NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
BLACKBERRY EDITION
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
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INCIDENTS
Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS
Car Clout Arrests
In order to improve security, the park recently installed a camera monitoring system in the parking lot and throughout the park. The new system has paid immediate dividends. On December 14th, a man and woman were seen breaking into a vehicle on one of the system's monitors. Rangers pursued the pair and apprehended them a block from the park. One had a stolen pocket book and cellular phone from the trunk of the car in his possession. Both were arrested. [Clark W. Moore, Chief Ranger]
Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS
Attempted Suicide
On December 14th, rangers and Atlanta police officers investigated a report of an attempted suicide on a bridge adjacent to the park. Local school kids had flagged down a ranger and reported that a completely naked man was standing on the bridge, shouting that he planned to jump off. The ranger and an Atlanta officer attempted to talk him down for nearly 20 minutes, but eventually gave up the effort on the advice of city SWAT team members. An Atlanta PD negotiator finally talked the man down. He was taken to a local hospital. [Clark W. Moore, Chief Ranger]
Fire Island NS
Suicide
The Suffolk County missing persons bureau contacted the unit manager at the William Floyd Estate around 10:30 p.m. on December 12th and advised him that a 45-year-old man who lived on the park's boundary had been reported missing by family members and that a suicide note had been found in his bedroom. Since the man had a 25-year-long association with the estate, detectives felt that the grounds there were the most logical place to search first. Two rangers guided county canine teams and patrol vehicles through the maze of roads servicing the 613-acre estate. The man's body was found at 11 p.m. He had a rifle in his lap and had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. [Richard Stavdal, Unit Manager]
Big Bend NP
Fatal Motorcycle Accident
A 20-year-old man from Round Rock, Texas, was killed when he was thrown from his motorcycle on the Old Ore Road on Saturday, December 17th. He had been riding with a group of friends on the secondary dirt road when he lost control of the motorcycle and was thrown off. Although he was wearing a helmet and other protective equipment, he reportedly lost consciousness after the accident and remained unresponsive. Rangers arrived and provided medical attention. Life support helicopters were dispatched from both Midland and San Angelo, but were unable to reach the park due to prevailing weather conditions. He was transported by park ambulance, but died while en route to Alpine. [Mark Spier, Chief Ranger)
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Midwest Region
Retirement Party Set for Bill Blake
Former Midwest Regional Chief Ranger Bill Blake retired from the National Park Service this past September following 31 years of dedicated service and total commitment to the ranger profession. As Bill says, “Thirty-one years ago, I fell in love with being a park ranger. Thirty-one years later, I still think it's the best job in the world.”
Bill spent his entire career as a law enforcement ranger, working worked in nine different parks. He and his wife, Bettie, who is currently employed as the volunteer coordinator for Midwest Region, began their NPS adventures as the only residents on the Maryland end of Assateague Island National Seashore. A progression of ranger positions followed, with the Blakes stationed at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (where they lived in the national cemetery), Bandelier National Monument, Delaware Water Gap NRA, Shenandoah National Park, and Yosemite National Park.
Bill then wore the chief ranger hat at New River Gorge National River and Death Valley National Park (his favorite among all these gems) before accepting his final position as regional chief ranger for Midwest Region.
During his career, Bill completed a detail as a driving instructor at FLETC and another at Mojave National Preserve as the chief ranger. He also served on the Mid-Atlantic Region Special Event Team as a team leader. He was the incident commander of the Mid-Atlantic Type II Incident Management Team and the operations section chief of the NPS National Incident Management Team. In wildland fire, he served as a division supervisor and also served on several interagency fire management teams.
Along the way, Bill and Bettie had two children. Jennifer currently lives in Boston and is employed as a data analyst with Fidelity Investments with the likelihood of future overseas assignments. Their son, Andy, continues the Blake rangering tradition and is employed as a protection ranger at Fire Island National Seashore. On the day of his retirement, Bill was the speaker at his son's FLETC graduation ceremony, where Andy received the top academic award. During the ceremony, Bill had the unique honor of transferring his law enforcement badge - from father to son - for Andy to wear proudly throughout his NPS law enforcement career.
Bill has stayed very active since his “retirement” and is currently employed with FEMA as a reservist. His on-call status sent him to Hurricane Rita and he also served on the NPS Incident Management Team as operations section chief during Hurricane Wilma relief efforts.
His friends and colleagues are hoping to keep him still long enough to honor him in the venue of his choosing - the traditional NPS potluck. The potluck will be held in the Omaha home of regional safety officer Vern Hurt on January 13th at 6:30 p.m. If you would like to attend or send good wishes and remembrances, please contact Jackie Henman ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Jackie_Henman@nps.gov" Jackie_Henman@nps.gov) at (402) 661-1884 or Vern Hurt at (402) 661-1710.
JOBS
Intermountain Regional Office
GS-025-13 Ranger Activities Branch Chief
Intermountain Region's Division of Visitor and Resource Protection has issued an announcement for a GS-13 ranger to oversee its Branch of Ranger Activities. The announcement opened on December 20th and closes on January 20th. The announcement number is IMDE-05-171. For further information, contact Laura Chavers, human resource specialist, at 303-987-6681, or Kevin Fitzgerald, regional chief ranger, at 303-969-2641. [Kevin Fitzgerald)
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Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
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