European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 16, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                In a Page 16letters to the editor thursday Juno 16, 1994 european edition col Steven s. Hoffman Usan command or Publ left or Bernard a. Zovistoski editor news and editorial Deborah a Bihar news editor Bill Walker european editor Bob Wicker sports editor George mane City editor to write us unit 29480 Apo a 09211 or Postrach 11 14 37 a 64278 Darmstadt Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to Call us dial 06155-601 plus Extension or Dan 348-9 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 Jimi Jones ext. 226. Business news ext. 326. News bureaus Heidelberg Germany Joseph Owen room 117, re Norstr. 104, 69120 Hei Kolberq car 419, Box 1310, Apo a 09102 Telephone Dan 370-7010 at civilian 06221-23421 Tel fax 06221-27239, Kaiserslautern Germany Kevin Dougherty John Bohmer building 2899, Pulaski Barracks Apo a 09227-3717 Telephone Dan 489-6585 or civilian 063152104 Tel fax 0631-59654. A Nurnberg Germany Ron Jenson building 21, Wil. Lion o Darby Cavern Apo a 09222 Lej Ephone Dan 460-7256 or civilian 0911,712563 Tel fax 0911-717130. Wurzburg Germany Dave Melancon building 220,. Room 109, Faulenburg Cavern Apo a 09036 Telephone Dan 350-6770 or civilian 0931-286956 Tel lax 0931-8896770, Mediterranean sue Palumbo and Marian Hamilton Naples Italy pc bid Box 56, Fpo a 09619 Tolo phone Dan 625-4880 or civilian 0017624049/4547 to lax 0039-b1-7624049. Northern Italy a King Cruger Aviano Italy Telephone Dan 632-8176 or civilian 0039-434-66-8176 Lele lax 0039-434-668222. United kingdom Nancy Tornor Marc Mcfann and Dave Didio. Building 464 Cess us Raf Mildenhall Apo a 09459 Telephone Dan 238-2226 or civilian 0638-542226 Tel fax 0638-718013. New York City Timothy Cahill room 638. 201 Varick st., now York 10014 Telephone 212-620-3333 Tel fax 212-620-3268, Washington . Chuck Vinch. Cindy kill Lon. Oast a the Pentagon room 2e756 . Box 46095, Washington , 20050-6095 Telephone 703-6976695 Tel fax 703-693-6366. Business departments maj Richard k. Major Usa Deputy commander Date Date newspaper operations director Fred Shauna now York of oration director Joemei by Ioctl circulation manager Jeffrey a kingdom comptroller circulation toll free customer service for Homo or office do Ivory inquiries or delivery problems Call 24 hours Germany Belgium Italy United kingdom. Netherlands Spain Tel fax. 0130-840048 07811-8775 1678-7-3456 0-800-898854 06-022-7629 900-99-4955 06155-601436 Germany Augsburg civilian <3021,-443254. Berlin civilian 030-8331646, Dan 332-3548. Kaiserslautern civilian 0631-57q70 or 57079, a Dan 4-89-7100, 0631-50696. Nurnberg civilian 0911-712558. Dan 460-7001. Stuttgart civilian 0711-797-7552, Dan 421-4277. Italy Naples civilian 0033-81-724480, Dan 620-4880, Tel fax 0039-81-7244409. A Vicenza civilian 0444-515358, Dan 634-7545, Tel fax 0444-300-641, a Spain Madrid Dan 665-5807, civilian and Tel fax 003416561465. Turkey Istanbul civilian 0090-1-272 48 43, Tolela 0090-1-274 32 09. United kingdom Cirencester civilian 0205-713-637, Dan 247-4445. Advil Tang display Germany 06155-601247 or 601309. Dan 348824 7. Classified Germany 06155-601349, Dan 348-8349. Advertising Tel fax 06155-601412 a please Recycle this newspaper is an ou1hori/od unofficial publication or members of the military services overseas conies cd the Star and stripes do not necessarily reflect he official Vita a of or endorsement by Iho . Government the department at defense or the . European command the appearance of advertising in this publication including inserts or suppl agents does not constitute endorsement by the department of defense of the stars and stripes of the products of services  cafes How much More Are we going to put up with we Are a powerful nation founded on free Enterprise and yet our military supports the largest monopoly in the free world. How much More arc we going to allow them to gobble up for example when the army and air Force Exchange service took Over the class i a few years ago initially the prices went Down. After the grand open my we witnessed the prices going up the variety and Quality of merchandise decline and most of All customer service is nearly nonexistent. On May 17, cafes captured the headlines vowing to limit adult magazines when the takeover of the bookstores is Complete. If that happens it will be the first time that cafes did not seize an Opportunity to make Money regardless of the item being sold or the manner in which cafes went about obtaining the merchandise. Recently cafes has taken Over All the concessions that were formerly managed by the services Squadron. Why All in the name of better service to the military customer. It will be Only a matter of time until cafes is requiring More commissions from these vendors and controlling the products and merchandise sold by these enterprising business people. The number of vendors and Small businesses put out of business by cafes in the last 10 years numbers in the dozens in the Ramstein area alone. The army and the air Force exist for the convenience1 of cafes. Only at discount centers docs one find name Brand merchandise of such poor Quality. Cafes has taken customer Onen Ted profit making operations and turned them into mediocre cafes serving frustrations for the military Community. How much More Are we going to let it have through Clandestine congressional activity is it going to get our Banks schools clubs commissaries recreational facile tics child care centers and health car system i say no. I say we need to fight this colossus. I say it is enough. We must be in touch with our congressmen and women to Stop the military a use by the monopoly cafes. I say we need free Enterprise to bring Back customer service lower prices and Quality merchandise. A Nancy Bolotte Ramstein a German Ideal spot in response to a bad move Quot May 25i must say the move out of an education Center to Turley. Barracks or elsewhere in the Mannheim Community is a bad move. Soldiers and family members Are served Here in the Sullivan education Center with Pride and 100 percent customer service. No