NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT
  
  
  To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices
  
  From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
  
  Day/Date:   Thursday, February 10, 2000
  
  ALMANAC
  
  On this date in 1899, Herbert Hoover, then a mining engineer, married 
  Lou Henry, another geology major he had met at Stanford University.  
  Herbert Hoover National Historic Site commemorates the life of our 
  31st president at his birthplace in West Branch, Iowa.
  
  INCIDENTS
  
  00-037 - Everglades NP (FL) - Death of Park Volunteer
  
  On the afternoon of February 7th, rangers John Goodwin, Kent Looney 
  and Steve Martin responded to a report of an unspecified medical 
  emergency in the Flamingo Marina.  They found park volunteer J.K., 
  57, suffering from an apparent heart attack on the boat he 
  lived on.  J.K. said that he'd begun experiencing discomfort at noon 
  after performing his work in exotic plant control, and that he had 
  already taken two Nitrostat tablets.  Rangers summoned Metro-Dade Air 
  Rescue, administered oxygen, and transported J.K. to the Flamingo 
  helispot. He was flown to Baptist Hospital, where he was pronounced 
  dead at 3:30 p.m. (Dave King, Acting CR, EVER, 2/9)
  
  00-038 - Martin Van Buren NHS (NY) - Winter Storm Impacts
  
  The significant cold and snow of the past four weeks have caused ice 
  dams and unusual freezing on the roof of President Van Buren's home. 
  The ice dams, freezing and re-freezing are occurring in unusual places 
  on the roof and are forming despite the use of heat tapes and ice and 
  water shields.  Leaks have damaged plaster, wood finishes and 
  wallpaper and posed a serious threat to the historic furnishings in 
  the house. Furnishings have been covered and relocated by park staff 
  to minimize potential water damage. Maintenance staff have been 
  working overtime to periodically empty 30 pails placed to catch water. 
  So far, an estimated 300 gallons of water has been emptied from pails. 
  The park has been ably assisted over the past week by maintenance 
  staff from Roosevelt Vanderbilt NHS, which provided a bucket truck and 
  staff to assist in the laborious task of removing ice dams and snow 
  from the roof.  No significant snow is forecast for this week, which 
  is allowing staff to improve the situation. [Jim McKay, CR, MAVA, 2/8]
  
  00-039 - Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - Fugitive Arrest
  
  Park Police officers Jeffrey Eccles and Steven Wade stopped a vehicle 
  for traffic-related offenses in Great Kills Park on the afternoon of 
  February 8th. A routine check revealed that the operator, J.J., 
  was wanted by the FBI for bank robbery. J.J. had been 
  wanted for over a year and had identification on her with several 
  aliases. Detectives learned that she was employed by the Cambridge 
  Trust Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and that her 
  responsibilities had included keeping the bank's ATMs stocked with 
  cash. She's accused of stealing $375,000 that she was supposed to have 
  placed in the machines. J.J. is currently lodged in the 
  Metropolitan Detention Center, awaiting arraignment. [Lt. John Lauro, 
  USPP, GATE, 2/9]
  
  00-040 - Padre Island NS (TX) - Drug Seizure
  
  Rangers came upon an abandoned Mexican shark boat on the beach behind 
  the island headquarters complex on February 5th. Shark boats are used 
  to smuggle drugs and illegal immigrants. A kilo of cocaine was found 
  in the boat, and three suitcases with more packages of cocaine were 
  discovered in the nearby dunes. The total amount came to 263 pounds. 
  Customs was asked to assist in the investigation. While processing the 
  contraband, rangers were apprised of a fire near the original crime 
  scene and found a Mexican national in close proximity to the blaze. He 
  was arrested and interrogated by Customs agents, who determined that 
  he was one of the drug couriers who had abandoned the boat. He's 
  currently being held without bond and will be arraigned for smuggling 
  in magistrate's court. The fire was controlled after burning about 200 
  acres of grassland. It had spread from an illegal campfire that the 
  suspect had started. [Gus Martinez, CR, PAIS, 2/9]
  
  CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
  
  Report pending.
  
  OPERATIONAL NOTES
  
  Seasonal Employment Applications - The new seasonal employment 
  applications are now ready and available upon request. Applicants may 
  apply through the Internet; the web address is www.sep.nps.gov.  
  Applicants who do not have access to a computer should call the 
  seasonal employment program in WASO to obtain the new application 
  (10-139). Parks should complete the new temporary request form, which 
  took the place of the weighted criteria form, to announce their 
  vacancies. If you have any questions, please contact the seasonal 
  employment office at 202-208-5074. [Stefanie Midgett, WASO]
  
  Political Activities in Parks - During this presidential election 
  year, parks can expect to receive a fair number of requests for 
  permits to conduct political activities within their boundaries.  The 
  majority of these requests will probably fall under the First 
  Amendment, even though the requester may or may not specify that.  
  It's up to us to make that distinction.  The most likely example is a 
  request to give a political speech to the public.  This is a First 
  Amendment activity.  A request to conduct a fund-raising luncheon to a 
  list of invitees is not a First Amendment activity and should be 
  treated as a normal special event.  The hard part, of course, is 
  determining whether it is or isn't a First Amendment activity.  If you 
  determine that the requested use is in fact a First Amendment 
  activity, remember the rules - the park:
  
  o     will not collect any cost recovery or charge any fees; 
  o     will not require any insurance or bonding; 
  o     will impose adequate permit conditions to protect the park from 
        impairment or derogation of the resources, values or purposes 
        for which the park was created.   
  
  If you have questions about this, please contact your regional special 
  use coordinator BEFORE issuing the permit.  If time is pressing and 
  that person is for some reason not available, contact NPS special park 
  uses coordinator Dick Young at 757-898-7846. [Dick Young, COLO)
  
  MEMORANDA
  
  No submissions.
  
  PARKS AND PEOPLE
  
  Chickasaw NRA - The park is seeking a GS-11 district ranger. The 
  position is 6c covered. The announcement closes on February 25th. 
  Check the USA Jobs web site for the announcement. For further 
  information, call chief ranger Len Weems at 580-622-3167.
  
                               *  *  *  *  *
  
  Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed 
  by park, office and/or regional cc:Mail hub coordinators.  Please 
  address requests pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your 
  servicing hub coordinator.  The Morning Report is also available on 
  the web at http://www.nps.gov/morningreport
  
  Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the 
  cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
  
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