European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 18, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 22 letters to the editor sunday december 18,1994 european edition col Stevens Hoffman Usan commander publisher Fiern Arld a. Zovistoski. Editor. News and editorial Deborah Abner. News editor Chi Walker european editor Bob Wicker sports editor George mint City editor to write us unit 29480 apoae09211  1437 64278 Darmstadt Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to Call us dial 06155-601 plus Extension or Dan 348-8 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 208,400. Education Jimi Jones ext. 226. Business news ext. 326/ news bureaus Heidelberg Germany pm Bathan room 117, Torti Erst. 104. 69115 Heidelberg Telephone Dan 370 7010ofcmi/n06221-23421lelefaxoe221-10554. Kaisers Stern Germany Kevin Dougherty and oof Twyman building 2699, Pulask Barracks Apo a 09227-3717 Telephone Dan 469-6585 or civilian 0631 62104 Tel fax Dan 489-6357 or cuban 0631.5366357. Nornberg Germany Ron Jensen building 21. Wit Ham o. Darby Cavern Apo a 09222 Telephone Dan 460-7254 or civilian 0911-712563 Tel fax 0911-717130. Won buro. Germany j. P. Barham building 220, room 109, Faulenburg Cavern Apo a 09036 Tele phone Dan 351-4289 or civilian 0931-286956 Tel fax 0931-8886770.  sue Palumbo arid Marian Hamilton. Naples Italy pc b10, Box 56, Fpo a 09619 tote phone Dan 625-4880 or civilian 0817624049/4547 urte few 0009-81 -7624049. Northern Italy j. King Cruger pc 54, Box 473 Apo a 09601 Telephone Dan 632-8178 or civilian 003434-66-8176 Tel fax 0039-434-668222. United kingdom Nancy Tomer. Mare Mcfann and Dave Dkl of. Building 464 Cess us Raf my Wenham Apo a 09459 Telephone Dan 238-2229 or civilian 0638-542226 Tel fax 0638-718013, new York City Timothy Dahlh room 638, 201 Vark st., new York 10014 Telephone 212-620-3333 Tel fax 212-620-3268. \. Washington . Chuck Vinch and Cindy Nihon Oast a the Pentagon. Room 2e756 . Box .46095,. Washington . 20050-6095 Telephone 703 697-6695 Tel fax 703-693-6366,. Business departments maj Richard k. Major. Usa Deputy commander Jeffrey a kingdom. Comptroller James Wytock circulation manager circulation toll free customer service for Home or office delivery inquiries or delivery problems Call 24 hours Germany Belgium Italy. United kingdom Netherlands Spain Tel fax 0130-840048 07811-8775 1678-7-34560-800-898854 06-022-7629 900-99-4955 06155-601436 Germany Augsburg civilian 0821 -544529, Tel fax 0821-644565. Berlin civilian 030-8331846 Dan 332-3548. Kaisers Stern civilian 0631-57070 or 57079, Dan 489-7100, Tel fax 0631-60696. Nornberg civilian 0911-712558, Dan 460-7001. Stuttgart 0130-840048. Italy. ". V Naples Amman 0039-81-724460, Dan 625-4680, Tole fax 0039-81 -72444 89. Vjcen2a civilian 0444-515358, Dan 634-7545, Tel fax 0444-300-641. Spain Madrid Dan 665-5807. Civilian and Tel fax 00341. 581485. Turkey Istanbul civilian Ooyo-212-272 43 43, Tel fax 0090 212-2743209. United kingdom Cirencester civilian 0285-713-637. Dan 247-4445. Advertising display Germany 06155 60247 or 601309, Dan 348 8247. Classified Germany 06155-6013-19. On 348-6349. Advertising Tel fax 06155-601412 please Recycle this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for members of the military service overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes do not necessarily reflect the official views of. Of endorsement by the . Government the department d defense or the . European command. The appearance of advertising in this publication. Including inserts or supplements Doe not constitute endorse ment by the department o defense or the sum and stripes of the products or services advertised. Give us d break i read the article by sue Palumbo wit great interest.1 heretofore there h an t been much attention paid to the plight of the Retiree and department of defense dependents schools. I would like to Len my support in any Way possible even though i am not stationed in Italy but i Germany. I have a couple of comments on the article if or. Gary Sombati a Navy Reti ree Only pays $17,000 for two children Togo to school they must be Young and in grammar school. Wait until they reach Middle and High school the change i get from $10,000 when i pay for my High school student would barely buy lunch at your favorite fast food restaurant. The Cost if it is a True reflection of the Cost of educating a child in Dodds i enough to cause concern even without thinking of us retirees having to come up with the dollars. I wish i had a copy of the report published in the stars an stripes a couple of months ago giving the relationship Between Cost and Quality of education in the various states. It seems the general idea of the article was that the Quality of education is inverse to the Cost. That is the states that spend the most in general have the lowest Quality of education maybe we who have children in pods Are really fooling ourselves about the Quality we think we re  re paying far More than the most expensive state. Scary huh i Don t think Dodds is that bad. I just think someone has gone overboard in extracting our retirement income from us. I think that if or. Sombati and the others considered the income tax take from the retirement income As Well As the tuition they would realize there in t any thing left. For those of us left with ties to the foreign country but still wishing for our children to be Able to enter Ameri can universities find ourselves in a really tight spot As far As preparing for our own old age. I Hope there is some substance to this suit against Dodds. As i said i would like to be Able to support it income Way. I have written to sen John Glenn onto occasions thinking his committee would have some say it the level of fee set. Unfortunately or Glenn is so far removed from the common Retiree whatnot even his aides have Felt the need to even acknowledge my letters let alone answer the questions. There has to be a Way to approach the subject and apparently unlike the vote one voice cannot be heard. I agree 100 percent with or. Sombati when he says we should be required Topay something for the privilege of having our kids in Dodds. It s just that we should not be required to give up All our retired pay. Many like myself gave 20 years to the military without abusing the educational system. I had one child in the system for two years there should be some Way we could participate now without overdue hardship. I Hope Thater. William a Henderson a retired Navy capt Init al., will be successful in petitioning Dodds to reconsider an give us some kind of break. I Hope there Are others also who would be willing to support these efforts whether in Italy Germany or wherever. I think it must be a worldwide problem. David w. Hansen Ramstein a Germany to our readers let us know what you think we encourage our readers especially those who have never submitted a letter to write to us. Letters expressing readers View Points or opinions Are published Dally on this Page. All letters must be signed and include address and Telephone number. Send to letters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. Or fax country code 49 06155 601-395, Dan 348-8395. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. Draw Down in Europe has not stopped the prevention efforts of the alcohol an drug abuse prevention and control  Gram. We continue to work to develop effective prevention and education  Grams to ensure that our soldiers their family members and the civilian workforce have the tools necessary to make informed choices about alcohol and other drug use. " in the United states december has been designated As National drunk and drugged driving prevention month. The goal is to reduce preventable alcohol re lated accidents on the highways. In a nationwide symbolic Observance to focus at Tention on the impaired driving Issue Law enforcement businesses government agencies and private citizens throughout the country joined together in lights on for life keeping their vehicle head lights on As they drove during the Day on Friday. In american military communities i Europe we were Able to show our sup port for this Campaign by also driving with our vehicle lights on during the  awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving and our support of Preven Tion efforts help to make us better guests in our Host nations. Susan , Belgium can make it hard to meet a deadline or get any work accomplished at All. And what about the Gulf War ? my husband Hies gee Whiz High tech Apache helicopters and is a Veteran of the War. He could have been killed just the same As if he had been in world War ii or any other War. You can bet military personnel were aware of the devastating effects of Chemi Cal warfare which could kill hundreds in Little tithe 1 i m proud of one female Friend serving in the National guard for instance. I d put her physical strength and mental capacity against that of most male soldiers. She s a medical doctor and an avid run Ner. \. ,. With the letter writer s reasoning she should t use her god Given talents to save lives of soldiers because she s a woman. Maybe she should Trade her surgical instruments for a pair of knitting Needles. Nancy Royden Riddle Katterbach Germany enlightened driving in recent years society has experienced a dramatic shift in attitude regard ing impaired driving. Thanks to the combined efforts of Law enforcement and Community groups society no longer tolerates those who choose to drink and drive. In the past in military communities campaigns such As celebrate sober and summer sense were organized to raise the awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving. The . Military every right to be proud it s no secret some women have take advantage of the Legal system by suing others for sexual harassment for millions of dollars unjustifiably. Some female sol Diers do a horrible Job or Are promoted to fill quotas. However it s no reason to discredit women in the military. A recent letter writer said he Shook his head at seeing a pregnant Soldier and an other female pushing a stroller into a restaurant. He insinuated women can t Han dle the horrors of War As men can. I m not a Soldier but i Hope the writer realizes some women Are More physically fit and can take the pressures of seeing blood and guts As their male counterparts can. Pregnancy is not a permanent physical condition. Who knows the sol Diers the writer referred to May be very Good at their jobs. As a former journalist would he want me not to cover a War because i m woman that can be a dangerous Job too. I get the impression the writer wants women to stay at Home and do Domestic things such As baking and washing clothes. Granted there s nothing wrong with being a homemaker. This is what i be chosen to do for now. Does the writer know what it feels like to be hit on the Fanny with a file folder by a Womanizer at work has he been called Secretary by an uneducated ignorant person i once worked at a North Carolin newspaper with a newsroom full of men. My solution to jeers and snide remark was to laugh and come Back with an equally Tacky remark. I m not an advocate of suing people for an outrageous amount of Money but sexual harassment winners in life the writer of learning to lose nov.7 was Correct in making his Point. Since then there have been several letters complaining about youth services coaches parents and the Overall youth services sports program. Over the past two years i have been a Volunteer coach for the youth services in bad Kreuz Nach. This experience has been very rewarding personally but also very frustrating at times. Regardless of what anyone says every one cannot be a Winner in a competitive sport. The children parents and coaches Are aware of this fact. Children must be taught that regardless of what team they Are on As Long As they have run learn something about the game perform to the Best of their ability and display Good sportsmanship they will have done their part in being a team player win or lose. I coach to win All games but will never place winning a game Over teaching Basic skills teamwork and sportsmanship. The children i be coached Are told from the beginning of the season that we the team will win and lose games but what Ever the outcome we will need to have fun and must display Good sportsmanship at All times. Secondly when a child learns to count they realize that More is better and one is More than none. If they count pennies marbles or runs coming across Home plate the child can Tell you who has the most or which team is winning. If we take away the competitive attitudes of our Young people Tell them they Are always winners and life is always fair and they will never have to face disappointments and they need not strive for Success just think what our country will be like in 20 years. We will have succeeded in raising a generation of kids with no ambitions no goals and no competitive spirit. Let s teach our Young people How to be Good winners and How to accept defeat and disappointments. I would Challenge the youth service policy of everyone is a Winner As would hundreds of educators parents and other volunteers. This policy has lost its original intent. Parents teachers and coaches Are just a few of the people that play an important role in a child s life. Let us All com Bine in these efforts teach winning and losing teach children to be positive and feel Good about themselves. If we accomplish this our children will be winners in life which is what this policy should be All about.  class Robert t. Eygabroad bad Kreuz Nach Germany