Soldier or family member has Ever been turned away. T he education Center located outside the Sullivan Barracks is the most Ideal spot in the Mannheim Community that is available for the soldiers in Mannheim. The army learning Center alone has served Over 1,822 people since january of this year while being open Only 20 hours per week. The Counselor have seen just As Many. Once the doors Are open usually before 7 30 . In the morning people Start to come in to seek educational and Alc advice. The education Center is Here to serve the Soldier and we must say at the education Center we do it with Pride. To move us to another location will eliminate Many soldiers and their family members from seeking the education that today s army demands on a smaller Force. When something is not broken Why try to fix it a Louis d. Servedio a Fortal German club change welcomed we fully appreciate and support the changes made by the 418th base support in commander at the Frankfurt Plantation and Topper clubs. Despite the biases of the original stars and stripes article and the less informed who done to live in Frankfurt the change at the club was not racially Moti vat cd. A decision was made to move the larger crowd to a bigger and better location. As far As we know no one has been told what Type of club they must attend. We were shocked that anyone would even consider segregation As an Issue. As residents of Betts Village we can attest to annoying saturday night Plantation club patrons. We be made our share of Early morning complaints to the Frankfurt military police about loud music and inconsiderate Drivers. The Village residents have sought to resolve this problem for More than a year. U until now no one was willing to take a stand. Promises of a Well see what we can do were Given to appease residents but lacked enforcement and follow up. The real question is Why do we need a nightclub in the Middle of a family housing area anyway the Way we Sec it there Are three major problems with having the club Here 1. Inadequate parking. There was never enough parking Tor Large crowds. Patrons often parked in resident parking spaces on sidewalks and in fire lanes. Some areas were poorly lit and along one Way streets. The Topper club at the Post Exchange shopping Cente r offers acres of Well lighted parking. 2 excessive noise. Efforts to control noise were fruitless. Even with the club windows closed music and club noise permeated through the Walls and closed windows of our apartments. Auto noise and car stereos added to the Din. This was barely tolerable in the Winter and impossible during the summer nights when ventilation was needed. What Ever happened to the German quiet hours Laws 3. Trash control. The club management promised to clean up the trash strewn about by , this never was maintained. Trash cleanup fell upon the Village residents who wanted a clean and Safe place for their children to live. Was this too much to ask we were surprised to learn that country and Western music was offered on week nights before the club format changed. We never noticed any problem with noise parking or trash from these patrons. Since the change things have improved considerably. I or this we thank the Betts mayor and the base support battalion commander for finding a Good solution for All concerned. For those of you living outside Frankfurt we invite you to come Check it out for yourselves. A Rick Wick uni Frankfurt Germany editors note this letter was signed by four residents of Betts Village  questioned is the Standard development test for real or is it a dream has anyone Ever wondered whether the army needs to test sergeants through sergeants first class every year is it for Job competence is it to show where they need improvement Well what Are noncommissioned officer evaluation reports for or Arentt they trustworthy anymore Why done to officers Lake some kind of set they sure get paid enough to Lead us into Battle and make life or death decisions. Or does the set Tell us one thing a who can read and retain Book knowledge even though they Only read the books a week before the test if they can get them one thing is certain you wont take the set with a Book and if you score a 100 does it mean you can do your Job i done to think so. In be seen the Best noncommissioned officers fail and the worst pass. One thing is for sure a pass or fail when you go to combat the enemy does no to care How much of a Book you can remember. Or Rich Dauro Holder German costs Tutu puzzling the May 15 production of Cinderella by local Ballet students under the direction of the Heidelberg youth services was one to remember. The Joy Felt by Loving parents and friends was Well Worth the time we do noted and the Cost of instruction. It is the additional a a costs that i done to understand. Cinderella was to be a production that was included in the original Cost of the Ballet lessons along with two free tickets for each child in the performance. So Why did each individual in attendance plus or minus 600 have to pay a $2 admission of i understood this was necessary to cover the Cost of using the Heidelberg officers and civilians club so Why did the programs say Quot All proceeds will be donated to Sunshine olympics in a confused. Maybe someone could Tell me if the a a donations even went to Sunshine olympics. I have and will continue to support the Community events with time Ana Money. That is As Long As i understand the a a real Story. Troops Are few and funds Are in Short Supply but 1 would like to think even Cinderella could survive these times. A capt. George Allen Heidelberg Germany r editors note we encourage our readers a Espe daily those who have never submitted a letter a to write to us. Letters expressing readers viewpoints Are published Dally on this Page. All letters must be signed and include address and Telephone number. Preference is Given to Shorter letters so that More can be published in a timely manner. 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. Or fax 06155-601-463, Dan 348-8463. Anim irm pm corp that 15 mine my show that ipja5 a Vamp a effective vice pipes spent a major player a 7heacm/n-Tstrallon /