NPS Morning Report - Friday, November 23, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, November 23, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-612 - Coronado NM/Saguaro NP (AZ) - Death of Employee Spouse

A.B. passed away on November 9th at her home in Sierra Vista, 
Arizona, after a long illness. She was married to J.B., 
superintendent of Coronado NM and acting superintendent of Saguaro NP, 
for 24 years. A.B. was a registered nurse, expert birder, tour guide 
and artist. She served as a park naturalist at Big Bend NP and as a 
research assistant in seabird ecology at Channel Islands NP. A.B. 
worked as an RN most recently at the Grand Canyon NP clinic. An 
outdoor memorial service was held on November 13th in Saguaro NP; 
other ceremonies were held the same day in Big Bend and Great Basin. 
Donations in memory of Anne can be made to the Friends of Saguaro NP, 
P.O. Box 18998, Tucson, AZ 85731-998, with a notation that it is in 
memory of A.B..  Cards can be sent to J.B. [Paula Nasiatka, CR, SAGU,
11/20]

01-613 - Manassas NBP (VA) - Sexual Assault

Earlier this week, the park was notified of a sexual assault that 
occurred in a wooded area near the Matthew's Hill parking lot late on 
the afternoon of Wednesday, November 14th.  The victim met her 
assailant in a nearby shopping mall and agreed to get into a vehicle 
with him. The man purchased alcohol and marijuana before driving into 
the park. They left the vehicle in the lot and walked down a trail 
until they found a spot that was out of view from anyone who might be 
walking in the area. After smoking the marijuana, the man attempted to 
convince the woman to have sex with him; when she refused and said she 
needed to go home, a struggle ensued and the woman was sexually 
assaulted. She was then driven to a local motel and dropped off. 
Prince William County Police were notified. The man's identity is 
known and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. [Kim Coast, CR, 
MANA, 11/20]

HOMELAND SECURITY

North Cascades NP (WA) - On November 19th, park headquarters received 
a letter that met many of the criteria listed under the current 
guidelines for suspicious packages. Rangers responded and activated a 
local hazmat team with the assistance of the Skagit County Department 
of Emergency Management. All employees in the building were briefed; 
those with direct mailroom contact were guided through sanitary 
precautions. The hazmat team determined that the letter was not a 
health threat. Rangers and county officials are attempting to trace 
the letter to determine if it was a prank. [Kelly Bush, PR, NOCA, 
11/20]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Denver Service Center (CO) - Dan Wenk, currently superintendent at 
Mount Rushmore NP, has been named the new director of Denver Service 
Center in Lakewood, Colorado. He will EOD on December 3rd. Director 
Mainella had this to say about his appointment: "Dan Wenk is a proven 
leader with a track record in developing successful partnerships both 
in the public and private sectors. These assets will serve the 
National Park Service well as Wenk leads the agency in its 
collaborative efforts with parks, regional offices and private 
industry to produce environmentally friendly and fiscally sound 
projects." As director of DSC, Wenk will oversee all planning, design, 
and construction services for the NPS, as well as provide parks and 
regional offices with services including contracting, project 
management, and visual information. During his tenure at Mount 
Rushmore, Wenk designed, developed and completed a $60 million 
public/private partnership that included the raising of $30 million in 
private donations and the negotiation of two innovative concession 
contracts for the construction of facilities valued at $30 million. In 
recent years, Wenk also completed the year-long Department of Interior 
senior executive service training program and served as co-chair of 
the Discovery 2000 general conference, manager of the newly 
established National Parks Pass program, and acting central team 
manager at DSC. Wenk began his NPS career as a landscape architect for 
the DSC in 1975, where he completed landscape construction plans for 
the St. Louis Gateway Arch, developed the management plan for William 
Howard Taft NHS, and formulated facility designs at Sleeping Bear NL, 
Theodore Roosevelt NP, Rocky Mountain NP, and Dinosaur NP. Wenk also 
served as management assistant at Yellowstone NP (1979-1984) and 
successfully completed the Department of Interior's manager 
development program (1984-1985). He received the Department's 
meritorious service award in 1991, the Service's superior achievement 
award in 1995, and the NPS director's award for partnerships in 1996 
and 2000. [Dave Barna, Office of Communications, WASO]

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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the 
cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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