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Subject: NPS Morning Report - Thursday, April 20, 2000
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Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 06:00:14 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Thursday, April 20, 2000
ALMANAC
On this date in 1832, President Andrew Jackson signed an act of
Congress reserving four sections of land containing hot mineral
springs in Arkansas Territory. This first U.S. reservation made to
protect a natural resource formed the basis for Hot Springs National
Park.
INCIDENTS
00-144 - National Capital Parks (DC) - Follow-up: USPP Officer Shot
On April 18th, D.A., 31, appeared in federal district court
in Washington on a charge of assaulting Park Police officer Jonathan
Daniels on April 13th. D.A. was ordered jailed without bond and
is due back in court for a detention hearing today. Daniels, who was
shot in the face, remains hospitalized for further tests, but will
likely be discharged in the near future. Well wishes, gifts or other
expressions of support may be sent to the Office of the Chief, United
States Park Police, 1100 Ohio Drive, SW, Washington, DC 20024 or
transmitted via cc:Mail to Robert MacLean at NP-USPP. [Sgt. R.
MacLean, USPP, NCR, 4/19]
00-145 - National Capital Parks/WASO (DC) - Follow-up: Demonstrations
During the period from April 9th to the 17th, large groups of
protestors were in Washington to demonstrate against the IMF and World
Bank. The Park Police augmented its Washington area force with several
regional law enforcement specialists and personnel from New York and
San Francisco. Several large demonstrations occurred in the Ellipse,
Lafayette Park, and Dupont Circle Park - all near the IMF and World
Bank buildings and administered by the NPS. Park Police officers made
several arrests for demonstrations in these parks and also assisted
city police with a number of violent confrontations with protestors
near the target buildings. Officers received additional crowd control
training prior to the event; these skills were utilized on numerous
occasions and proved very effective. [Sgt. R. MacLean, USPP, NCR,
4/19]
00-159 - San Juan NHS (PR) - Demonstration
On the afternoon of April 18th, a group of 18 protestors from several
labor and political groups, headed by Congreso Nacional Hostosiano,
occupied Fort El Morro to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the
death of David Sanes, a civilian accidentally killed in Vieques during
a Navy training exercise. The group was accompanied by eight reporters
from local media. The demonstrators carried backpacks with flag,
water, food and blankets and settled in for the night. They prayed,
chanted against the Navy's occupation of Vieques, removed the U.S. and
Spanish military flags, and lowered the Puerto Rican flag to half
staff in memory of Sanes. They chose Fort El Morro because of its
historical significance and because it purportedly represented the
loss of lands to "federal hands." The group agreed to leave the area
yesterday morning. Fort San Cristobal was closed early in anticipation
of an attempted entry by other protestors. [Mark Hardgrove, Deputy
Superintendent, SAJU, 4/19]
00-160 - Denali NP&P (AK) - Serious Employee Injury
Supply technician Judy Goodman was driving to Anchorage after work on
April 14th when her car struck a moose on Alaska Highway 3 near Big
Lake. Goodman was seriously injured in the collision and was evacuated
by air to Providence Hospital in Anchorage. She sustained a spinal
cord injury at the thoracic level and as of yet has no sensation below
the waist. She's had several operations in an effort to repair the
spinal cord damage and is now on a ventilator and semi-conscious.
Doctors will not have a reliable prognosis until spinal cord swelling
diminishes. Although she can't have visitors, cards would be most
welcome. They can be sent to Judy Goodman, Room 2011, Intensive Care
Unit, Providence Hospital, 3200 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508.
[Tom Habecker, Acting CR, DENA, 4/19]
00-161 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Assist; Helicopter Crash
A Kenai Helicopters Bell 206-L helicopter with seven people aboard
crashed during takeoff from Grand Canyon Airport around 9 a.m. on
April 18th. The helicopter was departing on a scenic tour flight over
the park when it lost power while about 300 feet above the ground and
crashed onto a taxiway south of the airport terminal. Rescue personnel
and apparatus from the park and eight other agencies responded and
transported the pilot and six passengers to local hospitals. None had
life-threatening injuries. It was partly cloudy and strong winds were
blowing at the time of the accident. The FAA and NTSB are
investigating. [David Brennan, DR, South Rim District, GRCA, 4/19]
FIRE ACTIVITY
Great Sand Dunes NM (CO) - A wildfire which started outside of the
park on April 18th has burned between 4,000 and 5,500 acres and is now
burning primarily in the Pike-San Isabel NF. The total acreage
includes approximately 2,500 to 3,000 acres of park land. High winds
pushed the fire through the park's developed area, but hazard fuel
reduction projects there kept several structures from burning.
Critical decisions made by park staff resulted in the timely
evacuation of the developed area. A park VIP was hospitalized for
hyperventilation, but there were no injuries. One unoccupied seasonal
housing unit was lost and a storage/work center building has probably
also been lost. An investigation into the cause of the fire is
underway. A Type II team has been requested. The park may be closed
until Friday. [Mike Warren, NPS Fire Management Program Center, with
reports from Dave Lentz, 4/19]
CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Law Enforcement Study Update - The study of the NPS law enforcement
program continues with the assistance of the International Association
of Chiefs of Police. The IACP study team has to date visited the
following parks: Casa Grande, San Juan, Organ Pipe, Tumacacori,
Montezuma Castle, Walnut Canyon, Grand Canyon, and Glen Canyon. Team
members will be visiting Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas this
Friday and Saturday. The work force survey questionnaires for both
commissioned rangers and park superintendents were mailed out from the
FLETC to regional chief rangers on April 13th. Regional chiefs will
be sending them out to all commissioned rangers and superintendents in
their respective regions. Rangers are encouraged to take the time to
fill out these questionnaires and mail them back to the IACP. The due
date for them to arrive back at IACP is May 5th. If for some reason
you do not receive a questionnaire, please contact your regional chief
ranger's office. Do not contact FLETC, as they have shipped all of
the copies to the regions. The list of parks to be visited in the near
future by the IACP team will be forthcoming from study chairman Mike
Finley, who is currently on a site visit to the Grand Canyon and Glen
Canyon with the team. The list will be published in the Morning Report
once he returns to his office in Yellowstone. [Paul Henry, FLETC]
Discovery 2000 Conference Exhibition - For those interested in an
exhibition booth at the Discovery 2000 conference this September (see
Monday's Morning Report), there have been some telephone and address
changes. A special email address has been created (expo2000@jnpa.com),
and Sue Husch, exhibition program organizer, can be reached through a
toll-free phone and fax number (877-369-9743). Husch's correct mailing
address is Quality Business Service, 2191 South Buena Vista Drive,
Moab, UT 84532-3492. [Gary Cummins, HFC]
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
New River Gorge NR (WV) - The park has a GS-11/12 cultural resource
program manager position advertised government wide on USA Jobs. The
announcement is MARO-00-019 and closes on May 5th. It's being
announced as a multi-disciplinary position - GS-0170 historian,
GS-0193 archeologist, or GS-0808 historic architect. The statement in
the remarks section regarding work performed outdoors is only
partially accurate, as there is plenty of indoor desk work as well.
Questions should be directed to Warren Snyder at 304-465-6523 or Duane
Michael at 304-465-6516.
Indiana Dunes NL (IN) - The park has an opening for and will soon be
announcing a GS-025-11 supervisory protection ranger position. The
announcement will be out on USA Jobs. For further info, call Joni
Jones at 219-926-7561 x 320.
* * * * *
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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