NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

===============================================================================================================

INCIDENTS

Petersburg NB

Live Civil War Shell Removed And Safely Detonated

A Civil War-vintage cannon ball was found on the morning of March 27th by park staff who were conducting archaeological survey work in advance of a park road realignment project. The eight-inch diameter, 44-pound unexploded mortar shell was unearthed in the park's Eastern Front Unit. As soon as the unexploded artillery shell was discovered, park staff withdrew from the site and put the park's UXO (unexploded ordnance) policy into effect. A state police bomb squad was notified and arrived on site within two hours. The approximately 144-year-old mortar shell was removed, transported to the Petersburg municipal landfill and detonated with shape charges. The shell's fragments will be eventually placed on display in the park's Eastern Front Visitor Center. [James Blankenship, Curator/Historian]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS:

Kennesaw Mountain NBP - On March 29th, a ceremony was held commemorating the addition of a 35-acre tract to the battlefield - the largest addition to the site since its establishment in 1935. Kennesaw Mountain is considered one of the country's most endangered Civil War battlefields.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6345" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6345

Chief Information Officer - There will be a conference call today on the progress of the redesign of NPS.gov. It will focus on plans for program office, regional and thematic websites, and all who are interested are invited to join the discussion.

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=6343" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=6343

Uniform Program - A website has been found that is spoofing the official NPS uniform provider's web page.

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=6344" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=6344

* * * * *

Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

--- ### ---