European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 27, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes Friday May 27,1964dod budget draft undercuts stripes by Craig Martin staff writer the proposed 1995 defense budget could Force stars and. Stripes to absorb significant Severance and inventory costs when the congressionally ordered Transfer of its bookstores to the military Exchange services occurs later this year officials say. A this language introduces a new set of parameters or business conditions for the Transfer. And they must be considered carefully said Navy capt. Gordon Peterson spokesman for the . European come the european stars and stripes Parent organization. A a should the provisions of this report be followed some hard business decisions would be required soon with regard to Bookstore  the Sale of inventories at huge discounts has already begun in the Pacific where the Exchange services have taken Over nine stores on Guam and Okinawa from Pacific stars and stripes. In those instances the Exchange services did not accept major portions of the hardback Book inventory said a. Stars and stripes official in Tokyo. V a a Chris Ryan director of Bookstore operations for european stars and stripes said he believes the language obligates the Exchange services to offer jobs Only to employees working in bookstores that the exchanges retain he estimated that group at about a third of 298 employees involved with Bookstore operations. The rest Are involved in such activities As distribution warehousing finance purchasing and administration. V. A. / officials at the army and at Force Exchange service Headquarters in Dallas have declined to answer questions about How Many of the employees they intend to hire or what magazines and books they will offer. A \ a a a on thursday . Air Force col Steve Hoffman commander publisher of european stars and stripes said he hoped the exchanges would soon end their silence a a a a. A a a a a a. A was soon As the Exchange services Are Able i would Hope and expect that they would give the information As to what the customers can expect a he said. It is important he added a to get the information out to the customers As Well As to the installation commanders and components in the theater that will be  the Transfer was ordered last year by Congress which concluded that the exchanges could sell the merchandise at lower prices. Traditionally european stars and stripes and Pacific stars and stripes Nave used Bookstore profits to offset the costs of publishing their separate editions of the stars and stripes. / the Transfer directive part of the 1994 defense budget has prompted considerable jockeying by representatives of stars and stripes and those of the Exchange services Over terms of the takeover. A Neucom officials in Europe contend that the Exchange services should take full responsibility for All Bookstore employees and should assume the financial liability for the Book inventory estimated at $15 million in Europe. It is the european Cost la a objective Peterson said a to preserve the future of our service members1 newspaper to ensure transparency to the customer no disruption of service and to minimize the Impact on the affected employee a he said. But the language in this Ucaris defense budget which has cleared the House armed services committee and is awaiting action on the House floor appears to limit the Exchange services responsibilities. \ the Bill states that the House armed forces committee expects the Exchange services to Pink powder i Span Dahlem a Germany a amps a Pink substance found inside barrels that were recently unearthed at Span Dahlem a is similar to a heavy pesticide and is not a health Hazard unless consumed a base spokesman said thursday. The results of Laboratory tests at the Aberdeen proving grounds in Edgewood md., concluded that about 80 percent of the Pink powder is Calcium Carbonate and about 20 percent is arsenic phosphate said capt. Mike rein a Span Dahlem spokesman., minor traces of other substances also were detected. Rein said the conclusion confirms the findings of two other tests that found the substance to be nonradioactive and nonvolatile. A the substance is equivalent to a heavy pesticide and As Long As it is handled properly it will not harm by Chuck Vlinch Washington Bureau Washington a control of a few stars and stripes bookstores in the Pacific has already passed to the military exchanges even though the formal. Takeover is still four months away. Many details of How the army and air Force Exchange service and the Navy Exchange come will run the bookstores remain to be seen. But the May i Transfer of three stores on Guam and six on Okinawa could offer a glimpse of How the broader Effort May unfold the exchanges rejected All but about 20 percent of the inventory of hardcover books said Malcolm Stiles general manager of Pacific stars and stripes which is based in Tokyo. They also opted for a smaller selection of adult magazines he said. Stiles said the exchanges Are offering a 10 percent Price discount. However cafes officials cautioned against Reading too much into what happened with the bookstores on Guam and Okinawa. That Transfer came about because of an a emergency a said capt sue Meisner a spokeswoman at the Exchange services Headquarters in Dallas. Meisner said the terms for the Transfer of those bookstores were hammered out specifically for that situation and May not necessarily apply when the rest of the bookstores Are transferred. That situation arose because the area contracts for the bookstores on Guam and Okinawa were about to expire said Stiles. He said it made no sense to renew those contracts when the exchanges were scheduled to take Over the stores in a few months anyway. Newcom has taken Over two stores on Guam while cafes now runs one store on Guam and All six on Okinawa. A cooperation with the exchanges was Good a in Stiles said. A the turnover went reasonably Well especially when you consider that we were going to the exchanges on this with a really Short fuse. They were under no obligation to take Over any stores until oct. 1.