Antietam National Battlefield (MD)
Cannon Carriage Hit and Destroyed by Vehicle
On the morning of September 19th, a visitor reported damage to a
cannon carriage at the entrance to the park. Ranger Todd Stanton
responded and found that it had been struck and destroyed by a motor
vehicle traveling south on Route 65. The driver fled, but paint chips
and vehicle debris were found and collected at the scene. The park
issued a press release, asking for assistance, and several people came
forward with information that led to the identification of the driver as
M.L.W. of Martinsburg West Virginia. M.L.W. confessed and was
charged with failure to report an accident, failure to maintain control
of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle without insurance, and
disturbing a cultural resource. On December 19th, M.L.W. pled guilty to
all charges and agreed to reimburse the NPS $10,312.66 and complete 40
hours of community service at Antietam. He was placed on probation for
three years and ten months and ordered to be evaluated for alcohol and
substance abuse.
[Submitted by Todd Stanton, Park Ranger/Ed
Wenschhof, Chief Ranger]
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Felony Indictment and Arrest
A federal grand jury in Casper, Wyoming, indicted former concession
employee M.L.F. on one felony count of sexual abuse (18 USC
2242(2)(b)) on November 17th. The indictment stemmed from an
investigation into a reported sexual assault in the Lake Hotel employee
housing area which was begun by rangers and special agents last
September. The case was associated with an end-of-year concession
employee "survivors" party and numerous "acquaintance" sexual assaults
reported in the park this year. US Marshals arrested M.L.F. in Key Largo
on December 10th. He was taken to Miami, where he made his initial
appearance before a federal magistrate. Rangers from Everglades NP also
provided valuable assistance in this case. Rangers and agents at
Yellowstone continue to work with the concessioner on new employee
orientations and training in an effort to prevent these types of
assaults and to assure that crimes are reported when they occur.
[Submitted by Brian Smith, Supervisory Special Agent]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
NPS Office at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
NPS Class 307 Graduates
National Park Ranger Integrated Training Program Class 307 (NPRI-307) graduated from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) on November 7th. Immediately prior to the graduation ceremonies, the graduating class placed a wreath at the FLETC's Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Deputy Superintendent John Benjamin (EVER) was the keynote speaker. Benjamin assisted Superintendent Henry, Supervisory Ranger J.R. Tomasovic and FLETC Program Specialist Robert Judge with the presentation of graduation certificates and credentials As the eleventh class to receive training under the six day work-week program, the rangers established some very high standards for subsequent classes, with superior individual and group achievements. Ranger Christopher L. Cagle (YOSE) was the top driver with a perfect 300 score, while rangers Peter J. Fonken (CARE), Kathryn Lloyd (GLCA) and Eric Paul (JOTR) also received a perfect 300 score. Rangers Melissa A. Lanshe (CHAT), Katherine R. Martinez-Chavez (WHSA) and Kenneth B. Valenti (BOST) received the Distinguished Fitness Award, while rangers Michael D. Antczak (GATE), Amber J. Bryant (PEFO), Kathryn Lloyd, Matthew L. Martin (DEVA), Jason R. Ramsdell (ARCH) and Jeremy W. Ropp (CATO) earned the Fitness Award (equivalent to scoring above 95%) on the PEB. Ranger Eric Paul was the high firearms expert with 294 points out of a possible 300, and he was joined by rangers Brian J. Sacia (MACA), Chip M. Buchanan (BLRI), Jeremy Ropp, Kenneth Valenti, Stephen M. Krisko (AMIS) and Douglas S. Berringer (YELL) who also qualified as expert shooters. Ramsdell was the class scholar with a outstanding 98.74 FLETC academic average. He was joined by rangers Peter Fonken and Matthew L. Hudson (OBED) who also scored above 95% in the FLETC academic portion. Ranger Michael Antczak received the class nomination for the FLETC Director's Award as the outstanding ranger of the class. Fonken received the NPS Director's Award, which recognizes the graduating student who achieved the highest overall average in all integrated training phases without remediating any practical exercises. Fonken's final overall average was 98.347. A total of eleven rangers scored above the 95 % level in the overall scoring, while the entire class finished with an overall average above 90%. The overall class average was an outstanding 94.741, which ranks NPRI-307 as the class with the fourth highest overall class average among all NPRI classes (with NPRI-307 added in, the overall average of all NPRI classes combined is an outstanding 94.154%). Congratulations to NPRI-307 on a job well done! NPRI-401 and 402 are on Center and NPRI-403 begins on January 14, 2004.
[Submitted by Don Usher, WASO-FLETC]
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.