NPS Morning Report - Friday, November 30, 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 30, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-624 - Gettysburg NMP (PA) - Vandalism

On November 18th, off-duty ranger Lauren Gantz found three monuments 
along Wainwright Avenue that appeared to have stains on them similar 
to those found on several monuments in November of 1999. Ranger Tim 
Sorber investigated and found that an unidentified substance had been 
applied near three corners of each monument's base stones. On November 
19th, three other monuments located in the National Cemetery and on 
Howard Avenue on the other side of the borough were found to have 
similar stains. The liquid was oily to the touch, but no samples could 
be obtained.  Monument preservation specialist Vic Gavin determined 
that this substance was a much lighter oil than had previously been 
encountered.  The stains were easily removed using denatured alcohol. 
[Pete Walzer, GETT, 11/29]

01-625 - Buffalo National River (AR) - MVA; Probable Drowning

Rangers received a report that a vehicle had been swept off the Erbie 
Low Water Bridge crossing of the Buffalo River on November 24th. The 
river had risen significantly due to overnight rains in the region. 
The occupants of the vehicle, a 1998 Ford pickup, had been deer 
hunting in the area. The driver, 44-year-old L.W. of Lead Hill, 
Arkansas, assisted his wife and a friend to shore as the truck was 
being swept downriver. The current then overwhelmed L.W., who had a 
new rifle slung across his chest and a .357 revolver in a holster on 
his hip. He was last seen about 300 meters downstream from his 
vehicle, which had sunk to the bottom of the river. A major search 
effort was begun immediately by the park and local search 
organizations.  A medevac helicopter that was participating in the 
search had to make an emergency landing in the Erbie campground when 
it suffered a transmission failure on the first day of the search.  
There were no injuries. On November 27th, divers discovered L.W.'s 
body on the river bottom just below the point last seen. The truck was 
winched from the river that same day. Rangers Mike Smithyman and Jeff 
West (no relation to the victim) were incident commanders for the 
incident. [Bob Howard, LES, BUFF, 11/28]

01-626 - Fort Sumter NM (SC) - Special Event

On the morning of November 9th, the Fort Sumter visitor education 
center and ferry boat dock had its grand opening. The event started 
off with a formal dinner sponsored by the Fort Sumter - Fort Moultrie 
Trust on Thursday evening for 180 guests whose contributions and 
assistance made the facility possible. The trust is a friends group 
recently formed to help Fort Sumter achieve park goals in protection 
and visitor services. On Friday morning, an awards ceremony was held 
for a Fort Sumter art contest in which local school children submitted 
drawings representing their personal connections to the fort. Two 
hundred and fifty drawings were submitted, with a dozen selected for 
awards. The grand prize was a $1,000 U.S. savings bond. The formal 
public grand opening program was held later in the morning; 
afterwards, visitors and guests were invited into the exhibit hall to 
see the premier attraction - the Fort Sumter garrison flag. This was 
the flag that flew above the fort on the days leading to the outbreak 
of the war. On April 12, 1861, the first shot of the Civil War was 
fired at Fort Sumter. After 34 hours of fighting, Fort Sumter's 
commanding officer, Major Robert Anderson, surrendered. On April 14, 
the garrison flag, originally measuring 20 feet by 36 feet, was 
lowered in a surrender ceremony that included a 100-gun salute, during 
which the first fatality of the war occurred -  the 47th cannon 
discharged as it was being loaded, killing U.S. Private Daniel Hough. 
On April 14, 1865, Major General Anderson came out of retirement to 
personally re-raise his flag over Fort Sumter, which had been back in 
federal hands since February of that year. The flag remained in the 
Anderson family until the early 20th century, when it was donated to 
the war department. It was later transferred to the National Park 
Service. This was the first time the flag has been seen by the public 
since it was removed from the fort twenty years ago for conservation 
treatment. About 300 people attended the grand opening program. [Bill 
Martin, PIO, FOSU, 11/29]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

HOMELAND SECURITY

No reports.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Fire Island NS (NY) - David Griese, the park's chief ranger, will be 
retiring at the end of the month after more than 33 years of 
government service. Dave started at Fire Island in 1967 as a seasonal 
fee collector and subsequently worked his way up to patrol ranger, 
district ranger and chief ranger. During his career, he spent time at 
Big Bend NP and Rio Grande WSR. The park is collecting photographs and 
stories to be included in a scrapbook to be presented to him at a 
retirement party to be held on January 20th. If you are interested in 
attending the party or have any submissions, please contact Paul 
Czachor by January 11th at Fire Island NS, 120 Laurel St., Patchogue, 
NY 11796. Questions can be directed to Paul by calling 631-289-4810 
ext. 233. [Paul Czachor, FIIS]

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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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