running ntp in the foreground
 

there are two ntp packages one is ntp and second is opentpd
for openntpd you can keep the daemon in the foreground with the -d flag but not for the older ntp package as far as i can tell. Can someone please let me know if I am mistaken and if so what is te flag to not daemonaize this program.

Which version of "ntpd" and on which distro? Some distros are somewhat locked down and may not run ntpd properly in any other manner than their prescribed manner. Otherwise, the -n option for the regular "ntpd" will tell it not to go into the background. However, it will still send info to the designated logfile unless you also use the -l option.