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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Thursday, January 26, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Golden Gate NRA Major Search for Missing Hiker
On the afternoon of Friday, January 13th, park dispatch received a call from the Marin County Sheriff's Department relaying a “be on the lookout” advisory for a missing Sausalito man. The man had been reported missing by his wife, who told officers that he was supposed to be hiking in Marin Headlands with his three-legged dog. A Park Police officer found his vehicle in a popular parking area in the Headlines, and a hasty search involving rangers and USPP officers was begun at 9 p.m. that evening. Heavy rain and wind, coupled with the man's medical condition (Parkinson's disease), prompted rangers and officers to summon additional assistance from Marin County SAR. On Saturday, a total of 167 people from several agencies - including dog teams and air searchers - were committed to the search effort. Search efforts were being scaled back that evening when the dog was found alive, prompting an intensified effort to search nearby lands. The man was found with his face down in a creek, surrounded by heavy vegetation. The coroner determined that he'd drowned. [Kim Coast, Operations Supervisor] Golden Gate NRA Surfing Fatality Rangers and Park Police officers responded to a call from San Francisco Fire Department of CPR in progress at Ocean Beach around 10 a.m. on January 22nd. Numerous beach-goers had seen a surfer floating in the water; several had pulled him from the water and begun resuscitation efforts. He was then transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m. The probable cause of death was drowning. The surf was heavy, with strong rip currents that morning. It's not presently known whether or not the victim was an experienced swimmer or suffer. The park received heavy media attention, much of which centered on a strong safety message to the public warning them about the dangers of riptides and strong currents. [Kim Coast, Operations Supervisor] Chattahoochee River NRA Body of Suicide Victim Recovered from River The body of an Atlanta man was found floating above the Morgan Falls Dam on the Chattahoochee River on the morning of Friday, January 20th. Park staff and Fulton County FD firefighters recovered the body. The victim was last seen on December 31st. He left a suicide letter for his family in which he said that he was going to jump from the Route 9 bridge into the river. A missing persons report was filed with the park by the family on January 8th. NPS and Georgia DNR rangers searched the river for the subsequent two weeks in an effort to find the victim. [Melissa Lanshe, Park Ranger] OPERATIONAL NOTES Servicewide Assistance Sought for Hurricane Recovery Efforts Recovery operations from the hurricanes of last summer continue. The Service is working with the Bureau of Reclamation to mobilize work groups to Mississippi through April. Position duties are listed below. All employees are welcome to participate, even those without maintenance backgrounds. If you are interested in these 30 day details or have any questions, please call 540-999-3412. A government charge card is required (purchasing of supplies is expected). Backfill is not allowed. If an employee is full time and funded with ONPS dollars, the park/unit will cover their base pay; if the employee is on furlough, seasonal or funded by project funds, their costs can be charged to the incident. Roofing Quality Assurance Inspector - The employee will be assigned to an emergency mission under the supervision of the roofing quality assurance supervisor. Responsibilities will include representing the resident engineer as an on site inspector, maintaining a daily accountability of quality assurance, and performing routine inspections of site conditions, material and equipment. He/she will be required to maintain the daily production schedules that are established. Debris Quality Assurance Inspector - The employee will be assigned to an emergency mission under the supervision of the debris quality assurance supervisor. Responsibilities are the same as above. Housing Quality Assurance Inspector - The employee will be assigned to an emergency mission under the supervision of the housing quality assurance supervisor. Responsibilities are the same as above. Sanitary Engineer - The employee will work under supervision of a project/area engineer to inspect and provide assessment of damaged sanitary sewer systems, potable water systems, and sewage processing/treatment facilities and systems. Responsibilities include preparing emergency designs and details to repair, restore operations of above named systems; assisting the site engineer with underground storm drainage; assuring that the design and drawings for utilities are fully coordinated with other features of the facilities; coordinating utility services with local sewer, water, and solid waste authorities and serving as POC for questions related to their design and installation; providing input to the contract specialist and cost/spec engineer on contract document sections that apply to sanitary sewers and water supply; reviewing sanitary and water systems designed by primary designers when team includes an AE contractor or other non-Corps design entity; and providing design interpretation, submittal review, and engineering design support as necessary during the construction/repair phase of projects. Electrical Engineer - The employee will work under the supervision of a project/area engineer to inspect and provide assessment of damaged facilities electrical systems. Responsibilities include preparing emergency designs and details to repair the electrical power supply and distribution and telephone and cable service for damaged facilities and temporary housing sites; assuring that the design and drawings for these utilities are fully coordinated with other features within the contract drawing set; coordinating design and installation of utility services with local power, telephone and cable utility companies; providing input to the contract