�?� a he said that because the exchanges did not want much of the existing hardcover Book inventory Pacific stars and stripes held a huge markdown Sale slashing prices on those books by 50 to 75 percent. \ a that was a great Deal for the customers a he a said a Quot a a a a a a a a a. The exchanges accepted a a reasonable portion of the paperback inventory and magazines As Long As they were not dated before april Stiles said. The exchanges hired a a substantial number of the former contract employees but they brought in. Some of their own people As Well he said. Unlike bookstores in Europe that Are staffed by stars and stripes employees the Pacific stores in. Guam Okinawa and South Korea have been run under area contracts Stiles said. Japan is the Only exception to that arrangement. Bookstores there Are staffed by stars and stripes employees because the japanese government picks up most of the support costs for . Forces there including the wages of civilian workers. The exchanges Are already showing that they will do some things differently. For one thing cafes is shipping magazines to Okinawa by air. A that gets them there quicker than surface shipping but its terribly expensive a Stiles said. The exchanges also Are shipping at least some merchandise directly to stores rather than through Central distribution centers which also cuts Down on shipping time. Cafes and Newcom officials have not yet responded to requests submitted May 20 for More details on the Bookstore Transfer on Guam and Okinawa. A Purchase Only an inventory for the bookstores that it can sell. A. A a buy Only those facilities and capital items for the bookstores that can be used in conducting that business. A a a a a a a a a a a spread out the payment for assets Over a period not to exceed five  hire Only those employees who Are needed for the Normal operation of the bookstores a be obligated for Severance benefits Only for those employees who Are offered and accept employment with the exchanges. A and offer a minimum customer discount of 10 to 25 percent on Best seller hardbacks. A senior defense department official who requested anonymity said the congressional language clearly sup ports the cafes position on the Transfer Issue. He said the Bill has a created a difficult situation because it Narrows the scope of the negotiations. A on the plus Side it will probably result in a quicker decision on the Transfer agreement the official said. A but it does limit the negotiating room. However we will continue to try to do what a Best both for the newspaper and for the Bookstore  Ryan the Bookstore operations director said that even before the new House language there had not been much give and take with the Exchange services. A a in a not sure there was a formal negotiation process a he said. A we requested negotiations but unfortunately they did not materialize. Peterson the Neucom spokesman took Issue with the House language on Severance costs. A it makes sense for Severance payments to be the responsibility of the Exchange services since they will decide whether or not an employees employment will be terminated a he said Peterson. A team of cafes officials will visit bookstores in Germany Italy Turkey and the United kingdom on june 8-20 to look at Square footage display space and the Stock space devoted to various categories of books and magazines Ryan said. Currently stars and stripes operates 105 bookstores in Europe and Panama. Contributing to this report staff writer Chuck Vinch in Washington people Quot rein said in a news release. People who come into Contact with the substance should probably Wear gloves rein said. The substance was discovered May 11 by a German construction firm which found three 55-gallon Drums on the bases Southeast Side. Workers found the barrels at a depth of about 5 feet. There were no distinguishing Marks to identify the origin of the Drums. Since the initial discovery 19 barrels have been unearthed. The area remains cordoned off. Base officials Are working with German authorities on disposal of the substance rein said. Authorities suspect the barrels have been in the ground for at least 20 years but they still do not know when or Why the barrels were  found not guilty of sex acts with girl 14 Ramstein a Germany a amps a an. Air Force staff sergeant has been found not guilty of engaging in sexual acts with a 14-year-old girl a base spokeswoman said thursday. Staff sgt. Kenneth Barr of the 86th Maint so was cleared of All charges at a general court mar dial that concluded wednesday said staff sgt. Is Arbara Lavigne a Ramstein a spokeswoman. Barr an a year Veteran was accused of attempt Long 1� commit carnal knowledge committing indecent acts and taking indecent liberties with a girl under 16, Lavigne said