European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 17, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday november.17, 1994 . The stars and stripes Page 7 first Black commands Navy s Blue Angels team from the associated press Pensacola Fla. The Only Black Pilot to Fly with the Blue Angels in their 48-year history became commander of the famed Navy flight demonstration Squadron on tuesday. Cmdr. Donnie Cochran who flew with the six plane team from 1985 to 1988, returned to assume the title of Boss from cmdr. Robert Stumpf who will become Deputy commander of an air Wing. Cochran of pelhanvga., downplayed being the first Black among the 25 men who have commanded the Squadron based at Nas Pensacola. I look at it As an Opportunity to be the Boss not Black not White but an Opportunity to command a very special organization said Cochran,40. I m perfectly aware that i m an african american.". " Pilot becomes High roller Independence Kan. A Pilot buzzed downtown rooftops and dropped several Rolls of toilet paper from his plane tuesday. Robert b. Moore 37, was arrested when he landed around 2 30 . He is accused of flying an air plane while under the influence of alcohol and of littering. He was being held on $100,000 Bond Montgomery county sheriff Jack Daniels said Moore was drinking with friends when he bragged that he could hit main Street from a plane with a Roll of toilet paper /. Moore a pipeline patrol Pilot flying a rented single engine Piper bought a four pack of toilet paper at a convenience store then swooped Over town dropping the Rolls Daniels said. Giraffe Falls Dies Salt Lake City a 2,500-Pound Giraffe landed Flat on its belly in a fall and died tuesday after zoo workers struggled for hours to get it on its feet. Woody the Hogle zoo s Only male Giraffe fell Early monday and died about 24 hours later. Zoo workers tried in vain to get the 9-year-old Giraffe Back on his feet by using ropes to hoist him. The . Department of agriculture is investigating Why the Giraffe fell. Jerry Rubin hit by car los Angeles Jerry Rubin the former Chicago seven anti War activist and Yippie Leader was critically injured when he was hit by a car while jaywalking authorities said tuesday. Rubin 56, was crossing Wilshire Boulevard monday evening when he was hit police officer Sandra castello said. The former Radical was among the Chicago seven tried for conspiring to disrupt the 1968 democratic National convention which turned into a bloody Battle Between police and protesters of the Vietnam War. \ ,. Four of the seven were convicted then the convictions were overturned. Lith officer kills self new York a patrolman calmly left work Early went Home and shot himself in the head making him the Lith City police officer to commit suicide this year. Officer Daniel Atkinson a seven year Veteran had shown no signs of trouble at work but had been having marital problems said a department spokeswoman. Officer Rosa Ata Yildiz. Atkinson s suicide monday set a grim record for the nation s largest police department. The previous known High was 10 suicides in 1987, officials said. Last year eight officers killed themselves. The department s suicide toll for the last 10 years is 66. Quitting smoking found to ease lung diseases Chicago a even for smokers with Earl signs of emphysema or chronic bronchitis it s not too late to kick the habit a government study says. The study of nearly 6,000 smokers showed that those who gave up cigarettes slowed the decline of their breathing ability dramatically. The report mirrors on last year that found it is never too late to quit for lung cancer sufferers. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mainly emphysema and bronchitis is the nation s fourth leading cause of death. About 15 million people suffer from it and about 90,000 die from it each year. In the latest study researchers spent five years track ing male and female smokers Ages 35 to 60. All were chosen because tests showed they were in the Early stages of emphysema or bronchitis. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups one group received intensive Stop smoking sup port and nicotine gum plus medication sprayed through an inhaler. One received Stop smoking help and an inhaled Placebo. -. /.".-. The third group received no special care. The inhaled medication provided Short term Relief but it had no Long term effect on the lung diseases the study found. About 22 percent of the people who tried to quit an stayed off cigarettes until the end of the study five years later suffered Only a 2.5 percent decline i breathing ability. That compared with an 11.4 percent decline for smokers. The 2.5 percent decline is close to the average decline that accompanies Normal aging even in lifelong nonsmokers said the National heart lung and blood Institute which sponsored the $49 Mil lion lung health study. X the lung health study lays to rest once and for All the question of whether stopping smoking can Benefit people with Early lung disease said the Institute s director or. Claude Lenfant. The findings were published in wednesday s Issue of the journal of the american medical . Nicholas j. Gross a professor of Medicine and biochemistry at Loyola University s Stritch school of Medicine said the study is a landmark for its thorough Ness and scientific rigor even if the results were expected. -.-. ./".vr. A big prospective study of the benefits of smoking cessation that includes women As Well As men has hot been done in the past Gross said. Prospective studies which enrol people and watch what happens Over time Are considered More reliable than retrospective studies which identify people with certain health conditions and look for clues in their histories. Gross said the study s weakness is that it used a Type of inhaler Ira tropism or at rodent that is generally More effective As a Short term Medicine than a Long term one. So the study failed to determine whether a More Long term Type of inhaler might help people with Chro Nic obstructive pulmonary disease he said. The relative merits of inhalers were not Clear when the study was planned in the 1980s, he said. The lung cancer study was conducted by the National cancer Institute. Coupe de Grace the remains of Betty Young and the 1989 Cadillac Coupe Deville that she loved so much Are lowered into her grave at Phillips memorial cemetery in Foster r.i., on monday the luxury car s seats were taken out to make room for Young s Matching Honey coloured coffin. Helmet Law Cut fatalities study says. By the los Angeles times los Angeles in its first year the California motorcycle helmet Law produced a 37.5 percent drop in fatalities from motorcycle collisions and saved As Many As 122 lives researchers say. Nonfatal head injuries also decreased significantly following implementation of the Law in january 1992, and there were Sharp declines in time spent in intensive care units and in the Hospital following nonfatal Acci dents the study said. Researchers from the University of California los Angeles called their work the definitive study of motorcycle safety. They reported their findings wednes Day in the journal of the american medical association. Motorcyclists who did not Wear helmets suffered disproportionate share of injuries although less than half a percent of motorcyclists did not Wear helmets they accounted for 15 percent of deaths and serious in juries. The 1992 Law clearly had a very Strong Impact nonpublic safety said Urcla epidemiologist David car thur. The researchers found 523 fatalities in 1991, com pared with 327 in 1992, a drop of 37.5 percent using two different techniques to predict the number of deaths that would have occurred in 1992 were there no helmet Law they concluded that 92 to 122 lives had been saved by the Law. The proportion of helmet use increased from 43 percent in 1991 to 99.5 percent in 1992