specialist and cost/spec engineer on contract document sections that apply to power supply and distribution, telephone and cable service; and providing design interpretation, submittal review, and engineering design support as necessary during the construction phase of projects. NEPA Compliance Manager - The employee will coordinate the mission with the FEMA regional environmental officer (REO) or, if the disaster field office is activated, the equivalent to the REO, who is the environmental liaison officer, to ensure compliance with all environmental and historic preservation laws and executive orders. Responsibilities include overseeing environmental compliance for all mission activities; alerting the FEMA REO/ELO, the mission manager and action officer to any environmental or historic preservation issues discovered during mission activities; preparing and overseeing implementation of an environmental monitoring plan; and, if requested by the FEMA REO/ELO, preparing environmental compliance documentation for FEMA approval. Structural Engineer - The employee works under supervision of an project/area engineer to inspect and provide assessment of damaged residential or commercial structures. Responsibilities include providing structural engineering expertise for design of new or improvement of existing structures; planning, designing, repairing or restoring structures or facilities that provide shelter, support transportation systems, and control natural resources; preparing emergency designs and details to repair damaged structures and construction of temporary housing sites; assuring that the design and drawings for these structures are fully coordinated with other features within the contract drawing set; coordinating design and construction/repair of damaged structures; providing input to the contract specialist and cost/spec engineer on contract document sections that apply to structural elements of the structure repairs; and providing design interpretation, submittal review, and engineering design support as necessary during the construction phase of projects. PARKS AND PEOPLE National Capital Region Gary Pieruccioni Retires After 34 Years Of Federal Service Gary Pieruccioni is retiring from National Capital Region, where he has spent the last 10 years of his career with the NPS as a contract specialist and, most recently, as a program analyst. Pieruccioni began working for the Service as a park technician and Inner Canyon ranger at Indian Gardens at Grand Canyon NP in 1974. In October 1975, he moved to Moores Creek MP as the park's only protection ranger, working primarily on the park's bicentennial event. In October 1977, Gary came to the NCR as a supervisory park technician at George Washington Memorial Parkway, assigned to Great Falls Park as an assistant site manager. Pieruccioni later served as supervisory park ranger and chief of visitor services at the National Visitor Center until the center closed in April 1981. While at the National Visitor Center, Gary received a Presidential citation for being liaison to the Inaugural Commission for the NPS. Gary left government employment in 1986, only to return to the National Park Service in July 1991 as a contract specialist with the NCR's Division of Contracting, specializing in construction and architect/engineer contracts. In June 1994, Pieruccioni accepted a job as facility manager at Virgin Islands NP. During his tenure, Pieruccioni acted as operations manager on the recovery team after Hurricane Marilyn devastated the park. In November 1996, Pieruccioni returned to the NCR as a contract specialist in the Division of Contracting, being promoted in December 2002 to supervisory program analyst. Pieruccioni plans to work part time in the area while reducing his “honey-do” list, splitting time between his homes in Hamilton, Virginia, and the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Canyon de Chelly NM Passing of Chauncey Naboyia Chauncey Naboyia, who worked for over 60 years with the National Park Service as an archeologist, consultant, interpreter, tour guide, and narrator for major film companies, passed away peacefully on the afternoon of January 21st at the Chinle Indian Health Care Center with family and relatives present.
Chauncey was known by many as the first Navajo archaeologist, and worked with many early archaeologists, including Earl Morris at the Mummy Cave Ruin site (1924-1934). He began working for the NPS as a tour guide at Canyon de Chelly and also worked at Hubbell Trading Post NHS, Aztec Ruins NM, Hovenweep NM, Chaco Canyon NHS and at Mesa Verde NP from 1927 to 1934 with archaeologist John Wade. Chauncey Naboyia, a lifetime resident of Canyon de Chelly, was born on March 6, 1908, near “Big Cave” in Canyon del Muerto. He is of the Water Flows Together Clan and born for the Salt People Clan. Naboyia served with the U.S. Air Force from 1942 to 1945 during World War II at Iwo Jima. He took honors as a sharpshooter leader and became one of the legendary Navajo Code Talkers. He considered Mummy Cave as one of his most memorable sites. In an interview last year, he remarked on how the Mummy Cave site required reconstruction of the main tower. He remembered “carrying bucket after bucket of mud clay to restore the tower, climbing up a talus slope over and over again.” “18 cents was a good income and $5 meant being rich” he added. Chauncey also worked with many major film companies. His acting career included the following credits Desert Song (1953), where he portrayed a character of a Navajo warrior fighting the Utes; Indian Boy (1960), where he portrayed a silversmith; Billy Jack (1981); and Seasons of a Navajo, where he narrated along with his family. In 1993 Chauncey was awarded The Barboncito Leadership Award at the Canyon de Chelly Guide Association Meeting for his many years of service and lifetime achievements by his colleagues and the National Park Service. Chauncey will be missed and remembered for his many contributions to Canyon de Chelly and many national park units throughout the region. [Elaine F. Leslie, Assistant Superintendent] * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |