LAHS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER 2ND QTR 2003

THE LAHS 2003 ALL-SCHOOL All-YEARS REUNION AND
CLASS OF 1963'S FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!

Main Reunion Event Friday Oct. 10 - Sunday Oct. 12, 2003
(early birds welcome to arrive as early as Wednesday Oct. 8 )

At the Wingate Inn of Fredericksburg, VA
20 Sanford Drive
Fredericksburg, VA 22406

Toll Free 1 (866) 333-6800
Local (540) 368-8000
Fax  (540) 368-9252
Email wingate@eoir.com
Negotiated rates $72

Make your reservations ASAP but no later than September 9, 2003 to receive the special rate.

Room rate of $72 is good from Wednesday through Monday of the reunion week, and will be available until September 9th, 2003. Bookings after that will vary. The rate includes breakfast, free Internet in room, cable TV and free HBO. Also cookies in the evening, juice, coffee and tea all day. Indoor heated pool, 8 person hot tub and large fitness center. Complimentary fax, copier, computer and printer.

The block of rooms is held under the name LAHS Reunion, so be sure to mention LAHS to receive the special rate. See the Wingate's web site at  www.mywingate.com for directions, and more details about the hotel, and information on local attractions.

C'mon, make those reservations now!

LAHS 2002 REUNION REPORT
The San Juan Capistrano reunion was a Grand Success with early birds arriving as early as Wednesday for the Friday through Sunday event October 25-27. The whole weekend was filled with fun and frolic and remembrance as alumni and their partners enjoyed catching up on 'happenings' over the last forty or so years. There were a number of newcomers, bless their hearts, and for the first day they mostly wandered around with a dazed and perplexed look trying to ID all the old timers. Then by the second day they were old timers themselves!

We had about 75 attendees altogether, most staying at the Mission Inn, some at the Holiday Inn, and the remainder coming in for the day and dinner Saturday. We actually filled the entire Mission Inn Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, so everyone there was part of our reunion group. It was kinda like staying at the teen club for the whole weekend -- except that we could drive around ourselves instead of taking the bus!

Saturday afternoon we went to the historic Mission San Juan de Capistrano right next door for a docent-led tour of the beautiful gardens and the old mission buildings. Saturday evening it was down the street to the Depot Restaurant for the grand dinner, followed by dancing to our kind of music with a DJ.

Of course all during the weekend during the day small groups were off here and there to see the local attractions, but every evening the gang gathered around the blazing campfire to ward off the evening chill and tell tall tales about the old days.

Who came?  Well, in no particular order, how about Barbara Palmer '58 & Joe Sherrill, Bitsy Galvin '59 & Harry Edwards, Carolyn Jones '59 & Jay Stokley, Karel Ray '59 VanGelder, Drake '59 Wells, Ellen Keefe '59 & Mike Whelan , Andy Brennan '60 & Tom Carney, Janie Tester '60 & John Polm, Johnny '60 & Susan Sager, Joachim '61 & Eunice Auer, Derwood '61 & Kathleen Biles, Pat '61 & Mildred Bowman, Richard '61 & Sandy '62 Bounds Callihan, Elda Herring '61 Eckles, David '61 Ellerman, Joe '61 Fernan, Pat '61 & Julie Filaseta, Peter '61 & Kathy Hobiger, Mike '61 Hunter, Kathy Crowley '61 & Jeremy Kuper-Argent, George '61 & Diana Parton, Butch '61 & Barbara Ray, Pat Rainford '61 Snider, Pat '61 Spencer, Sue Harris '61 & Dub Wright, Jim '62 & Donna Finley, Harry '62 & Connie Heflin, Bert '62 & Jo Jo '64 Turpin Hentschel, Dave '62 & Annette Johnson, Jim '62 & Sharon Miletich, Vern '62 & Lynn Wright, Barry '62 & Nancy Yankolonis, Linda Jones '63 Chambers, Lynn '63 Hathaway, Leslie Bentley '63 & Barry Horner, Liz Crowley '63 VanPelt, Dianne '64 Denmark, Jim '64 & Pam Galvin, Jo Jo Turpin '64 & Bert Hentschel, George '64 & Melinda Kirylo, John '64 & Denise Paladini, Susie Cohen '64 & Jack Smith, Nancy Proud '65 & James Black, Sharon Finley '65 Mercurio, Maria Ledford '69 & Stephen Crane, Mary '69 & Ralph Johnson, Shannon '69 Moore, Joanna Covelli '69 & Steve Nevadomski, Gloria Ledford '70 & Wade Porter, Fred '74 & Charlene Wolff. Also Karel's friends Clarance Chumly and Jill Pando and Leslie's friends Sandy and Jerry joined us.

