november after 44 years of air Force and civilian service including More than 15 years in commissary work. He said that since the commissary Agency took Over last year the Alconbury commissary had to reduce its number of Semi perishable products a items with relatively Long shelf lives a from about 9 by a amps Murdith Winder Martin Carnaby territory manager for a amp a sales ., sets up a display at the Raf Lakenheath commissary