NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, September 25, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace NHS
Past Association Director Sentenced For Theft Of Historic Letters
On Friday, September 19th, E.J.R., a well-known author and historian, was sentenced in federal court to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $86,700 in restitution for his theft and sale of historic letters written by Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. E.J.R. admitted that he stole the letters from the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) when he was the interim executive director in 2005 and 2006 and that he then sold them at an auction. E.J.R. pled guilty to federal charges of interstate transportation of stolen goods in May, citing bipolar disorder as the cause for the thefts. The judge imposed this significant sentence in part because E.J.R. held a position of trust within the association. The Theodore Roosevelt Association is a cooperating association with Sagamore Hill and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historical Sites in New York. E.J.R. faces additional sentencing next week in state court for the theft of an additional letter, written by Theodore Roosevelt, which was investigated by Nassau County. All of the letters were recovered and will be returned to the National Park Service and the Theodore Roosevelt Association. In his press release, US attorney Michael Garcia praised the work of NPS special agent Glenn Van Neil, who investigated this significant case. Click on the link below for the original report. [Jeffrey Pascale, Special Agent]
HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/headline.cfm?type=Incidents&id=3883" http://classicinside.nps.gov/headline.cfm?type=Incidents&id=3883
Glen Canyon NRA
Rangers Provide ALS To Severely Injured Woman Following Boat Accident
On the afternoon of September 21st, park dispatch received a report of an accident between a jet ski and a boat that had left a woman spitting up blood and slipping into shock. The incident occurred in the Gunsight Bay area on Lake Powell. Ranger/medic Laurie Axelsen and ranger/EMTs Chad Hunter and Ryan Gallagher responded. They found a young woman in the back of an open bow boat with a severely compromised airway due to facial fractures, missing teeth and a broken lower jaw who was also bleeding and vomiting blood and suffering from neck and back pain. The rangers maintained spinal protection, manually suctioned the blood, maintained her airway and provided ALS for over an hour until a Classic Lifeguard helicopter could reach the scene. Together, EMS personnel made a difficult intubation in the dark on shore prior to transferring the woman to the trauma center in Flagstaff. The accident is being investigated by a state park ranger. [Lindy Mihata, Law Enforcement Specialist]
Indiana Dunes NL
Ten-Year-Old On Life Support Following Near Drowning
A woman and two children from Madison, Wisconsin, came to Kemil Beach on the afternoon of September 21st. The girls, ages nine and ten, were playing in the water about 30 feet from shore when they began having trouble. The woman entered the water to get them; she was able to push her foster daughter toward the beach, but could not find the ten-year-old and called for help. Another woman at the beach used her cell phone to summon assistance, and rescuers began arriving on scene within six minutes. The girl was found close to shore. It's estimated that she'd been underwater for about 25 minutes. Resuscitation efforts were immediately begun and she was taken to St. Anthony's Hospital in nearby Michigan City, where doctors were able to establish a week pulse. She was placed on a respirator, then later taken to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee. At the time of the report, she was suffering from significant brain swelling and still on a ventilator. Her prognosis is unknown. The preliminary investigation indicates that the girl was bouncing up and down on a sandbar in water that was at least chest deep. At some point, she probably bounced off into deeper water. There were no dangerous surf conditions at the time. [Mike Bremer, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
Among the stories in today's edition are the following:
Fire and Aviation Management - A conference commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 1988 fires in Yellowstone and the northern Rocky Mountains and focusing on the future of fire management is being held this week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6905_" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6905
Alaska Region - Western Arctic National Parklands has begun the construction of the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center in Kotzebue, Alaska. The single-story structure includes 8,450 square feet of space for visitor services and 3,900 square feet for NPS operations.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6902_" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6902
US Park Police - Three Park Police officers were among six people who graduated from the Park Police SWAT school on September 12th.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2074_" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2074
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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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