I hope I didn't leave anyone out, and sorry that with the maiden names and grad years the list formatted a little strangely…

MINUTES OF THE BUSINESS MEETING SATURDAY
The meeting was called to order on Saturday, October 26, 2002 at 10:06 AM by Harry Heflin, President 2002. 

Harry acknowledged the committee that worked so hard on our reunion to make it such a great success...Leslie Bentley Horner, Harry Heflin, Kathy Hobiger, Susie Cohen Smith, and Mike Hunter. 

For the year 2003, Florence (Mimi) Wells Doan was elected president.  Bert Henschel made the motion which was seconded by Jim Finley.  Next year's reunion will be held in the Washington DC area.

It was suggested that we return to Italy in the year 2004 and Joanna Nevadomski volunteered to seek information about the trip.  (Editor's comment: And that makes Joanna PRESIDENT 04!)

For the year 2005, Pat Spencer volunteered to host the reunion in the South Central area...perhaps the Biloxi, Mississippi area.(And so Pat is PRESIDENT 05)

Pat Rainford Snider volunteered to help with the newsletter this year.

According to my count, we had 74 people in attendance.  Great turnout.  Great location and great inn.

Jim Finley moved that the meeting be adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Karel Van Gelder
Secretary


A GREAT TRIP TO A SPECIAL PLACE IN HIWAII
There is a trip you need to do -- visit Drake Wells LAHS '59 at his home in the old settlement on Kaluapapa on the island of Molaki, HI. Drake works for the state of Hawaii, and lives in the settlement.

Kalaupapa is about ten square mile of relatively flat land on Malokai that sticks out from the north side of the island like a sharks fin. Formed by a small volcano that is now extinct, the peninsula is isolated from the rest of the island by amazing 2,000 foot high sea cliffs, among the highest in the world. There are basically only two ways in, either a 3 1/2 mile hike down the trail from "topside", or by a small plane from Maui.

It was this physical isolation that led the government for more than 100 years from 1866 to 1969 to send victims of Hansens Disease (Leprosy) to a forced quarantine on the Kalaupapa peninsula. Although the disease was conquered in the late 40s with the introduction of Sulfone drugs and the patients were then free to leave since they were no longer contagious, many chose to stay and live out the remainder of their lives in Kalaupapa.  About 30 former patients still live there along with about an equal number of state and federal workers.

Portions of Kalaupapa are now a state and national park, but visitors are only allowed to tour the peninsula when accompanied by a resident, or as part of an arranged tour that must depart in the late afternoon. However guests of a resident may stay in the visitor quarters, and Drake has volunteered to host anyone who would like to spend some time relaxing (the pace is s*l*o*w in Kalaupapa) and touring the settlement and the beautiful peninsula. Connie and I did exactly that this March and the three days we spent in Kalaupapa with Drake were the highlight of our ten day Hawaiian vacation!

Learn more about Kalaupapa at www.nps.gov/kala/home.htm, and contact Drake at 808 567-9253 or e-mail him at eldraco(at)aloha.net

NO GIRLS, LOTS OF CAMARADERIE AMONG LIVORNO HIGH'S SIX SENIORS
By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
Stripes Sunday magazine, March 30, 2003

Spring is just around the corner, and that means it's time for American high school students to think about the prom.

Choosing whom to go with could pose problems for many seniors, but not for those at Livorno High School on Camp Darby, Italy. There are six senior boys this year at the school. And not one single (or even attached) senior girl. "Sometimes we come to school just to see if we've gotten a senior girl [transferring in]," jokes Adam Uddin, the student body president.

No luck this year.

The class did grow by two seniors during the course of the school year. Zak Maier became a senior by compiling enough credits through summer classes. And Kyle Johnson transferred in from Louisiana in October. Johnson, whose high school in the States had a student body that was several times Livorno's enrollment of 29, became a celebrity of sorts when he enrolled. And a target of suspicion.

"We heard you were in all AP [advanced placement] classes," Uddin confronted him at the time.

"What's AP?" was Johnson's response.

"Cool," said Maier, who liked that answer. It effectively meant that he still had class valedictorian spot locked up.

Patricia Coffey, the school's counselor, said it's been an interesting experience for the seniors this year. And not just because there aren't any girls. "They're six guys, and they're all incredibly different in their own rights," she said. "But they're all really accepting of each other. I've watched their personalities change a lot this year. All for the better."

The guys admit that they'd be unlikely to hang out together at larger schools. They have different interests. Some are more into sports than others, though at a school the size of Livorno, just about everyone needs to take the field for there to be a team. Still, the school's boys basketball team had one of its most successful seasons, narrowly losing a couple of games in Aviano at the end of the year that could have sent it to the Division III European championship tournament in Germany.

And, to Christian Garcia's delight, the school will be able to field a soccer team this spring. "We haven't had a soccer team here for a long time," Principal Cathy Magni said. But it's taken some girls to help fill out a roster - which was not the case when Garcia played on his American and German teams in Vilseck. That proves there are some girls at the school. There are three in the seven-member junior class.

And now, thanks to an invitation from Vicenza High School, all those in both classes will have a chance to party at a prom with other people their ages. In early May, all six of the senior boys will make the three-hour trip to Vicenza to attend the dinner and dancing at the Villa Tachi. Only one of them, Sammy Ayer, will be bringing a date (a junior from Livorno).

Ayer, acting on behalf of his classmates, offered to provide his cell phone number for this article in case any senior girls enrolled at other schools in Europe wanted to attend the prom with one of his Livorno classmates. He's the only senior who says he doesn't think that having no girls in the class is a problem. Of course, he has to say that, his classmates say: "He's got a girlfriend."

Maier said they've met lots of students from other schools through sports, but added that it will be nice to see some other (female) faces in a social setting.

Classes at Livorno don't offer that kind of variety.

"Not only is it all guys, but it's the same guys," Maier said, trying to affect a look of chagrin.

That's led to a lack of debate in some of their classes. They laugh when recounting classes when female teachers took one side of an issue and met unanimous opposition. "She doesn't even try anymore," Maier laughs, referring to one teacher.

Magni and Coffey said the school's small size allows teachers to provide a lot more individual instruction than they would get at larger places. That's also got its drawbacks, Ayer jokes: "At my old school, they didn't know if I wasn't in class."

Being small doesn't mean there's no school spirit. Before the homecoming celebration, Uddin bragged he was going to take four Italian girls - though he couldn't remember one of their names. "It's homecoming," he said. "I want to go out with a bang."

Recently most of the school was decked out in sleepwear as part of a theme day. Bob Rios, wearing a robe over his underclothes, surprised his mother - who wasn't aware of the dress theme - when she came to pick him up at school. "What did you wear to school?" she asked him with a shocked expression. His classmates, sitting around a table for a group interview, found that hilarious.

"Since we're all males and there's a lack of girls, we're all one big family," said Uddin - who is the only senior with a car and valid driver's license. The whole senior class can fit in his car for road trips.

"Looking at it now, I don't think I'd like to be in any other senior class. We're going to remember this forever."

See this complete article with a photo at www.stripesonline.com/article.asp?section=126&article=14060

Or see this and more news about Camp Darby on the Stars and Stripes website at www.stripesonline.com. Just search for "Darby".

CHANGING TIMES DEPARTMENT. WHAT IF THEY CHIPPED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS??? THERE WOULD BE NOWHERE TO HIDE!:

MILITARY ENFORCES 'SEMPER FIDO' WITH MICROCHIPS
Christian Science Monitor Service
 By RAQUEL RUTLEDGE, Special to The Christian Science Monitor

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 14, 2002 7:35 p.m. EDT) - It's summer, and American soldiers everywhere are clearing out of their government houses, packing dining room tables and TVs, and heading to new assignments. But an increasing number are leaving something behind - the family pet. Many simply let their cat quietly slip out. Others dump their dog in a secluded area of their military base and speed away.

