European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 20, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes thursday january 20,1994 ". -.-. -.-. .,.". ". Army Airfield s future an open Book Giebeck Godf Community regaining Library felled by budget a by Dave Melancon Wiir Burg Bureau Gie Belstadt Germany the Gie Belstadt Mili tary Community will get Back the Library it lost last year to budget cuts. The Library will be part of a planned Community Cen Ter at Gie Belstadt army Airfield maj. Manuel Alvara Dogie Belstadt Community commander told about 50 residents at a town Hall meeting tuesday. The old Library had been located in a hangar at the Airfield before being moved into a portable building to make Way for helicopters. The Library was then closed in january 1993 when budget cuts eliminated the Library y s one person staff. Its books were donated to former East Germany As part of a . Cultural education pro Gram. " ". Alvarado said he will present his plans for the Community Center to be located in building 609 at the air Field to Gie Belstadt s senior military commanders late this month. Besides the Library the Center will include other services for soldiers and family members. Renovation plans and an opening Date for the Library and other facilities in the building May soon be announced Alvarado said. A Community spokesman said wednesday that the Money will come from fiscal 1993 funds that originally had been targeted to renovate the army Community services building. The spokesman did not say what happened to the plans to renovate the acs building. Other communities that Are drawing Down for books and Library furnishings Alvarado said. We Are trying to put a fix on the Library situation and give Gie Belstadt a Library Branch said Jim Jones 417th base support in Community activities chief. An army sergeant May run the Library. Gie Belstadt s is one of several libraries reopening in the Wurzburg area Jones said. Two part time librarians and one full time librarian were hired to reopen the Larson Barracks facility in Kitzinger he said. The resources Are slim. It is difficult to hire for the positions we do have Jones said. I am trying to get Back Gie Belstadt s Library As fast As we can.". In the meantime soldiers and family members can use the Library at Leighton Barracks in Wurzburg about a half hour s drive away said librarian Marcie Hampton. The Wurzburg facility now has three Days when it is open until 8 . On tuesdays wednesdays and thursdays. Plans Are in the works to extend the Library y s hours she said. In 1992, Hampton said we had a staff of 26 and eight libraries in the greater Wurzburg military Community. They budget cutters reduced us to two libraries and seven people. We had plenty of books Here and we had a very Nice Library she said. We fought hard to keep it  Man police presence in the leased housing area in Gie Belstadt after a recent rash of thefts and car break ins. I am not asking the maps military police to go downtown and arrest German nationals americans or whoever one resident said. I m asking for the maps and Polisei German police to make their presence  other residents complained that the maps gave the the runaround when they tried to report the thefts. Residents also noted that the German police they Deal with cannot speak English. German police arrested a 29-year-old Man for the thefts this week said maj Arturo Cantu Community Provost marshal. German police asked for information about the crimes and the suspect s Mother talked him into turning himself in. The sofa status of forces agreement with Ger Many limits Pur responsibilities off the installation he said. Basically we have no jurisdiction off the in  Cantu said that he asked the German police to step up their patrols of the housing area and that residents will see More maps As Well. Maps working at their Kitzinger Headquarters will be More sensitive to your inquiries and we won t put you through a bureaucratic Loop said it. Col William Mansell Wurzburg military Community commander. It s Clear we Don t have the presence out there in v v " v. T i j in other issues brought before the town Hall meeting the leased housing area that you would like he said. Meanwhile Community officials have been scouring angry residents demanded a greater military and Ger we will Start patrols out there again. Dodds teacher arrested in Italy on drug charges Naples Italy is a . Civilian was arrested by italian police Jan. 7 and charged with possessing 250 Grams of marijuana military Community officials said. Joseph Zaher a teacher at Naples High school was taken into custody by italian authorities at his off base Home according to a Community spokesman at the naval support activity Naples  declined to be  a Domestic disturbance Between Zaher and his wife prompted italian police and . Naval criminal investigative service agents to search his Home said David Elwell an assist ant agent in charge of acis agents. The italian police arrested Zaher after finding the half Pound of Mari Juana at his Home Elwell said. David Labuhn a spokesman for the department of defense dependents schools Mediterranean Region said Zaher is under investigation by italian police and acis. Labuhn also said Dodds Mediterranean is consid ering its own investigation of the teacher but he would not say Why. The teacher reportedly was in charge of an upcoming series of classes to prepare High school juniors and seniors for the Scholastic aptitude test or sat. Because of the teacher s arrest the Start of the sat class has been postponed but another teacher has volunteered to coach the class Labuhn said. It