|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Thursday, April 20, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Fort Davis NHS Historic Weapons Stolen from Visitor Center Around 1 a.m. on April 12th, one or more thieves forcibly entered the park visitor center/museum and stole seven 19th century black powder handguns. They broke into five museum display cases with large glass fronts and a plexiglass donation box. Rifles and other museum pieces were not disturbed, and display cases without weapons were not disturbed. The burglary triggered a security alarm, but the building was empty when responding personnel arrived 30 minutes later. The Jeff Davis County Sheriff's Office is the lead agency investigating the incident. The park has removed all historic weapons from display throughout the park pending a security review. [Todd Brindle, Superintendent] Hot Springs NP Confrontation with Disturbed Man Rangers were flagged down by a highly intoxicated man with diminished mental capacity on the evening of April 12th. They were able to contact his therapy counselor, who told them that she would take custody of the man if the rangers would transport him to the Garland County Sheriff's Office. They did so. When the counselor told the man that she could not let him leave the facility in his current condition, he became belligerent and attempted to strike one of the rangers. The ranger and county booking officers restrained the man and took him to the ground. During the struggle, the man suffered moderate head lacerations and allegedly dislocated his right shoulder and right scapula. He remains in a mental health facility lockdown at this time and has been cited for public intoxication. [Dennis Stock, Chief Ranger] PARKS AND PEOPLE Yosemite NP Jim Tucker Retires Jim Tucker is retiring from the National Park Service following 34 years of service. Jim was born and raised in Yosemite National Park until he moved with his family to San Diego in 1961. His father, Tom Tucker, is a former superintendent of Cabrillo National Monument. Jim graduated from high school in San Diego in 1967, then enlisted in the U. S. Army in 1968. He served in the US Army as a military policeman, stationed in Okinawa and Thailand for four years. Following his return from the Army, he attended college in San Diego, graduating from California State University San Diego in 1977. His degree is in recreation administration. Jim began working in Yosemite as a seasonal ranger in the Valley District in 1974. He worked for several season in the Valley and Mather Districts before receiving his permanent appointment in 1976. Jim transferred to Golden Gate National Recreation Area (Marin Headlands) in 1977, then returned to Yosemite in 1978 as the jail supervisor. In 1980, he became the subdistrict ranger for the El Portal Subdistrict, a position he held until 1984 when he returned to the Valley District as a shift ranger. Jim advanced through the supervisory ranks in the Valley District (assistant shift supervisor, shift supervisor, acting district ranger, district ranger) until this year. He served several rotations as the acting deputy chief ranger for operations over the past four years and was appointed to this position permanently in 2006. Jim will retire to the gateway community of Mariposa. A farewell celebration will be held at the East Auditorium in Yosemite Valley at 4 p.m. on April 30th. The cost is $20 per person. Please RSVP by April 15th. Call Jodi at 209-372-0245 or Billie at 372-0240. If you would like to make a donation towards a gift, make a presentation, or send an anecdote or note to be included in a scrapbook, please send it to Billie Patrick, PO Box 517, Yosemite, CA. * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |