European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 4, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday january 4 1993 . The stars and stripes Page 5 on icy . By the associated press freezing rain turned the Plains into a skating rink saturday. Slick roads caused countless traffic accidents and the National guard opened armoires to House hundreds of stranded travellers. The storm spread a Sheet of ice from1 Oklahoma Kansas and Nebraska to tis Souri Illinois. Iowa and Wisconsin making driving aft but impossible on Many roads. A 45-vehicle pileup saturday in Chi Cag sent 21 people to hospitals author tics said. Police blamed the Accident on icy roads. Six of the victims were listed in critical or serious condition. Quot we were hit four times. After we stopped Quot said Lynn Colbert of Chicago in the stars and stripes 10 years ago Jan. 4,1983 a the Pentagon provided members of Congress with More than $2 million in vip Domestic travel services . News and world report said. 20 year Sago Jan. 4,1973 a Senate democrats declared in a policy statement that there is Quot no greater need than termination forthwith of our involvement in the War in  _. 30 years ago Jan. 4,1963 a a Sharp military pay increase averaging 14.4 percent at a Cost of $1.7 billion a year will be recommended to Congress. A recruit starting at $78 a month will get a raise of $8 to $10 and a four Star general making $1,875 a month will get a raise of $105. 40 year Sago a Jan. 4,1953 a acting . High commissioner in Germany Samuel Reber declared that he is confident the Allied German treaties will be ratified by West Germany and France despite Strong opposition in both countries. 50 years ago Jan. 4,1943 a Axis shipping and bases in North Africa were blasted from three sides a from Allied armies in Tunisia and in Libya and Tri pm titania and from French forces advancing from the South. Wor Lowar ii 3 50 years ago today Jan. 4 1943  warships bombard the now japanese base at Munda on new Georgia Island Northwest cd Guadalcanal. Japanese troops overrun an american position near Taradena on new Guinea allowing survivors of the Buna. Garrison to escape into japanese. Lines to Europe soviet soldiers recapture Nal Chik in the caucasus. Mountains and Cherry Shevsky on the Chir River. J source 2194 Days of War w. H. Smith publishers inc. World almanac Book of world War it Bison boots corp19s1 a who was slightly injured while Riding with her sister. She said she saw  head strike the Windshield and break it. Two people were killed saturday in separate weather related accidents in Missouri. A Highway death in Wisconsin and another in Iowa also were blamed in the treacherous conditions. At least 10 deaths in Texas. And Oklahoma were blamed on the storm thursday night and Friday. / one runway at Kansas City International Airport was closed All Day saturday and the other was closed twice for de icing delaying planes about an hour said Sandra Campbell spokeswoman for the Federal aviation administration. Some airlines grounded their flights during the morning. Twenty two cars piled up on interstate 35 near Kansas City mo., late Friday White 35 cars collided on 1-35 near Oklahoma City. No deaths were reported in those  50-mile stretch of 1-35 in Kansas from Ottawa to Emporia was closed until noon saturday and 75 motorists travelling the stretch were housed overnight in the Kansas National guard armory at Ottawa officials said. Quot we provided blankets sleeping bags and we even went out to the store this morning and cooked them eggs and Bacon Coffee and juice a said National guard capt. Aaron Bien. Quot we tried to make them feel As comfortable As  when lunch time rolled around and the travellers were still stranded restaurants donated  Bolsinger his wife and three children took Refuge in the armory shortly Jitter Midnight. A there was a Long line of cars not going anywhere a he said. A red Cross chapter in Northern Oklahoma opened a National guard armory for 96 stranded motorists after full hotels turned them away. Chicago police and lire officials Survey the damage from a 45-vehicle pileup saturday on the expressway linking downtown and the Airport. At least 21 people were injured. . Officials hopeful As homicide rate declines by 6 percent to 2,020 in 1992 by Lynette Holloway the new York times new York the number of reported homicides in new York City dipped slightly last year continuing a drop that police officials say could be attributed to factors ranging from shifts in personal behaviour to demographics to Community policing. The police department recorded a preliminary total of 2,020 homicides last year 134 fewer than in 1991, a drop of 6 percent said sgt Anthony Barlanti a police spokesman. In 1990, an arson that claimed 87 lives at the Happy land social club in the Bronx helped to push the the number of homicides to a record High of 2,245. While the Rise and fall of crime is a result of a Complex web of factors the police departments Deputy commissioner of Public information Suzanne Trazoff said an increased police presence May be one explanation. More than 3,000 police officers Are assigned to the streets in the department s Community policing Effort which focuses on neighbourhood based patrols up from .750 two years ago a a Quot we believe a visible uniformed presence on the streets is a deterrent to crime a Trazoff said. Quot on the other hand this is not a Long period of time we Are talking about. You can to say you have a trend but its a hopeful sign Brooklyn District attorney Charles j. Hynes said the most crucial element in reducing homicides and other violent crimes is combating drug abuse. Quot if we re going to do something manageable about our homicide rate we need to try alternative and nontraditional programs to change behaviour a he said. Brooklyn recorded 650 homicides last year Down from 821 in 1991, and Staten Island recorded 27 homicides Down from 31 in 1991. Queens on the other hand recorded a record High of 357 homicides said the Queens District attorney Richard a. Brown who attributed the growth to a proliferation of drugs and guns. They number is up from 308 in 1991, he said. / Quot not one gun is manufactured in our county nor Are any coca leaves grown Here Brown said Quot yet guns from other states and drugs from around the world find their Way into Queens in abundance and the affect on our Community has been devastating a a this years first homicide occurred in Brooklyn. An unidentified Man in his 30s was pronounced dead at 12 02 . Friday at Brooklyn jewish Hospital after he was shot outside a store in Crown Heights a. _ a s a a pygmy sperm whole5 die on new Jersey Shore Brigantine . A two rare pygmy sperm whales Likely a cow and her calf died saturday after beaching themselves. The whales one measuring 9 feet and 1,000 pounds and the other 5 feet and 100 pounds were found two Miles apart on the Northern new Jersey Shore said Sheila Dean co director of the Marine mammal stranding Center. The larger whale died before rescuers could arrive from the Center 45 Miles to the South in Brigantine and the smaller one died 10 minutes after being placed in one of the Center s tanks Dean said. Dean said the pair probably were Mother and calf because the larger whale was lactating and because of their size difference. The Mother was thinner than she should have been an apparent sign of sickness Dean said. She said the corpses were to be examined sunday Little is known about pygmy sperm whales which dwell in deep water and eat squid As their primary source of food. Dean said she and her husband have seen about six of the whales in 15 years compared with dozens of Humpback and Sinback whales