European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 1, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 20letters to the editor sunday May 1, i9&4 european edition col Steven s. Hoffman Usan a common Tor Pijo Lishi a Bernard a. Zovistoski. A editor. \. 1news and editorial Deborah Aba her nows edit or a Bill Walker european editor Bob Wicker sports editor. George mane City editor. A to write us unit 29480. A a a a Apo a 09211a. Or Postrach 11 14 37 / a. 64278 Darmstadt Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to Call us dial 06155-601 plus Extension or Dan 348-8 plus Extension As follows. News ext. 237, 255, 282, 226,326. Sports ext. 225, 269, 263, 332, 321, 221. Features ext 230, 245, 341. Letters to editor ext. 208, education Jim Jones ext. 226. Business news ext. 326. News bureaus Heidelberg Germany Joseph Owen room 117, re Norstr 104, 69126 Heidelberg car 4ig, to 1318, Apo a 09102 Telephone Dan 370-7010 by civilian 06221-23421 Tel fax q6221-27239.kaiserslautern. Germany Kevin Dougherty John Rohmer Sieve scholar building 2899, Pulaski Barracks Apo a 09227-3717 Tel phone Dan 469-0885 or civilian 0631-52104 Tel fax 0631-59854,. Nurnberg Germany Ron Jonsen building 21, William o. Darby Cavern Apo a 09222. Lelo photo. Dan a 400-7256 or Civili Art 0911 -712563 i plea 0911-717130. Wurzburg. Germany Dave Mela Neon. Building 220, room 109, Faulenburg Cavern Apo a 09036 Telephone Dan 350-6770 or civilian 0931-286956 Tel fax a 0931-6896770. A a ,. A Mediterranean sue Palumbo and Marian Hamilton Naples Nlaly pc 810, to. 56. Fpo a 09619 Lola a a phone Dan 625-4880 or civilian 0817624049/4547 told la 0039-81-7624049. Northern Italy a King Cruger Aviano Italy Telo phone Dan 632-8176 or civilion 0039-434-68-8178 Tel fax 0039-434-668222. _ United kingdom Nancy Torner Marc Mcfann and one Didio. Building 464 Cess us Raf Mildenhall Apo a 09459 Telephone Dan 238-2226 or civilian 0638-542228 to Clax 0638-718013. New York City Timothy Cahill room 638, 201 Varick. St., now York 10014 Telephone 212-620-3333 Tololah 212-620-3268. V. Washington . Chuck Vlinch Cindy Kinion Oast. A the Pentagon room 2e756 . Box 46095, Washington . 20050-6095 Telephone 703-6976695 to Lota 703-603-6366. Business departments a a. Maj Richard k. A or Usa. Deputy commander data Evitea newspaper operations director Fred Shalna. Now York operations director James Wysack circulation manager Jeffrey kingdom a comptroller a a Curci Lailon toll free customer service for Home or office Quot delivery inquiries or delivery problems Call 24 hours Germany 0130-840048 Belgium 07811-8775 Italy 1678-7-3456 United kingdom 0-800-898854 Netherlands 06-022-7629 Spain a 900-99-4955 fax 06155-601436 Germany Augsburg civilian 0821-443254. Berlin civilian 030-8331846, Dan 332-354s. Kaiserslautern civilian 0631-57070 or 57079, Dan 489-7100. Tel fax 0631-50696. Nurnberg civilian 091.1-712558, Dan 460-7001. Stuttgart civilian 0711-729-4283 or 4277, Dan 421-42q3 or 4277. A Italy Naples civilian 0039-81 -724480, Dan 625-4880, Tele. Lax0u39-8l-7244489. A  Vicenza civilian 0444-515358, 0sn 834-7545, Tel fax 0444-300 64vspain. A. A a a a. I Crof l b65 s007 civil in and Tel fax 00341- Turkey 32�lvjl of -272 8 43,tp1qtax 0090-1-274 United kingdom. A Cirencester civilian 0285-713-637, Dan 247 4445, advertising Glt Many 06155 60124/ or 601309, Dan 34a. 8247. A a a a a a classified Germany 06l55-60t349 Dan 348-8340, advertising Tel fax 06155-601412 please Recycle. This newspaper is an author ipod unofficial publication for members of the military services overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes do not Noc Essely reflect Tho Omicioli views of or endorsement by the . Government Tho department of defense or the . European command. The appearance of advertising in this Public lion including  supplements does not constitute endorsement by the department of defense or the stars and stapes of the products or services  problems remember the article a on the Road again vans offer luxury on wheels for campers that appeared March 17 in this newspaper about new rvs for rent we thought that would make a great vacation so we drove an hour plus to Mannheim Germany outdoor recreation to Check it out. We toured the Hyme mobiles and listened to All the details. We said ,7 reserved it for a week made an appointment for an orientation and Laid out the $250 Deposit. We went Home and planned a trip to Italy in a few weeks. _ Well orientation Day canc. It was a thursday raining like crazy and entailed an hour Long drive in Rush hour traffic. I arrived with paperwork in hand and announced i was there for the re orientation. I got two Blank stares from behind the counter they said that there