Abandoned pets are a growing part of the military culture, say authorities who have to deal with this aspect of the transient lives of soldiers.

A pack of feral Chows at Georgia's Fort Benning is a case in point. The abandoned Chows, which lurk in the Georgia Pine forests of the 180,000-acre base surviving on dead animals, attacked a jogging soldier last March, says Christy Evans, an animal-care specialist at the Fort Benning vet clinic and kennel.

Dogs and cats are dropped off in remote corners of the post at a rate of more than 20 a week, she says.

But the military is fighting back. Adopting a Big Brother approach, the military is implanting microchips in cats and dogs that live on government land - as much for animal control as for owner control.

"He or she is not getting away," says Fort Polk, La., Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Ricky L. Jones of the soldier who abandons a pet. "Not that anyone is distrustful, but with the chip you can't hide."

Some soldiers are deploying overseas and can't take pets with them. Others don't want to bother with moving them. Most don't want to pay the $25 or $30 surrender fee often charged to give pets to a shelter.

"They think that setting them free is better than bringing them to the humane society," says Capt. Heather Mazzaccaro, chief of the Fort Polk vet clinic.

Regardless of a soldier's thinking, Fort Polk has used the chip to track down soldiers who have abandoned their pets and forced them to pay an adoption fee, and the cost of any necessary vaccinations - costs totaling $20 to $40.

The Department of Defense allows each base to decide whether to make microchipping mandatory. So far, about 35 installations - from all service branches - have made microchipping a requirement for living on base, and more are adding such programs every month, says Maj. Steve Osborn, spokesman for the Army's Veterinary Command.

"It's a way to control our stray animal population and protect our working force, too," says Capt. Steven Baty, a veterinarian at Fort Carson, Colo., where microchipping has been mandatory since 1998.

And the program seems to work.

Col. Mike Kazmierski was garrison commander at Fort Carson in 1998 when the post began requiring residents to have their pets implanted. He says the post was having problems not only with abandoned pets but with stolen pets and with people denying ownership of problem dogs that attacked other dogs or bit people.

"People wouldn't admit to owning the dogs, and we'd have no records of their shots or anything," he says. "Once we started microchipping, we found stray rates went way down, and people took ownership of their pets."

The tiny chips, the size of a grain of rice, are injected under the skin on an animal's neck and contain a bar code that can be scanned and read by humane societies and veterinary clinics nationwide. The code is stored in a database, linking it to the owner's name, address, and phone number. The procedure costs about $15, takes two to three seconds, and is no more painful than a typical vaccination, Captain. Baty says.

Angela Strader reluctantly had her Rottweiler, Lexus, implanted with a microchip several years ago.

"At first I thought 'I'll move off post,' " says Strader, the wife of a soldier posted at Fort Carson. "I didn't know that much about it. Now I'm glad Lexus had the chip because she got lost."

Abandoned pets aren't at risk only for their own safety. They can, if left to fend for themselves long enough, cause public health problems, animal experts say. Left loose too long, they can spread disease and turn feral, running in packs and becoming aggressive enough to attack people.

Evans says the Chow pack, still roaming the 34,000-resident Fort Benning installation, poses a dangerous dilemma: "Nobody can get near them, and you can't shoot them."

Microchip enforcement varies by base. At Fort Polk, La., animal controllers are part of a weekly housing patrol, joining inspectors who check to make sure lawns are cut and that soldiers aren't violating housing regulations, such as working on their cars in driveways. The animal controller carries a portable scanner and runs the wand over dogs and cats, looking for numbers to light up the small screen. If the pets don't have a microchip, soldiers are warned, and if they don't comply, their animals are taken away, or the soldier is kicked off post, says Captain Mazzaccaro, at Ft. Polk.

Troops found guilty of abandoning pets can face animal cruelty and other nonjudicial charges, says Capt. David Anglin, of the Fort Benning Judge Advocate General's office. "A guilty conviction could become part of a service member's permanent record and in extreme cases it could destroy a person's military career," he says.

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