European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 17, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday August 17, 1994 the stars and stripes Page 3 mayday gets issued Over cruise refund Check bounced of sergeant says Bevin Ccrawley staff writer Ramstein a Germany air Force set. Tim Boltin says his slow cruise to nowhere finally ende d after seven months when his Bank would t Cash a $40 refund Check he received from the tour company. Instead Boltin was charged $9.20 for bouncing a Check. But Brigitte Colantonio manager of the Kaiserslautern based top Tours disputes Boltin s claims that the Check bounced. The manager said that postal delays Leto a bookkeeping oversight and that $60 in Cash covering $40, which Boltin said head persuaded the company to refund him the bounced Check charge and an addition Al $10 was quickly hand delivered to Boltin s office. The sergeant s problems began when Betook a combined bus and boat tour advertised As a Sweden Denmark  tour which ran from dec. 28 to dec. 30, Cost him $189. The stars and Stripe first reported other complaints regarding the mini cruise in a Jan. 9 article. A shipping schedule change during the tour meant that a planned All Day Ancho rage in Malmo Sweden with a Side trip to Copenhagen Denmark turned into a 15-minute swedish Stopover before sailing another 17 Miles to Copenhagen. Some of the participants opted to tour Malmo on their own then caught a hover Craft to Copenhagen. The hovercraft fee was about $5. In Early Jam Ary the tour company agreed to refund j about $25 to those who had paid for a 20 City tour of Malmo and the $5 hovercraft fare. In Early March when Boltin had t received the refund he contacted top Tours. They assured me that not Only was i the Only person to complain but i had already been refunded he said. / Colantonio signed a eur Check similar to a Money order dated March 9. Boltin said that he gave his German mailing address but that he never received the refund. Finally in the first week of june rewrote to top Tours requesting a full re fund. Tour company officials declined his re quest but said they still had his partial re fund Check which the German Post office had returned. A top Tours employee delivered the Check to the on base information ticket and Tours office where Boltin picked it  said he waited a couple of weeks before depositing it in his merchants Bank account around july 1. Our employee s mistake at this Point was not to have checked with bookkeeping regarding the Issue Date Colantonio  the Middle of june delivery and july cashing a routine cancellation was done she said. Colantonio said that eur checks Are guaranteed for amounts up to 400 German Marks about $263so her company routinely cancels them after four months of the Issue Date to keep close control of them. The Check did not Bounce Colantoni said. She said her bookkeeping department cancelled the Check As a matter of Stan Dard policy and procedure because it had not been cashed within four months. S4s Vince crawly air Force sgt. Tim Boltin of Ramstein a Germany holds the refund Check which he said bounced for his Sweden Denmark mini cruise taken last december. Boltin called the tour a Complete deception of Public Trust and said no reasonable person should have to put up with this incompetent  Colantonio said Boltin s complaint about a bounced Check were incorrect misleading and  the tour has since been discontinued and except for juggling the two sea ports Colantonio maintains that the cruise me with smooth sailing. It certainly was not a tour from hell Colantonio  need to realize there Are certain things beyond our control she said. Do you get a refund from an airline if the air plane leaves two hours late we regret that our customer service representative failed to communicate properly with our bookkeeping staff co Lantonio said or this entire unfortunate rid frustrating episode would have been avoided for or. Boltin. We apologize sincerely to him for the Chain of events since  Asbestos teams stripping danger frown schools is Mark Kinyada signs on a door at Mannheim High school in Germany warn of hazards from Asbestos removal. By Mark Kinkade staff writer Mannheim Germany the latest Asbestos air samples pulled from Mannheim High school made Kerry Koll Happy. It looks very Good said Koll an Asbestos removal expert. We re looking at about ,0033 fibres per Square centimetre of air. Very  Koll works for Baker environmental inc a private contractor hired by the department of defense dependents schools to remove Asbestos from schools in six european military communities. According to Dodds during the summer the Engi neers pulled the carcinogenic material from nine schools  up barn erg elementary school and Bamberg High school in Germany. Kaiserslautern elementary school Kaiserslautern Middle school and Kaiserslautern High school in Ger Many. V ,. -. In Mannheim High school. Wiesbaden elementary school in Germany Raf Lakenheath elementary school in England. Alfred t. Mahn elementary school in Kef Lavik Iceland. "  A " v a.-. -. Removing Asbestos has become a summer project Ford Odds. When the pupils Are on break Dodds contracted environmental engineers can often be found re moving Asbestos Laden tiles and panels before the Chil Dren return according to a school system spokesman. Asbestos fibres have been linked to a variety of lung ailments including cancer. The Asbestos Hazard emergency response act of 1986 mandated that Public schools in the United states remove the material. The Law specifically directed Dodds to take whatever actions necessary to control the Asbestos Hazard in the school system. The environmental Protection Agency Standard allows70 particles of Asbestos per Square millimetre of air Koll said. Mannheim initially registered Well below the Stan Dard at about .0010 particles per Square centimetre. But a pending renovation to the school meant the As 1 bestow count could climb to dangerous Levels so Koll and his team were called in to find and remove the Asbestos before construction began. Nearly All Dodds Sites have Asbestos materials said Wayne Hartmann chief of the Dodds Europe facilities Branch. However most of the materials Are found in Vinyl floor tiles a form of the Asbestos considered Safe because it is nor friable meaning it does t crumble easily an release dangerous fibres into the air. In 1988, dodos began a program of monitoring an replacing Asbestos in its schools Hartmann said. In 1987, school system officials announced the $57,25 million four phase program to remove or control the material. Asbestos material. Hartmann said in a statement tothe stars and stripes is dangerous Only when it is friable or damaged and releases Asbestos fibres into the air where they can be inhaled. Hartmann said Dodds use of Asbestos inn Onfria a materials poses no danger to students or staff unless it is disturbed by improper maintenance and  the most dangerous Asbestos contamination was detected Early in the program and removed or encapsulated Hartmann said. But Asbestos is still found in Dodds facilities Hart Mann said. The once popular building material was a Well known fire retardant and found widespread use Asa bonding agent in panelling and on duct work Koll said. That Asbestos is considered Safe Koll said because it shard to disturb. In fact Dodds uses a soft Brush pol icy which simply Means that of a soft Brush does t dam age the material or kick Loose fibres it s considered Safe he said. To ensure safety environmental testers Check the Airin schools every three years Hartmann said. The most recent tests were in 1991 and earlier this year. The Asbestos control program May not be Over soon said school spokesman Hal Haggard. Those schools that previously tested negative for Asbestos in the air could eventually show dangerous Levels. Should that happen the three year monitoring pro Gram should detect higher Levels of Asbestos before reaching a dangerous level Koll said. Then More teams will go in to remove the Asbestos