European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 7, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 stars and stripes saturday april Camp Darby gets stray cats under control by Kent Harris stars and stripes Camp Darby Italy wild animals have been living in and around this Small logistics base far longer than americans Camp Darby is a sprawling area of italian National Forest sur rounded by Hainlink Fence and barbed wire Deer wild boars hedgehogs foxes squirrels and assorted Birds live inside that perimeter and Are protected by Law but Over the years other animals not indigenous to the area cats and dogs started calling the base Home Valerie Bartlett vice president of the Darby animal welfare association said there were hundreds of cats roaming around at the Start of the new millennium shortly after the group was founded it was pretty evident we had a huge cat problem on base she said the solution then was an occasional Roundup they used to round them up and euthanize them Bartlett said it didst work that because the cats kept Breeding and Breeding and Breeding Patrizia Mccammon the bases chief of administrative ser vices who has lived in the area All her life said sometimes the cats were shot thank god the ital ians never heard about that she said because there would have been a huge scandal Kent and stripes Percy a Black cat that shies away from most strangers at Camp Darby Italy has had the Good Luck to find a Home in one of the colonies set up around the base the bases cat population once out of control is now fairly steady thanks to volunteers and the work of the Darby animal welfare association italian pet owners Are part of the problem though not just americans who head Back to the states and leave pets behind Italy requires computerized chips in dogs that can be used to locate owners but that s not the Case with cats and though if s against italian Law to abandon pets with owners facing stiff fines animals keep turning up at Darby Bartlett said the associations approach of trapping cats and then getting them spayed or neutered by a local veterinarian appears to be working Mccammon and bar Lett estimate Darby current feline population at 60 most Are registered with local authorities and live is nine colonies set up around the installation volunteers such As Occam Mon run the colonies putting out bowls of water and dry cat food Bartlett said there Are three types of felines on base domesticated recently abandoned wild and feral the wild cats were former pets the feral cats have never been owned by humans and most often come from the lit ters of wild cats the Agency catch snip and re lease program has largely eliminated new litters on base our no 1 goal of this association is neutering and spaying she said if youre on four legs on this base that s our no 1 goal for you thais also the Case with dogs that occasionally turn up most of them show up at the front Gate without identification Bartlett said at least one has been reunited with an italian owner because of the Chip it carried dogs which once roamed in packs in the fenced off Forest area a decade or two ago Arent released Back on base there Given to local shelters whose staffs try to find Homes for them or americans on base Are asked to adopt them the base population has been generous in recent years with do nations that allow the association to Purchase cat food and pay some of the veterinarian costs email Kent Harris at teens learn risks of Drunken driving stars and stripes students at David g Farragut High school at naval air station Rota Spain got a dramatic lesson in the dangers of driving while intoxicated on wednesday and thursday with a series of events around the base students watched As emergency person Nel from the base responded to a staged Accident wednesday in which two of their Peers were killed thursday the school Bell tolled every 15 minutes As a student was pulled from the classroom to represent the frequency of people killed by drunk or drugged Drivers in the states the dead students were dressed in Black had their faces painted White and re turned to their classrooms with Large signs describing How they had died Michelle Sanders the adolescent sub stance abuse counselling service Counse Lor at the school said students planned the event borrowing material from a popular program used in the states and elsewhere in Europe students also heard from the bases com Mander Cape Josh Garrison and Community members whose lives had been touched by intoxicated Drivers above right Aronso Bemal a Spanish firefighter and Petty officer 2nd class Erik Rosen use the jaws of life to get a crash victim from a vehicle right Petty offic ers 2nd class Russel Armand and Dan Gomez carry a crash victim photos by Glen Dennis Courtesy of the us Navy cheer leading team selected five seniors and a freshman were among the 10 students named to Dodds 2007 Al Europe cheer leading first team the High school squad members selected by a three person panel representing department of defense dependents schools were named late last month firs team members Are seniors Bryan Weaver and Holly Bellamy from ram Stem Germany Janeen gathers of Ansback Germany Jerell Banks of Hanau Germany and Kiera Gallagher of Heidelberg Germany a juniors Leah Fayson of Kaiserslautern Germany Kacy Jacobs of Pitburg Germany and Ashleigh Mitchum of Heidelberg b Sophomore Alexandra Bissey of Lakenheath England freshman Bryanna Hudson from Rota Spain members of the second team Are seniors Ivy Grace Orlina of Rota Joneshia Wright of Ansbach Jessica Boydston of Vicenza Italy and Afisa Mcclearn of Hanau Germany juniors Lynsee Fowler of Naples Italy Amanda Depretoro of me with Hill England and Kami Kappen Man and Jordan Brown of shape Belgium h sophomores Kayl Holland of Kaiserslautern and Maggie Edens of Ansbach selection panel members were Jane Variali of Kaiserslautern High school Amie Law of Pitburg High school and Ruthanne Bloyd of Rota High school i faces homicide charge Vicenza Italy italian authorities have charged a Soldier from the Southern european task Force airborne with negligent homicide and fleeing the scene of a crime pc Torrie Robertson 30 a communications specialist with the 13th military police company was charged by italian authorities according to a news release is sued by the setae Public affairs office the charges Stem from a motor vehicle Accident March 31 that killed one person and injured two others maj Ryan Dillon setae Public affairs officer said american authorities were co operating with their italian counterparts he said Robertson had been charged with the crimes this week but was not in italian custody from staff reports