NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

BLACKBERRY EDITION

Tuesday, March 7, 2006

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INCIDENTS

Valley Forge NP

Man Indicted for Torching Hut

The U.S. Attorney's Office has charged a man for allegedly setting fire to a commemorative hut within the park on August 9, 2005. The indictment against the 43-year-old man states that he “willfully and maliciously set fire to and burned, and caused the eventual destruction of, a building and structure constituting a commemorative work, that is, a replica of a log cabin used by American soldiers during the Revolutionary War." If convicted on the arson charge, he faces a maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, a special assessment of $100 and five years' supervised release. In addition, the court may impose $20,000 in costs for replacement of the destroyed hut. The case was investigated by the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Upper Merion Township fire marshal, and the Upper Merion and Montgomery Township police departments. Located on Outer Line Drive about a quarter-mile southwest from the park's welcome center, the destroyed timber hut was built in the 1940s and sited in Muhlenberg's Bridge, where Gen. Peter Muhlenberg and his soldiers anchored the outer line of defense during the winter of 1777-78. The park plans to construct another 14-foot-by-16-foot hut on the site using volunteer help. The park will build the hut as part of a demonstration program for visitors on how Washington's soldiers moved out of their tents and constructed huts to provide shelter against the winter elements. The construction will continue on weekends through April and May. [Mike Caldwell, Superintendent]

Hawaii Volcanoes NP

Visitor's Life Saved with AED

On the afternoon of Sunday, February 26th, an 80-year old male visitor from Richmond, Virginia, collapsed on the trail after exiting the Thurston Lava Tube. Two park visitors, both doctors, happened by and immediately began CPR. Within minutes, three rangers arrived on scene with a portable defibrillator. The rangers applied electrodes to the unconscious man's chest and the battery-powered device delivered three powerful jolts. The man's heart responded and began to beat with a regular rhythm, and he quickly regained consciousness. He was then transported by county ambulance to Hilo Medical Center for further evaluation and treatment. This was the second time that rangers had revived a heart attack victim with an AED. In July, 2002, a 67-year old California man parked his car at the end of the Chain of Craters Road and started walking through thick volcanic fumes towards the ocean entry lava flow. He didn't make it very far before he collapsed and slumped to the ground. Rangers revived him with an AED, and he was able to return home to California after further treatment at Hilo Medical Center. [Mardie Lane, Public Affairs Specialist]

Hot Springs NP

Attempted Suicide

Rangers received a report of a suicidal man camped illegally at Graves gravel pit just before midnight on February 25th. Rangers and Hot Springs PD backup officers contacted the man, whose torso and arms were covered with blood from a self-inflicted wrist laceration. He refused to comply with commands and threatened the officers at the scene with bodily harm. A ranger used pepper spray on the man, but with no effect - the man told rangers that “I put pepper spray on my breakfast.” He was eventually calmed to the point where he could be safely taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was put on a 72-hour hold. He's been charged with interfering with agency functions and with out of bounds camping. [Dennis Stock, Chief Ranger]

JOBS

Amistad NRA

GS-7/9 Park Ranger (Protection)

Amistad National Recreation Area is currently accepting lateral transfer applications for a GS-0025-7/9 park ranger (protection) position. The announcement closes on March 10th.

This is a permanent full-time position with 6c coverage and is open to current career or career-conditional employees of the Department of Interior and associated agencies. The person selected will serve as a law enforcement commissioned ranger responsible for performing law enforcement duties including detection, investigation, apprehension, detention, and prosecution under provisions of applicable laws, rules, and regulations in an area of proprietary jurisdiction that experiences moderate to high numbers of incidents. The ranger in this position will be assigned to the Devils River District, which includes everything in the park east of Highway 90, and will be responsible for diverse visitor and resource protection duties in this 54,000-acre recreation area. The weather is moderate in the winter, with temperatures rarely dropping below 32 degrees. The summers, from April to October, average about 96 degrees, with fairly low relative humidity.

Amistad National Recreation Area is a border park, and rangers are involved in a variety of drug interdiction operations. The ranger selected will also be responsible for enforcing regulations in four developed campgrounds and at numerous backcountry campsites accessible only by boat, enforcing hunting regulations in four archery-only deer hunting areas, and enforcing boating and fishing regulations on the lake itself. She/he will patrol the park by boat, marked patrol vehicle, and on foot, will be expected to maintain a wildland firefighting red card, and will have an opportunity to receive scuba training and become an active member of the park dive team. Fore more information, contact district ranger Greg Garetz at 830-775-6722 or administrative officer Barbara Flippo at 830-775-7492 ext. 205. [Bruce Malloy, Chief Ranger]

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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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