NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT
  
  
  To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices
  
  From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
  
  Day/Date:   Thursday, February 24, 2000
  
                           *** NOTICE ***
  
  Persisting problems in the email system are causing long delays 
  between transmission and receipt of the Morning Report - and, 
  evidently, other email traffic. The scope of the problem is unclear 
  and the specific problem(s) have yet to be identified. 
  
  ALMANAC
  
  On this day in 1992, President George Bush signed legislation 
  establishing Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological 
  Preserve on Saint Croix, Virgin Islands.  It includes the only place 
  under U.S. jurisdiction where Christopher Columbus's men are known to 
  have set foot.
  
  INCIDENTS
  
  00-062 - Cabrillo NM (CA) - Weapons Violations
  
  On the afternoon of Saturday, January 29th, a visitor notified rangers 
  that he'd seen a van with numerous guns in it in one of the parking 
  lots. Rangers Mark Long and Ely Edquid coordinated a plan to drive by 
  the area while requesting backup from San Diego police. Long 
  identified the van and saw several people standing around it, a couple 
  of them with handguns. He watched the van from a distance; when it 
  appeared that they were loading up to leave, he stopped the vehicle 
  with weapon drawn and ordered all seven to the ground. They complied. 
  San Diego and Navy shore patrol officers arrived on scene shortly 
  thereafter. Fifteen handguns were found - two were air pistols and the 
  others were fakes that were identical to actual handguns. A fake .357 
  was found in one of the suspect's waistband. A samurai sword was also 
  seized. The seven men, all of whom were wearing black pants and 
  t-shirts, were between the ages of 15 and 19. They said that they were 
  just acting in a video, which was subsequently confirmed. One of the 
  adults was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon (18 USC 
  930(a)). [Carol Knipper, CR, CABR, 1/31]
  
  00-063 - Death Valley NP (CA) - Multiple Incidents
  
  The park had three significant incidents over President's Day weekend. 
  On Saturday, the structural fire team responded to a kitchen grease 
  fire in the concession at Scotty's Castle. The fire was suppressed and 
  the damaged grill was removed. A two-car head-on collision on Sunday 
  left five injured. A Flight for Life helicopter flew four people to an 
  area hospital; the fifth was transported by ambulance. Rangers began 
  searching for a lost father and son on Sunday. The two were not 
  well-prepared for camping in the snow. The search effort continued 
  until early Monday, during which another foot of snow fell on the 
  area. The father and son were located with the assistance of a 
  helicopter. Both were dehydrated, but otherwise in good condition. 
  [Nancy Wizner, ACR, DEVA, 2/23]
  
  00-064 - Indiana Dunes NL (IN) - Robbery; Assault
  
  On the evening of February 18th, three men broke into a park-owned 
  reservation of use home, assaulted the three occupants, tied them up, 
  and covered their heads with blankets.  Two of the victims, J.L. and 
  D.L. (father and son), were beaten and threatened with objects 
  held against them that could have been knives and guns. The assailants 
  demanded money and were given about $80 by the son.  The threats and 
  demand for money continued while the house was ransacked. D.L.'s 
  wife, who is six months pregnant, was threatened but not physically 
  assaulted. J.L. offered to take the men to his nearby home, also 
  a park-owned house, where he gave one of the men an additional $100.  
  That house was also ransacked.  The couple's wedding rings and the 
  woman's engagement ring were also stolen. The victims were left bound 
  with tape over their mouths.  After the suspects fled, J.L. was 
  able to summon help.  No rangers were on duty, but local police 
  responded and unsuccessfully searched for the suspects. The victims 
  never got a good look at their assailants and could not provide 
  descriptions.  D.L. suffered minor cuts and bruises; J.L. 
  has been admitted to a local hospital for broken ribs and a partial 
  lung collapse.  Local law enforcement detectives are investigating the 
  incident with assistance from the park's criminal investigator.  
  [Richard Littlefield, CR, INDU, 2/23]
  
  CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
  
  No submissions.
  
  OPERATIONAL NOTES
  
  CIRS Project Update - Efforts are continuing to find an acceptable 
  electronic case incident reporting system.  The current DOS program, 
  which is being used by a large number of parks, has been relegated to 
  use at the park level only.  The data isn't and shouldn't be 
  transmitted to the WASO RAD address.  The reason for this is that not 
  every park is using the system and therefore the database isn't useful 
  for extracting reports and other information.  When the NPS moves from 
  cc:Mail to Lotus Notes mail, the reports will not be transferable from 
  computer to computer since the DOS program is designed only for 
  cc:Mail. But it can still be used as a stand-alone program to enter 
  and collect data for the parks.  Problems with the DOS CIRS program 
  have been reported from the field; contact Kathy Clark  (415-427-1387) 
  or Bob Reid (912-261-3758) for assistance. The Lotus Notes CIRS 
  project failed to meet expectations and therefore has been set aside. 
  System managers are instead seeking and testing programs that are 
  available in the open market. One such program, developed by CISCO-ps, 
  is being tested at Glen Canyon NRA. Another system is called CRIMnet, 
  a program developed by the Idaho National Engineering and 
  Environmental Laboratory for the Idaho State Police.  The latter 
  system was funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy and is 
  free for use by federal agencies.  It would take some additional 
  development to meet NPS reporting needs. Efforts to determine the best 
  avenue to proceed are under consideration by a committee chaired by 
  Dick Powell, WASO Office of Risk Management and Safety.  Please 
  forward any comments or suggestions to Dennis Burnett or Bob Reid for 
  consideration by the committee. [Dennis Burnett, RAD/WASO]
  
  MEMORANDA
  
  No submissions.
  
  PARKS AND PEOPLE
  
  Submissions pending.
  
                               *  *  *  *  *
  
  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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