Chili’s, Macaroni Grill and all nonessential 86th FSS Air Force operations have closed early due to the snow, the squadron has announced.

The senior officer for the Army in the KMC granted permission for unit commanders to send personnel home early today due to the snow. Brig. Gen. Ronald Ragin, who commands the 21st TSC, sent the message out about 20 minutes ago. Road conditions on Army bases in the K-Town area and Baumholder are now at red. In other weather-related news, Frankfurt Airport is seeing several flight delays.

COVID-19 shots have finally made it to Landstuhl. LRMC announced several walk-in clinics for the coronavirus and flu shots this month, including 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. this afternoon at the hospital’s immunization clinic. They’ll be offering COVID and flu shots tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday, Dec. 15 and Dec. 21 from 8 a.m.-11 a.m., and both this Friday and Dec. 21 from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Flu shots only will be available at some other times, and flu shots are also available at branch clinics by appointment online. COVID shots have been available since September in the United States, but some military commands overseas aren’t too concerned about their people getting sick with the coronavirus anymore. More to come on that tomorrow.

A thief ran off with stolen cash from a candy stand at the Kaiserslautern Christmas market over the weekend. At about 6:50 p.m. Saturday, three young men came up to the stand, and one of them bought candy, Westpfalz police said. The buyer then reached over the display, took the cash box and fled toward Stiftsplatz. The empty box was found between Stiftsplatz and Spittelstrasse by passersby about 15 minutes later. Police are asking witnesses to call 0631 369-2150 or email pikaiserslautern1@polizei.rlp.de.

The Kaiserslautern Zoo announced that St. Nicholas will be visiting on Wednesday at 3 p.m. He will guide children to the animal enclosures and to a living Nativity scene. St. Nick will also have a present for each child and the zoo team will have refreshments for the visitors.

Local national military employees are again scheduled to go on strike Dec. 6, alongside public sector and retail workers under the coordination of the United Services Union ver.di. Union members have been engaged in unresolved wage negotiations since October. The strike aims to highlight their situation and to put pressure on employers for more compensation. The walkout takes place on the campus of Kaiserslautern University at 10 a.m.

New signs in Kaiserslautern warn dog owners of a hefty 150 euro fine for not picking up after their pets. The signs, posted at the city parks and eight other central locations, instruct dog owners to dispose of waste properly, emphasizing the health risks associated with dog feces, which can contain harmful bacteria and parasites. To support this effort, the city provides 52 bag dispensers across the city and local districts, ensuring accessibility for dog owners to comply with this regulation.

Forest trails around the city’s wildpark, near Kleber Kaserne, may close temporarily for forest maintenance and safety work, city officials announced. Work is expected to span the area from Betzenberg to Erbsenberg. Starting with a chainsaw training course for the municipal fire brigade in early December, these activities will continue until the end of January 2024.

The gyms at Kleber, Landstuhl, Rhine Ordnance Barracks and Sembach are now operating 24-7. Users need to register their CAC cards at each location they would like to access outside of normal working hours and get a quick safety orientation. The orientations are unique to each facility. The access will allow patrons to use the gyms on holidays, when they are otherwise closed, IMCOM-Europe confirmed. The new service was originally expected to roll out this summer, but adding upgrades like security cameras took longer than planned. The fitness center at Miesau Army Depot is the only Army gym in the KMC that will not be offering 24-7 access. 

Hundreds of German employees at U.S. military installations joined a demonstration on Tuesday in Kaiserslautern to call for higher wages, marching with whistles and large posters from the exhibition center to the Christmas market, SWR reported Wednesday. The workers and their union, Ver.di, are demanding 300 euros more per month for all civilian employees, according to SWR. Numerous professional groups only earn slightly above minimum wage, including firefighters whose hourly pay equates to about 14 euros due to longer working hours, the union said, according to SWR. About 12,000 Germans nationwide work as civilian employees at U.S. military bases. Of those, about 9,000 are employed in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz.