European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 31, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday october 31, 1993 the stars and stripes Page 3 liquor at Bowling Alley strikes discord q 1 i bowl at Vogel Weh occasionally and Don t see anything wrong with their serving alcohol. Teen agers would probably be More interested in drinking Beer than hard alcohol anyway a Bill slide i Don t feel that a Bowling Center is the proper place to sell hard stuff. This place is used too often by Young children and  a Charloa h. Ribkee Sas Peter Jaeger some Over new by Steve scholar Kaiserslautern Bureau Kaiserslautern Germany there Are some new but familiar faces showing up at the Vogel Weh Bowling Center in Kaiserslautern Johnny Walker Jim beam and Jack Daniels. A the air Force run Bowling Center began serving hard liquor oct. 1, a trend embraced by Many Bowling centers in the United states and some military centers in Europe including one run by the army in Mannheim. A serving hard liquor at Vogel Weh was started by popular demand. People did t want a limited Choice of beverages Quot said staff sgt. Barbara Lavigne a spokeswoman for nearby Ramstein a and the Kaiserslautern military Community. Military Bowling centers Long have served Beer and soft drinks but Vogel a Chi a venture into Selling hard liquor has not pleased All its customers. A i done to feel that a Bowling Center is the proper place to sell hard stuff. This place is used too often by Young children and teen agers. We have plenty of clubs in the a town area for adults to have a mixed drink or a shot if they a like to a said Charles h. Ribkee a retired army sergeant first class and Vogel Weh Bowler. Bill Lee the Vogel Weh Bowling Center program manager said the Center had received several complaints about the new service but he declined to elaborate. Lavigne could not provide the number of people who requested the new service nor the amount of sales generated since oct. 1. She pointed out that Vogel Weh technically does not serve mixed drinks but Only mixed drink ingredients. A the patrons Are sold the soda ice and a $2 miniature bottle of alcohol. They fix their own drink. There a no bar or bartender a she said. That a Small Consolation to Ribkee who predicted that its Only a matter of time until a teen Ager convinces a Bowler to Purchase alcohol for him or her. A a in be talked to a lot of people who think its wrong to serve liquor Here. Its just asking for trouble. But people know they re doing it to make Money a Ribkee said. Another Vogel Weh Bowler Bill slide disagreed. A i bowl at Vogel Weh occasionally and done to see anything wrong with their serving alcohol. Teen agers would probably be More interested in drinking Beer than hard alcohol anyway. I done to think its a problem a slide said. Mixed drink ingredients can be bought from 4 30 . To Midnight on weekdays and from 4 30 . Until 2 . On weekends. Beer on the other hand is sold from 10 . To Midnight on weekdays 1 . To 2 . On saturdays and 10 . To 2 . On sundays. No drinking is allowed at the Bowling Center saturday mornings when youth leagues Are playing. The Ramstein Bowling Center which is. Is amps John Bohnow Bill Lee of the Vogel Weh Bowling Center serves the ingredients but patrons do the mixing. Undergoing renovations also will serve alcohol miniatures when it reopens in november Lavigne said. Spokesmen for the army air Force and Navy say the decision to sell liquor normally is left to the local commander. But not All european military Bowling centers opt to include liquor among their beverage offerings. It. Ike Skelton a naval forces Europe spokesman said the Navy operates Bowling centers in three european countries and none of the centers sell liquor. A we have Bowling centers in England Spain and Italy and they sell Beer and soda but no hard  . Air forces in Europe spokesman Doug Moore said the decision to serve alcohol in an air Force Bowling Alley a is a commanders prerogative. Its authorized by air Force regulations and is done As a customer  . Army Europe spokesman Jim Boyle said that a subject to the area support group commanders approval army regulations permit sales of 2-ounce miniatures of distilled liquor for on premises consumption in army Bowling  All of that however is unlikely to satisfy Ribkee who believes that Money not customer service is the driving Force behind the alcohol sales. A i can to believe that mar morale welfare and recreation activity needs Money that bad that they would turn a Bowling Center into a club a Ribkee  care among top issues at family forum by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a child care fees a stateside Cost of living allowance and health care and commissary benefits topped the list of issues presented to army leaders at the 11th annual army family action planning conference which concluded Friday. A total of 130 delegates from army commands worldwide including 15 representatives from the army in Europe spent the week discussing and prioritizing family programs and policies and fashioning recommendations for improving them working in groups covering such areas As children employment entitlements family support Force support and medical and relocation services the delegates narrowed an original list of 86 issues at the Start of the week to 26 that they deemed most important. In the area of child care delegates said inequities still exist in the lowest of the five income categories that Are used to set prices despite a recent revision in he fee schedule that was supposed to address disparities. Some soldiers in the lowest income category a $23,000 or less a still pay up to 20 percent of total family income for child care when the ceiling is supposed to be 12 percent said Nancy Moore an army civilian employee from fort Sam Houston Texas. Her group recommended splitting that category in two a one for total family income up to $16,000 and the other from $16,001 to $23,000 a and ensuring that no one in those categories pays More than 12 percent of their total family income for child care. Along with launching a stateside Cost of living allowance the group that worked on entitlements programs recommended directly linking raises in the Basic allowance for quarters to changes in actual housing costs. Other recommendations ranged from safeguarding commissary and health benefits to extending the Holiday meal surcharge exemption in military dining facilities to retirees and army civilian employees. The Usa eur delegation brought four issues to the conference and two of them ended up on the final list Given to army leaders. One Issue deals with social workers in overseas schools. The department of defense dependents schools eliminated the positions in 1989 As a Cost cutting measure reasoning that military health care facilities and school Counselor could fill the void. But delegates said the recent High Levels of activity in units overseas with accompanying Long periods of family separation have created stress and High anxiety among kids that Are not being adequately addressed. A medical clinics Are often Miles from the schools and arc not readily accessible to the youths and school Counselor Are Busy dealing with grades graduations and other things a said Moore. The other Usa eur Issue on the final Agenda involves Community shuttle bus service in overseas communities. Delegates said the draw Down in Europe has created communities with widely dispersed troop billets housing areas and support facilities. They recommended revising the regulations that prevent theater commanders from adjusting such transportation services to the new needs of soldiers and families in areas that have downsized. The delegates represent a Cross Section of the army population that includes civilians family members retirees and reservists As Well As Active duty personnel. A committee of senior army leaders meets twice a year to discuss new issues raised at the annual conferences and review Progress on issues from previous conferences that Are still considered Active. Since 1982, army leaders have reviewed 345 issues forwarded by conference delegates. More than 200 have sparked new legislation policies and regulations or improvements to current programs