European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 1, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars Ano stripes . Friday saturday. January 1/2. 1993 respite from Snow gives a to Nyack Calif. A a break Between storms Al Lowed the limited reopening of two major highways # through the snowbound Sierra Nevada on wednesday a and thousands of snowbound motorists rushed to Cross the mountains. Up to $ feet of Snow had fallen since monday at  elevations in one of the strongest Snow storms in years and drifts had piled up to 12 feet. Quot this is unbelievable. 1 Haven to seen Snow like this in 10 years a said Deb Howard of the Mountain town of Meyers. Quot we can to even see out our  forecasters predicted another storm would hit Northern California s coast and valleys perhaps hitting the  More Snow thursday morning. Heavy Snow also hit parts of Nevada Oregon Utah Wyoming and Colorado of wednesday a 20-year-old Lakeport Calif., Man was killed wednesday in an Avalanche on a slope in Sherwin bowl just South of Mammoth lakes a ski resort 170 Miles East of san Francisco said City spokesman Jeff Irons. A a a a / a. A. A a. The victims name was withheld pending notification of relatives. A. Rescuers found an 11-year-old boy buried by the Avalanche and took Hlyn to a Hospital where he was treated for Back pain and released said Evan Cole spokesman for Mammoth cent Inela Hospital interstate 80 and . 50, the two main East West routes through the Siena Between Northern California and Nevada were dosed monday night because of the deep Snow and poor visibility. Tiey remained closed tuesday stranding thousands of motorists at both ends of the Summit passes. But on wednesday sunlight broke through the Clouds and the and calmed. Those two highways were then reopened. Traffic on 1-80�?T initially was limited to 200 vehicles hourly each Way Between Applegate Calif., and the Nevada state line. Transportation workers reopened eastbound . 50, the main route to Lake Tahoe at about midday initially letting 100 cars through every hour from Pollack , a Quot Quot Quot. F. A Quot a 1-80 looked like a parking lot West of the Applegate checkpoint. Many motorists left their stopped cars and went for walks while waiting. A. Some people on the Nevada Side of the mountains had spent the night sleeping on the floors of Fulty booked Casino hotels. At Kirkwood ski resort at the 7,800-foot Elevation marketing director Greg Murtha said about 60 people had been sleeping in three Large conference rooms since monday because state Highway 88 was closed. Also Many employees were snowed in at the Lodge or at Home. Murtha said 300 to 400 skiers took advantage of the break in the storms to hit the slopes wednesday any wheel Well in a storm Apas showers douse California s Central coast a cat in poc Waits in a truck s wheel Well. Storms have eased the state s drought but Snow in Northern regions has stranded thousands of people and probably some cats. German tourist has right City wrong country san Jose Calif. Apr the next time someone asks German tourist Christina Landwehr a do you know the Way to san Jose a her answer might be a which one a Landwehr landed in san Jose late sunday and instructed a taxi Driver to take her to the Ritz where her daughter had made her a reservation. _ it was t until the next morning Over breakfast with a German speaking hotel employee that Landwehr Learned that she had arrived in san Jose Calif. A not Costa Rica where her daughter lives. 1a it was at nud night. It was dark. It was raining. The taxi Driver brought her to our hotel and that Sau. She assumed it was in Costa Rica a said Lina Broydon a spokeswoman for the Fairmont hotel in san Jose Calif. Apparently a travel agent mis booked Landwehr a flight Broydon said. The Driver May have been confused when Landwehr asked for the Ritz which has no hotel Here and hotel employees certainly were when Landwehr took out Costa rican currency. But she Spotte no English so everyone just made do after discovering the mix up Fairmont employees called the Ritz in Costa Rica and Learned that Landwehr s daughter was worried about her Mother. An employee helped Landwehr Book a flight to Costa a a she of have a fantastic Story to Tell a Broydon said. Bush approves pay for career Federal workers from wire reports Washington president Bash on wednesday approved a 3.7 percent pay increase effective nah. For career Federal employees. The raise stemmed from the Federal employees pay comparability act of 1990 in which Federal salaries were supposed to be put on a Par with the pay scale in the private sector. An official said pay raises for members of Congress and the Federal judiciary Are still under study. A a Richmond Calif. A Jay Choe a week before attacking his family and killing two police officers and himself put $200 Down on his own casket and funeral. He calmly picked out a Blue and Silver steel casket requested a Christian service and handed Over two $100 Bills dec. 23, said James Smith director of Smith amp Cannon funeral services. Choe said he would return with the $2,318 balance. If he planned at the time to kill himself during a rampage at his sex wife a Home Choe gave no hint to Smith. I had no idea this was going to happen a the funeral director said. On monday Choe 53, fatally shot two police officers when they responded to a urgent Call about a family fight. He then shot and wounded his former wife Yon soon Choe and 14-year-old,son, Joohn Choe before killing himself. A daughter escaped unharmed. Yon Choe was listed in serious condition wednesday and her son in fair condition. Train derails in Michigan Stevensville Mich. An Amtrak train derailed wednesday night just North of the Michigan Indiana Border causing All four passenger coaches to overturn authorities said. Seven passengers were slightly injured j the pm re Marquette in route from Chicago to a grand rapids derailed at 8 40 . In Berrien county s Lincoln township Amtrak spokesman Clifford Black said. All four coaches and the engine went off the track and overturned Black said. An estimated 217 people were on Board he said. The train had a maximum seating capacity of 36 l pumpkin roller fined Springfield i. A police Are putting pumpkin rollers on notice keep the fruit off the streets. A police won conviction tuesday of a Man accused of rolling pumpkins and apples Down a Steep Street during the halloween season. The trick is to open a truck tailgate at the top of the Hill and watch the fruit bump and squish its Way Down. Brian a. Rogers 29, pleaded guilty to one count each of littering and disorderly conduct both misdemeanours. He was fined $400, rolling pumpkin and other autumn fruit Down Elm Hill near the Center of town is a tradition in Springfield. But police Are not amused. P tradition that really poses a safety Hazard a said police chief Nicholas Pic Emo. Quot people Are driving and they re trying to avoid the pumpkins a one year a rolling pumpkin cracked a store window fnifi31 a liver cars s ground in the squashed Gray whale comes Back the Federal government announced wednesday that the once imperilled California Gray whale has fully recovered a and will be removed from the endangered species  action makes the whale the first Marine mammal Ever to have been removed from the list. Only one other . Species the american Alligator ref deemed to have a a recovered fully under the endangered species act. The recovery of the whale was attributed in part to Protection by the mexican government of the Cal Fomia 8 and Willef grounds in Baja Mexico has put limits on whale watching in Baja a Urbance to whales during calving and has backed away from a proposal to Drill for Oil and Gas in calving lagoons