NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

INCIDENTS

Grand Teton NP

Rangers Conduct Traffic Safety Check

Rangers issued 48 warnings and six citations and arrested three people during a traffic safety checkpoint conducted late last Saturday evening and early Sunday morning on Highway 26/89/191 at the park's south boundary. In just over four hours, rangers conducted safety screenings for 497 vehicles. The goal of the operation was to identify and correct safety violations and reduce the number of impaired drivers in an effort to make roads safer for the traveling public. Rangers received overwhelmingly positive comments from motorists who passed through the late night checkpoint. Many individuals thanked the rangers for helping to make roads safer and for protecting park wildlife. Of the six citations that were issued, three were for driving under the influence of alcohol, two for having an open container, and one for possession of a controlled substance. Of the 48 warnings, over half were issued for not wearing a seatbelt - a federal law and a practice that saves lives. During the safety checkpoint, vehicles and drivers received an initial screening. Of those, 33 drivers and vehicles exhibited potential clues of impairment or other serious safety hazards and were consequently directed to a secondary screening location. Rangers administered 11 field sobriety tests during the operation. The last time rangers conducted a traffic safety checkpoint was in 2006. That evening, rangers screened 300 vehicles, arrested four drivers for driving under the influence of alcohol, and issued nine citations. [Jacki Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]

Petrified Forest NP

Two Illegal Campers Arrested For Meth Possession

On August 7th, ranger Josh Wentz contacted two out-of-bounds campers at the park's north entrance. As the investigation continued, one of the occupants of the vehicle was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. Ranger Marc Schlauch then joined Wentz along with officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Apache County Sheriff's Office. A search of the vehicle was conducted and the occupants were found to be in possession of two baggies of powdered methamphetamine, several bottles of unknown liquids in glass containers, butane, scales, and assorted other equipment commonly associated with the manufacture of meth. Both were taken into custody on state charges by the Apache County SO. The Phoenix DPS crime lab and haz mat field team cleaned up all items in the vehicle. [Greg Caffey, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

he following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):

Submerged Resources Center - Resource managers from Acadia, the Resource Information Services Division, and the Submerged Resources Center recently conducted a survey of Saint Croix Island as part of a project to assess the extent of cultural resources within the park and possible impacts to these resources from a facility planned nearby.

Office of International Affairs - The World Heritage Committee, the governing body of the World Heritage Convention, made important decisions affecting U.S. sites at its recent annual meeting - a marine monument in Hawaii was added to the list and Everglades was reinstated on the list of World Heritage areas in danger. Photo.

C&O Canal NHP - Work is now underway on rebuilding the Big Slackwater historic stone wall and towpath, the only break in the towpath that runs through the 185-mile long park. Photo.

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP - Cheryl Beckett, a former SCA intern at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, was one of the ten humanitarian aid workers killed in an ambush last week in Northern Afghanistan. Photo.

NPS incident submission standards can be found online at the HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" serious incident notification web page.

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

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