NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Friday, August 1, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Olympic NP
Andy Palmer Memorial Service Update
A memorial service celebrating the life of Andrew Palmer will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday in McCurdy Pavilion at Ford Worden State Park in Washington. Andy, 18, was fatally injured in a tree falling accident while on a fire assignment in Northern California. The Palmer family welcomes those who mourn Andy's loss to attend the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Andy's name. A scholarship fund has been created in Andy's memory to be shared by the Port Angeles and Port Townsend High Schools. Make your donations to the Port Townsend High School Scholarship Foundation, 538 Calhoun Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368. Donations may also be made to the National Wildland Firefighter Foundation HYPERLINK "http://wffoundation.org/_" http://wffoundation.org/. Fort Worden is on the Olympic Peninsula in Port Townsend, Washington. The nearest large airport is Seatac. The Edmonds to Kingston ferry is the most direct ferry route to the area. Allow additional travel time due to road work on the peninsula and traffic congestion related to the service. All uniformed personnel are asked to meet at the McCurdy Pavilion at 8:45 a.m. Fire Service agencies bringing engines should plan to meet at Blue Heron Middle School, 3939 San Juan Ave in Port Townsend. The engine procession will depart the school at 8:30 a.m. An area inside the pavilion will be designated for the media. Media representatives planning to attend should arrive by 9:00 a.m. in order to check in and set up prior to the service. The Palmer family will not be available to talk to the media the day of the service. The service is scheduled to last approximately one hour with a reception following. Flags are to be flown at half staff through dusk on Monday and will be returned to full staff thereafter. [Patti Wold, IO, Western IMT]
Sagamore Hill NHS
Seasonal Employee Killed In Out-Of-Park Accident
Seasonal employee Joseph "Joe" Shannon died as a result of injuries sustained from a collision with a bus while riding his bicycle on Monday, July 28th. He was off duty at the time, riding near his home outside the park in Long Beach, New York. He sustained significant head trauma and died in the hospital on Wednesday, July 30th. Shannon worked for over ten years as a seasonal park ranger in interpretation at Sagamore Hill during the summer and volunteered at Fort Matanzas in St. Augustine, Florida, during the winter. Superintendent Thomas Ross describes Shannon as "our go-to ranger for grounds, nature and beach walks. He will be sorely missed by colleagues and the public he served so well." Shannon was 76 years old and a combat veteran of the Korean War. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, J., and his three sons, a daughter, and eight grandchildren. Sagamore Hill will close at 4 p.m. today so that employees may attend the funeral. Visitation will be at Macken Mortuary's Rockville Centre Chapel (52 Clinton Avenue) on Friday from noon to 4 p.m. The funeral mass will be at 5 p.m. at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre (29 Quealy Avenue). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Gerard's Campus, PO Box 4382, St. Augustine, FL 32805. Cards may be sent to his wife: J.S. [Greg Jackson, Acting Deputy Chief, Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services]
Zion NP
SCA Intern Injured In Fall While Rappelling
An off-duty park SCA intern was rappelling at Pine Creek on the afternoon of July 30th when she fell approximatley 100 feet. Park staff responded and she was evacuated to a medical facility by an aircraft from Nellis Air Force Base, located outside of Las Vegas. The extent of her injuries are not known. The park was hosting a VIP/dignitary protection class at the time, and about half of the members of the class assisted in the rescue. [Bonnie Swartz, Chief Ranger]
Dinosaur NM
Update On Drowning In Green River
The park was advised of a rafting accident at Upper Disaster Falls on the Green River around 6 p.m. on July 27th. The eight-year-old victim and his family were part of a commercial whitewater rafting trip that had launched from the Gates of Lodore that morning. At about 3:30 p.m., the boy and his father were paddling an inflatable kayak through Upper Disaster Falls when the craft overturned and both of them went into the water. The father was retrieved from the water by another raft, but the boy was unable to reach the raft and was last seen near the shoreline. Both the boy and his father were wearing lifejackets and helmets when they went into the water. An aggressive search was begun by the rafting party and the boy was found about 90 minutes later. The isolated location of the incident greatly hampered the group's efforts to obtain emergency assistance. Once notified of the situation, the park and Moffat County Sheriff's Department coordinated efforts to reach them. CareFlight was requested from St. Mary's hospital in Grand Junction, but was unable to liftoff due to inclement weather in the area. A local fire helicopter was therefore diverted to assist with rescue efforts. Due to the topography of the narrow river canyon, however, the helicopter was not able to land near the victim and was forced to land across the river. The rafting group was unable to get him to the helicopter's location before loss of daylight made both flight and river crossing unsafe. Guides performed CPR for more than three hours before becoming too exhausted to continue. The rafting group continued downriver about eight miles to Echo Park the next morning, where they were met by Dinosaur National Monument and Moffat County Sheriff's Department staff. The boy was identified as eight-year-old O.G. of Woodstock, New York. [Melissa Cobern, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
Other stories can be read on InsideNPS at one or the other of these two sites:
NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/
Please note that both publications carry a combined NIFC/NPS fire report. That is generally posted around 8 a.m. Eastern.
Among the stories in today's edition are the following:
Rosie the Riveter NHP - On July 19th, the National Park Service, the Friends of Port Chicago, and the Department of Defense hosted an event to honor those who gave their lives to their country on July 17, 1944, and to commemorate the terrible disaster on the Port Chicago Naval Base during World War II.
Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by both the National Park Service and its partners across the nation.
Events Calendar - Today's listing of upcoming NPS and NPS-related events across the nation. This week's listing includes additional details on the September conference in Jackson Hole on the 1988 fires in Yellowstone and “Designing the Parks Part II,” the sequel to May's initial conference, which will be held in the San Francisco Bay area.
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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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