NPS Morning Report - Thursday, March 7, 2002



                           NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, March 7, 2002

                              *** NOTICE ***

Digital photos are being sought to illustrate significant incident reports
submitted from the field. Please see "Footnote" below.

INCIDENTS

02-051 - Great Smokies NP (NC/TN) - Assault with Vehicle

On March 4th, B.J. Jr., the manager of a local sandwich shop in
Cherokee, discovered that he had received four expired gift certificates
valued at $20 from some female customers. At closing time several hours
later, B.J. saw a car traveling toward the park; inside were women that
appeared to him to be the ones who had given him the coupons. He followed
them into the park, recklessly tailgated the car in an attempt to stop
them, then passed them and set up a roadblock, which the women avoided by
driving onto the grassy road shoulder. B.J. pursued them again, rammed
the back of their car two times while traveling at high speed, then
illegally passed them again and attempted a second roadblock. The women
stopped, turned their car around, and fled back to Cherokee at speeds near
90 mph. B.J. continued pursuit. The women stopped at a gas station, where
they called 911. Prior to the arrival of police, B.J. followed the women
into the gas station and demanded money for the expired coupons. The women
explained that they had not eaten in Cherokee and had no idea what he was
talking about. B.J. realized his mistake and fled before police arrived.
Based on the information the women supplied, B.J. was identified as the
suspect. He was located and confessed to the incident. Charges will be
filed after consultation with the U.S. Attorney's Office. Ranger Lori
Harris and special agent John Mattox are working the investigation. [John
Mattox, SA, GRSM, 3/6]

02-052 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Rescue

On March 4th, rangers responded to a report of a person over the edge of
the South Rim near Yavapai Point. J.S., 72, had lost her
balance and tumbled over the edge of the canyon, sliding about ten feet
before she was able to stop herself from falling further by catching hold
of a small tree. Beyond the tree was a steep scree slope, followed by a
sheer drop. Ranger Greg Moore rappelled down to J.S. and secured her
until a haul system could be rigged to raise them both to safety. [Rosie
Peragine, IC, GRCA, 3/4]

02-053 - Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHS (KY) - Special Event

The park celebrated the 193rd birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12th
with numerous events in the park and in nearby Hodgenville. Director
Mainella was on hand to place the annual ceremonial wreath at Lincoln's
cabin with the assistance of a group of local school children. After the
ceremony, she met with park employees and volunteers who organized the
event. The highlight of the day was the ceremony officially transferring
the deed to Knob Creek farm to the National Park Service. Lincoln spent his
early childhood on the farm. A partnership among state legislators, park
friends and the NPS cleared the way for the farm to be purchased and
transferred to the service to become part of the park. The director was the
keynote speaker at the ceremony; dignitaries included former senator
Wendell Ford and former governor Louie B. Nunn, both of whom were
instrumental in efforts to acquire Knob Creek farm. Rangers from Mammoth
Cave NP handled traffic control and security for the events. [Gary Talley,
Ops Chief, ABLI, 2/27]

02-054 - Blue Ridge Parkway (NC/VA) - MVA with Fatality

The park was notified of a vehicle fire off the parkway near milepost 369
on the afternoon of February 25th. Ranger Tim Francis was notified and
responded along with Rusty Bradley, the superintendent of a nearby state
park. Bradley was on scene within 20 minutes and found that the driver had
died in the accident. Ranger Terry Morris, two local fire departments and
state forestry personnel assisted with fire suppression. The driver was
identified as 18-year-old E.W. of Orlando, Florida. He appeared to
have died on impact after the vehicle traveled about 300 feet down the
embankment. The body was recovered and removed, and the one-acre fire was
contained by 6 p.m. [Donna Wray, BLRI, 2/26]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

St. Croix NSR (WI/MN) - The park has issued an announcement for a permanent
GS-025-07/09 protection ranger, open to current permanent/status government
employees or those eligible under special employment categories. The person
selected will be stationed at the Namekagon District ranger station. The
park forms the boundary between Minnesota and Wisconsin for much of its
length and continues into the forested north country of north-central
Wisconsin. The St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers combine to offer a relatively
wild river experience within 80 miles of the Twin Cities of St. Paul and
Minneapolis. The person selected will perform a full range of enforcement
functions and will operate 4WD vehicles and snowmobiles, as well as paddle
canoes on river patrol. The announcement number is SACN-02-05 and the
closing date has been extended to March 12th.  For more information please
call DR Dan Watson at 715-635-8346. [Laura L. Hojem, SACN]

Niobrara NSR (NE) - The park is seeking candidates governmentwide for a
GS-025-5/7/9 ranger position in its Visitor and Resource Management
Division. The position is 6c covered. The person selected will be an
important team member in helping develop various programs and planning
efforts for a unit that is only in its second field season. Most visitor
use occurs during the summer months on the western portion of the 76-mile
long scenic river. He/she will perform a wide range of visitor and resource
protection duties, with a strong emphasis on resource management and
interpretation. River patrol is primarily by canoe and kayak. The duty
station is located in Valentine, Nebraska (population 2,800). A great
diversity of plants and animals are found along the Niobrara, which flows
through pine-covered hills and canyons. The major element of the area's
economy is cattle ranching; hunting, fishing, and boating are favorite
recreational activities. The position is currently advertised on USA Jobs.
For further information, ranger Darryn Witt or chief ranger Stuart
Schneider at 402-376-1901. [Stuart Schneider, NIOB]

FOOTNOTE

The advent of InsideNPS means that it's now possible to post photos of
incidents on the Service's home Intranet page. Those submitting reports are
therefore encouraged to consider including good digital photos with them.
Not all can be published, so no more than one or two should be sent with
any given incident report. Photos should provide good illustrations of
important aspects of the incident, and should meet the following criteria:

•     They must be in either jpeg or gif format; no other formats can be
used.
•     The picture width can be no more than 360 pixels. There is no limit
on height.
•     Picture size should not exceed 25kb or so, otherwise the page
download time is too long for remote users.
•     Pictures should include both credits and captions.

Please send them to the Bill_Halainen@nps.gov.

                               *  *  *  *  *

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

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