European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 22, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 stars and stripes thursday March 22 2007 f Neil of the us army the us and South Korea have agreed to each pay roughly half of the nearly billion Bill to move much of the us military Force on the Peninsula from Seoul and Points North to a greatly expanded Camp Humphreys shown Here in february 2006 us s Korea reach Deal to fund transformation by to Flack and Hwang Harrym stars and stripes Seoul the United states and South Korea each will pay roughly half of the nearly billion Bill to transform the us military on the Peninsula South Korea ministry of National defense con firmed late tuesday afternoon the announcement that the master plan was agreed upon followed 17 months of negotiations be tween the countries we Are pleased that the a Yongtaek master plan has been announced and is moving Forward us forces Korea wrote via email tuesday while Many smaller actions still remain to be done this agreement represents the commitment of United states and the Republic of Korea to the modernization and consolidation of us forces at Yeong Taek us and South korean officials had agreed to move the us military from Seoul and All Points North to a greatly expanded Camp Humphreys South of the nations capital the lengthy debates focused on which country would pay for which part of the move South Korea already had purchased More than 2300 acres of Farmland to expand the Camp and work on the first 1 began recently according to tuesdays release the final project will see 44000 us troops department of defense civilians family members koreans who augment the us army and other South korean personnel on the Camp about 500 buildings with a total 35 million Square feet of capacity must be built to accommodate the transformation according to the release the build Ings include Headquarters and administrative faculties maintenance facilities Supply and storage buildings family and unaccompanied housing Din ing facilities and a Hospital the South korean consortium that will run the project is to be selected by May according to the re lease email the Korea Bureau at Sailor pleads guilty to smuggling shr Ooms by David Allen stars and stripes Naha Okinawa a 20yearold Sailor pleaded guilty tuesday in Naha general District court to smuggling hallucinatory mushrooms into Japan through the mail Petty officer 3rd class Trent Riley a corpsman assigned to Camp Hansen was arrested by Okinawa police on Jan 15 As a package containing 505 Grams of mushrooms containing Psilocybin a psychoactive compound was delivered to his Home in the Kurokawa District of Okinawa City Riley admitted during a two hour session that he ordered the mushrooms from the nether lands Over the internet he said he had planned to take the mushrooms with his wife to have fun before his scheduled deployment to Iraq in april i was worried about spending a year away from my wife and possibly not coming Back he told the three judge panel hear ing the Case he had been mar ried just More than six months when he was arrested his wife testified that she had no knowledge her husband had or dered the psychedelic fungi Riley from Florida said that despite briefings from his com Mand that using the mushrooms was illegal he had heard from friends that they were not prohibited and were sold openly in Japan he said he did not realize the japanese Law had changed in 2002 he added that he did not be come suspicious when the nether lands company that sold him the mushrooms for sent him an email stating that because the japanese customs Agency was strict the package would be la bleed As a shirt prosecutor Daisuke Tabuchi did not accept Riley ignorance of the Law calling the sailors statements illogical he was going to spread this evil drug in our country he said therefore his act was vicious its difficult to accept that he did not know magic mushrooms were illegal he asked for a sentence of two years and six months in prison at hard labor defense attorney Satoshi Kawa Mitsu asked that any prison time be suspended and Riley who faces discharge from the Navy upon release from custody be Al Lowed to return to the United states to finish his education he said Riley has no prior criminal record Riley who remains in custody in the Naha detention Center faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a Fine of up to 30 million yen about he will be sentenced april 17 according to prosecution Evi Dence the mushrooms were Dis covered when the package arrived at Narita International air port on Jan 8 customs agents then alerted Okinawa police and arranged the bust As the package was delivered to Riley in june 2002 Japan listed hallucinogenic mushrooms popularly known by users As shr Ooms or magic mushrooms As a con trolled substance making the use Sale Possession growing and advertising of the mushrooms Ille Gal under the country narcotic and psychotropic drug control Law there Are More than 180 species of mushrooms that con Tain varying traces of psychedelics email David Allen at cafes backs off unpopular fee for calling cab service by Jimmy Norris stars and stripes Yon san Garrison South Korea cafes officials have rescinded a recently implemented taxi Call fee As they continue negotiations with the contracted taxi company officials confirmed tuesday beginning at 5 pm monday on base world cup Arurang tour ism co taxis no longer were charging an extra 1000won fee about to customers who called to be picked up at specific locations the army and air Force Exchange service introduced a new fare system including the Call fee on March 15 As a Way to save customers Money in South Korea but customers blasted the new policy which calculates fares based on South korean won saying they were actually paying More for the same service when asked tuesday about the decision to suspend the Call fee cafes spokesman master sgt Donovan Potter offered min Imal details during one phone interview Potter said cafes suspended the fee because of customer and military leadership complaints he added that the suspension want necessarily permanent because negotiations were ongo ing were not sure if the contractor can survive without it pot Ter said of the Call fee later in the Day Potter called stars and stripes to change his statement saying his earlier comments were inappropriate he declined to provide any details on the negotiations including when they started who was involved or when they were expected to be finished taxis for world cup Arurang tourism co Ltd Are lined up at Yon san Garrison in july 2006 the fee was taken away and we really dont have anything else to say about that due to on going negotiations with the con tractor Potter said during the second Call i think its Good they got rid of the Call the meter starts at two dollars so it starts at three dollars when you Call said pfc Oscar Matha 94th Mili tary police company aint none of us got that kind of Money especially when the Drivers always keep our change world cup Arurang officials re fused to comment when contacted late tuesday afternoon during a Friday interview about the new pricing policy Potter conceded that fluctuating won Dollar Exchange rates could Lead to increased cab fare something base customers had complained about but Potter stressed using local currency to charge taxi fares is consistent with what cafes does in other overseas locations he also said several Initia Tives being considered will eventually Lead to lower cab email the Jimmy Morris at photos by Teri and stripes beginning at 5 pm monday on base world cup Arurang tourism co taxis no longer were charging an extra 1000won fee about to customers who called to be picked up at specific locations the March 15 pricing policy cafes announced a new taxi fare policy for area i and area ii on March 15 under the new policy the fares for contracted taxis Are calculated using South korean won prices customers still Are allowed to pay with us dollars based on that Days wont Dollar Exchange rate cafes set the initial fare rate at 2000 won about which they said was cheaper than the previous initial fare rate based on us dollars they also implemented a 1000 won about Call fee to be applied to anyone who called for a taxi which cafes officials have recently rescinded Jimmy Morris