European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 23, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Latest lad in the big City getting out of a fast by Ernest Sander the associated press Illiam l. Seavey s crusade can be summed up with his toll free number 1800-out-of-la. For 10 years he has Sermon Zed on the downfall of Quot the los angelese the new Yorks and the  he has devoted himself to telling people to move out of a City Many weren t ready to leave. But with the crime the crowds the traffic a and of course the riots fires floods and earthquakes a angeleno could be excused these Days if they wondered whether Seavey did t have a Point. A a a a a a Southern California Seavey said in a press release he circulated after the january s earthquake is Quot the most dangerous  in the United  a convincing people to leave Urban areas is Seavey s Mission and helping them escape is his livelihood. And he s not the Only one entrepreneurs like Tom Evons and Constance see Are players in the dugout business last year when 900 people packed a room in la Jojola to hear Evons give his speech on Quot Kape san Diego Quot Evons knew what his next move would be. He expanded his operation to include Quot escape la Quot and Quot escape san  see promotes leaving any risky place. She Sells a map of the United states emblazoned with the question Quot Are you Safe where you live Quot it is overlaid with statistics on rapes murders prison escapes superfund Sites breast cancer rates earthquakes and other recipes for a Short lifespan. Quot ill show you where the cancer crud and crime Are across the United states Quot says see who runs City seekers out of her Home in Olympia Wash. After broadcast appearances in los Angeles and san Francisco last fall see was barraged with phone Calls 900 from los Angeles and 700 from san Francisco. About 15 percent of the. Callers went on to become clients paying see $25 for information on particular cities and $45 to be matched with their personal Eden. Some would say that . Idylls Are getting harder to come by. When Matt Holbert left Galveston Texas for Boise Idaho he thought he was bidding Adieu to Urban clutter gangs and Graffiti. Not so. Boise is grappling with some of the same Quot big City Quot plagues. Growth rates in Boise have been running at 6 business District during riots in april 1992. Remains of a los Angeles percent for the past three years a 2 percent is about the Norm. Quot if it keeps growing at this Pace Quot said Holbert Quot Well find a smaller City. But it s hard to get away from this  at a recent rally to Stop the building of a Bridge across the Boise River protesters sported to shirts emblazoned ill show you where the cancer crud arid crime Are across the United states a Constance see operator of City seekers with the word Quot Bois Angeles Quot enclosed in a Circle with a red slash through it. That sentiment is widespread along the West coast. About 65 percent of Allied Van lines 1993 California relocation were outbound up from 58 percent in 1991. United Van lines reported similar figures in los Angeles county deportees outnumbered arrivals by More than 2-to-1. The subscription list for Seavey s quarterly newsletter has grown from 100 to 2,000 in three years with the largest growth coming in Southern California. Quot that s where the action is Quot says Seavey a former resident of los Angeles who now lives in Pahrump Nev. Population 10,000. These Days he spends most of his time on the Road living out of his motor Home and extolling the Virtues of Small town life at each Stop. He Sells All kinds of relocation accessories audio tapes and books on everything from setting up a Home based business to Selling your Southern California property when to one s biting he runs a meet match and move support group and oversees a network of hinterland hosts Rural folks who serve As a Welcome party to the newly relocated. Seavey in t sure How to react to others like Evons and see who have climbed on the get out of a a bandwagon. On one hand he says he s reluctant to give out any competitors names for fear of drawing attention to them. But then he adds Quot in some sense the More the merrier. People need to know what the alternatives Are to living in big crowded unsafe places. Quot arid that is our  Short subject despite its name gun packs punch by Charles mahtes1an governing Magazine there is a new weapon on the streets. It is cheap accessible and. Fast becoming the 1 favorite of Youthful miscreants across the country. The worst part is ammunition is available in any supermarket. Its known As the potato gun. While it May sound funny Law enforcement officials Are not laughing. Quot there a the potential for some uses that we re worried about a says special agent Scott Teeselink of the Kansas Bureau of investigation. Quot its got quite a bit of Force to  so much Force that Possession of a Spud gun could qualify As a felony in Martinez Calif. In Post Falls Idaho City officials Are trying to Craft an ordinance to prohibit discharging the guns that does t get anti gun control forces up in arms. Other places Are trying to figure out exactly How to classify the devices whose Appeal to thrill seeking teen agers looking for trouble seems to be growing rapidly. Imagine a shoulder held missile launcher with a potato for a projectile and you have the general idea. Virtually All the potato guns Are homemade or easily available from a local Flea Market a and without the hassle of a five Day waiting period. Built from plastic pipe tubing the length generally runs from about 2 to 5 feet. Post Falls police though report finding a group of intoxicated individuals firing taters from a 6-foot-Long mortar. A a. A \ the mechanics of the gun Are simple. A potato is jammed into one end of the barrel and fired by igniting some Type of flammable substance such As aerosol hair Spray or lighter fluid in a compartment on the other end. There Are some smaller Novelty versions that use air pressure to shoot Small pieces of potato but the guns in question Are at least As Long As a Rifle a and Only a Little less menacing. When potato guns first hit the streets a few years ago officers had a hard time taking complaints seriously. Compared with a semiautomatic for example the danger of a ballistic potato seemed to Pate. Quot when i told the Guys on the Force about it everybody laughed and said of no we re going to be attacked by killer vegetables Quot Reca ifs Martinez police officer Mike Marchiano. The jokes subsided after the department filmed a training exhibition at the local junkyard. Using a confiscated potato gun Marchiano dented car doors and smashed windshields with surface to surface spuds that by his estimate were travelling at 500 to 600 feet per second. Once the officers realized the potatoes could be launched with the Force of a real firearm they took notice. So did the police departments across the country that inquired about getting copies of the taped session. The weapon fires potatoes at great speeds. Fri monday May 23, 1994 the stars and stripes 15