was no orientation scheduled for that Day. I replied a a you be got to be kidding a and related the details of my trip to get there they said that they thought id been told that the re was available pending their obtaining insurance on it. About that time i started to lose my composure. I asked Why it was advertised for rent Why my reservation was made Why an orientation appointment was scheduled and a $250 Deposit was taken and no mention made of their Lack of insurance. A. A i Vas not even afforded the Courtesy of a phone Call about the problem. This happened thursday prior to easter Friday and. Monday were German holidays making insurance impossible to obtain before our planned departure tuesday. I asked what they expected me to do about my vacation. All they could do was apologize. My question is How Long do you think a company would last in the United states with botched service ? this is just another indication of the All too Porcya font Lack of professionalism often displayed by civil servants in Europe. They a Are Well paid not overworked. Why do i feel there is no accountability in Many cases when mistakes happen we hastily planned a car trip without hotel reservations. Of course the military hotels were already fully booked. Every time i saw an re it reminded me of my disappointment. A Michael Torrence _ Mainz Kastel Germany. A a a.  to show respect in response to a get off Gravy train april 18in be found that by knowing the customs and a Little bit about the German people and their language i be been shown friendliness by them. Saying a Nguen Morgan tug Whon entering a Bicker i or other Small shops in the area maybe with a smile having the Correct change and extending other proper courtesies can do wonders. I am embarrassed when i see fellow americans being loud and obnoxious cracking gum dragging their feet when they walk drunk cursing and fighting in Public trying to steal a ride on the Public transit system or arrogantly speaking Only English. All Peoples have Behaviours that to others arc faults yet every group of people has its own unique rules of proper social behaviour. Rather than ignore bad attitudes of americans in Europe i try to improve myself and inspire others to do the same. J. W. Cox. Frankfurt Germany  a. Owners be responsible i have worked for animal organizations and animal shelters in the United states and Here in Germany for almost 25 years. I have picked up unwanted pets a fromn hamsters to dogs from their owners so loan it no it i most com a and 1 think i Hae heard All the reasons Why people and their one so beloved pets have to part company. \ posing to Remote Sites and housing restrictions Are very Low on the list and while a sudden allergies certainly can occur it is amazing just How often they happen after three years a somewhere around moving time. A a. Quot a a. The reason in be been Given most often was the wife going Back to work. A dog often not properly Housebroken or trained quickly becomes a nuisance. It is bored lonely and bewildered and it will take its frustration out on the furniture. It might bark for hours. It will certainly prove that there Are no limitations to its bladder and Bowel control. \. V a a. A the dog leaving peddles and More is quickly unwanted As Well As the Pooch who dares to snap or growl at Junior who has poked its Eye once too often. Dogs Are Given up because they bark too much or too Little they grow too big or not big enough. They Are no longer wanted because they shed they smell or Are too old a i could write pages with ail the excuses i have heard some so bizarre i had to ask twice. While dogs Are turned in to shelters Given a free to a Good Home a or being sold in the classifieds cats More often arc abandoned outright. At the moment volunteers feed hundreds of cats left behind in housing areas and caverns. These cats must be trapped to be neutered a an expense of thousands of Marks. Small caged animals Are frequently dumped outside. All pet owners Arentt irresponsible a of course not. Its just that most responsible pet owners done to advertise their pet in the classifieds they keep them a Nina Burtz a a a. A i ecu Hauson Germany editors note j we encourage our readers a especially those who have never submitted a letter a to write to us. Letters expressing readers View Points Are published daily on this Page. All letter must be signed and include address and Telephone number. Prefer ence is Given to Shorter letters so that More can be published in a timely Man Ner. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. Send to letters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211.rage not the cure caning is fair punishment for a nonviolent High school offender not torture whatever happened to fitting the punishment to the crime Singapore does no to have a problem with lawlessness neither does China. Maybe the United states should Model its form of gov Quot or Merit after one of these countries. Then again Many european countries done to have the problems the states has but they done to endorse such extreme forms of punishment either. A. A. Quot torture Type punishment wont Correct the Root of the problem it is the attitude and morals of the american Public that make it easy for youngsters to commit random violence or to kill for Materia posses Sions. A . The United slates should not involve itself in Singapore a judicial system maybe the . Human rights commission a which condemned the practice of caning Long before Michael Fay a conviction a should be disbanded. Abandon the american ideals of individual human rights. Who cares what horrors go on inside the Borders of another country withdraw from All foreign territory. Practice isolationism. Michael Fay a punishment far outweighs the crime. The reasons most people have Given for not getting involved contradict past american policies. A taking out Public rage on one nonviolent offender in Singapore wont cure the prob Jems of violence within the United states Borders. A Anne Breitf Lucr bit Burg a German listen to the song i was appalled by the segment that Andy Rooney didn-60 minutes about Kurt Cobain the Lead Singer for the group nirvana on april 18. He implied that teenagers Are being stupid about Cobain a. Death and that we Are More worried about living than dying. If kids want to mourn his death then by All Means let them. Adults talk about How ridiculous some kids Are because they Are crying Over Cobain a death. Think about How Many adults mourned and cried Over the death of Elvis Presley. Elvis died of a heart attack brought on my years of drug abuse and Over indulgence. Cobain shot himself. Quot  a a adults make it hard for themselves to understand today a growing., society. Teenagers have to put up with More violence drugs and sex in their everyday lives than most adults did. When was the last time Andy Rooney had an adult come up to him and try to sell him drugs Kurt Cobain was not what grown  made him out to be. He was a human being who Sang about problems kids go through every Day. In nirvana a soundtrack never mind a song called smells like ten spirit talks about How immature adults Are about violence and sex. Any adult who disagrees with the message i am trying to present should borrow the compact disc from a child a neighbor or the Library arid listen to the song. A Debra Beard Schweinfurt Ger anywhere Are priorities i Hope the writer of a tax Rule needs changing april 12 will get a better response from her state representative than my Mother did. J when i informed my Mother that my family was not eligible for the earned in come tax credit Etc she was outraged and immediately wrote her congressman. The response was not acceptable. He used the excuse of deficit reduction As one of the reasons military families overseas do not qualify for this Benefit. Needless to say he did not disclose the fact that the Etc Wais increased $153 to people making up to $23,050 in 1993 _. Then he used the excuse that persons eligible must live within the United states. Well what about the people who live on United states military bases and people living in United states government quarters i guess we just done to count. When the United states government can spend $107,000 studying the sex life of the japanese Quail but cannot recognize our military personnel serving overseas it sure makes you wonder where their priorities lie a Tracy l. Kiphart Vilseck German debt of gratitude when our family returns to the United states in the no Moo Distant future Well take with us Many fond memories of our four years in England. We would be remiss if we left without offering one very special thank you to the teachers of London Central High school As parents we have always Felt our children a education to be a team Effort Between parents children and schools. Fortunately so docs the teaching staff of London Central. A. Today a teachers Are expected to command the subject matter act As surrogate parents social workers and psychologists. For that they work Long hours for Low salaries and much criticism. Our daughter has been fortunate enough to attend a school where teachers genuinely care about students and Foster academic social and emotional growth. These teachers accept personal rather than financial rewards from their career Choice. We owe a debt of gratitude Well beyond these few words of appreciation. A George Roberts Northwood England