will be rescheduled he added. Ngo jailed for bouncing checks Aviano a Italy is a . Air Force noncommissioned officer As signed to Ghedi a was convicted at a general court martial last week of writing More than $2,400 in bad checks but was acquitted of a charge of wrongful use of marijuana. Staff sgt. Eugene o. Andrews jr., As signed As a command Post worker to the 401st munitions support so at Ghedi was sentenced to three months confine ment and reduction to airman Basic according to staff sgt. Sandy Elijah a spokeswoman for Avra Rio a where an Drews three Day trial ended last week. The conviction Elijah said wednesday followed Andrews guilty pleas to writing 24 bad checks to base Exchange outlets at Pitburg a Germany and at Ghedi and Vicenza Italy. Maintenance unit to inactivate Hanau Germany is v corps Only Light equipment maintenance com Pany ends operations this month after More than 20 years in Europe. The 548th Light equipment Maint co once responsible for maintaining electronic components for units throughout Europe will Sheath its Guidon wednesday in a 1 . Inactivation ceremony at under Wood Cavern in Hanau said a 3rd corps support come statement. An army support facility in Pir Masens Germany will pick up the bulk of the 548th s Mission the command said. The unit began its tour in Germany in 1972. During the persian Gulf War the 548th prepared soldiers and Equi for transport from Rhein main Many to Southwest Asia. About 100 soldiers remain. Ger delays from Page 1 the 235lh base support in said he was stymied an stonewalled for two months when he tried to locate his Check which finally came Jan. 4. Four times he said he was told the Check is in the  plus he said no one was Able to explain the delay. I went through the system figuring after 26 years in the military i could find out what was going on said lungs  owns an apartment in bad Windheim. Every week i talked to somebody else and got  the problem involves the government rental hous ing program which provides housing for military families in areas where government housing is scarce. The landlord deals directly with the government for rent and Utility payments. The payments were made six months in Advance until september when the system was changed to a three month Advance. So far the Only area known to be affected is the bad Windheim Sec Tion which is near Storck Barracks in a Liesheim. Lungs and Horst Hausner another landlord said about 35 landlords were affected. Checks due in octo Ber arrived Only in late december or Early january. And now the Check due for the january february and March payment has not arrived at least for some. Lungs  is on a different Cycle and is currently up to Date said a neighbor has not received the january payment. Hausner too said his Check for the january february and March payment has not arrived. I Don t know what s the matter now he said. Hausner said he receives 820 Marks per month about $480 for rent and 200 Marks about $120 for utilities. Lungs said Many of the landlords use the rent checks to make their payments on the apartments they own. Diane o Neal whose husband is stationed in Lyles Heim said their landlord told them in december that they could not stay at their Home in Geslaus unless the Check arrived that was due in october. When that rent finally arrived in january the family sighed with Relief o Neal said until a Telephone Call came this week. I got a Call from my Landlady just today. They Haven t paid january rent she said tuesday. Brigitte Nelson the temporary grip specialist at . Darby Cavern in Niernberg said that when the 99th area support group was dissolved in the fall Ansbach and its units were handed to the 98th Are support group in Wurzburg. Paperwork authorizing the grip payments was processed in Niernberg she said but could t be moved from there. You could t pass it on because there was no one to pass it on to for a Long time she said. But Warren Field spokesman for the 98th ask said that explanation is Only part of the Story. He said the 9th regional finance and accounting office in Kaiserslautern picked up the grip payment responsibility for this Region when the 5th regional finance and accounting office in Frankfurt went out of business in october because of consolidation. This is probably not limited to the 98th ask Fiel said. Another source said the slowdown was caused be cause the 9th finance is not As automated As the 5th finance was and required additional documentation from the battalions. Attempts to determine if the problem extends beyond the 98th ask were unsuccessful wednesday. A spokesman for the 100th ask in Grafen Wuhr however said he knew of no problems. Joe Watson the Deputy of the 9th finance said be fore noon wednesday that he would seek answers to questions but had not responded by wednesday eve Ning. Landlords and o Neal said they found Little sympathy or help within the battalion Headquarters. O Neal said one housing official in the battalion be Little the problem and told her that German landlords have a lot of Money and Don t need the payments. Hausner said he was told by a Nurnberg housing offi Ial at one Point that the paperwork had been sent to a pc of a a a let Lff _1._1j i Ansbach. An Ansbach official told him the Check had been sent. But it did not come. I called to the housing in Wurzburg Hausner Saidhe said i Don t know pangs said he is annoyed that no one bothered to Send the landlords a letter of explanation or an apology.  it was embarrassing he said. They ignored  o Neal the Mother of two and pregnant with a third child had other concerns. Being put out on the Street in t too Cool she said