NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, May 9, 2008

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INCIDENTS

Yosemite NP

School Bus Collision Causes Minor To Moderate Injuries

Two school busses headed toward Yosemite Valley from the Yellow Middle School in Newman, California, collided yesterday in a rear end collision. The accident occurred at about 10:55 a.m. about a mile north of the Big Oak Flat/El Portal Road intersection along the Big Oak Flat Road. There were a total of 40 children on the two busses. Early reports indicate that the injuries were minor to moderate. Children were taken by ambulance to the John C. Fremont Hospital in Mariposa, California. The cause of the collision is under investigation. [Adrienne Freeman, Public Affairs Officer]

Pinnacles NM

Rangers Respond To Two Motorcycle Crashes, One Fatal

Over the weekend of May 3rd and 4th, Pinnacles staff dealt with several incidents, including a wildfire and two motorcycle accidents resulting in one fatality. On Saturday, May 3rd, supervisory ranger Dana Sullivan responded to a wildland fire at the Pinnacles campground. California Department of Forestry firefighters assisted with suppressing the fire, which burned about a quarter acre. The fire was evidently caused by a 13-year-old boy playing with matches. Later that day, Sullivan and rangers Brett Hergert and Sara Bartels responded to a motorcycle accident along Highway 25 and assisted the California Highway Patrol with managing the scene and providing EMS to an adult male who'd lost control of his Harley Davidson motorcycle and hit a speed limit sign. The rider had to be evacuated by air ambulance to the local trauma center. On Sunday, May 4th, while investigating the previous day's wildland fire, the three rangers responded to an agency request for assistance for another motorcycle accident on Highway 25 adjacent to the park. A man lost control of his motorcycle, went off the road, and crashed. Sullivan and Hergert were first on scene and provided EMS care to an extremely combative patient suffering from an apparent head trauma. The rider was flown out to the local trauma center, where he expired the following day. [Albert Faria, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

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

NPS Centennial - The third in the George Wright Society's series of essays on the National Park Service's centennial is now out - a paper by Indiana University professor Edward T. Linenthal on the importance of civic engagement in connecting with the American public on the parks and their stories. Links are provided.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6484" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6484

Colorado NM - Colorado National Monument staff successfully executed a highly technical vehicle recovery from the base of Red Canyon on Wednesday, May 7th. A 120-ton crane was used to lift the vehicle out of the canyon some 320 feet below the edge of Rim Rock Drive.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6485" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6485

Blue Ridge Parkway - District Ranger Jon Murphy has announced his retirement from the Service, effective May 31st.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1919" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1919

Northeast Region - Sharon Ofenstein, technical publications editor with the Historic Preservation Program for Northeast Region, retired on May 2nd following 37 years of federal service.

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=1918" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=1918

Grand Canyon - On May 1st, a team of Grand Canyon rangers completed their leg of the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Arizona Special Olympics.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1920" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1920

Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by both the NPS and its partners across the nation. The announcement for Albright-Wirth Grant submissions has been extended from May 9th to May 16th. A firearms instructors course in California has been added to this week's listing.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=775" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=775

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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363

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).

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