NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

INCIDENTS

Delaware Water Gap NRA

Scuba Diver Dies In Delaware River

J.O., 26, of Wappingers Falls, New York, died after scuba diving in the Delaware River at Dingmans Ferry Access on the afternoon of Saturday, December 11th. J.O. was one of four people diving near the Dingmans Ferry Bridge, where the water depth is about 14 feet. Two of the divers were instructors and two, including the victim and his wife, were students. One of the instructors signaled the students to surface; the J.O.s acknowledged and began a normal ascent. Due to the current, they became separated as they were ascending. J.O. began swimming to shore; however, as the instructor swam towards him, he noticed that J.O. was face down in the water and unresponsive. He began surface breathing while towing him to shore, then immediately began CPR with the second dive instructor. A ranger responded and applied an AED, with no response. The ranger continued CPR until Delaware Township EMS arrived and took over. J.O. was transported by ambulance to Bon Secours Hospital in Port Jervis, New York, where he was pronounced dead. Rangers are investigating the incident. [Deb Nordeen, Public Affairs Officer]

OTHER NEWS

The 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/):

Biscayne NP - Biscayne National Park hosted the first-ever Servicewide NPS dive leadership workshop last week. Sessions included program administration, leadership skills, and in-water exercises designed to develop skills to safely manage, train and evaluate divers for certification.

Petersburg NB - Descendents of the Native Americans of Company K of the First Michigan Sharpshooters returned to the park last week to meet with park staff and pay homage to their ancestors.

Office of Communications - National parks will be featured each day this week on “Wheel of Fortune,” America's top rated syndicated TV show. The show will feature park-related props, puzzles, prizes, and photography on episodes airing from Monday through Friday.

Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the NPS. Included in today's summary are two new public laws - one the continuing resolution authorizing appropriations through December 18th, the other the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010.

Outer Banks Group - Dennis McGinnis, a second generation NPS employee, will be retiring on January 1st following 37 years of service to the NPS.

North Cascades NP - Maintenance worker Gary Hetzel passed away unexpectedly at his home on November 22nd. He had 21 years of government service, 18 years of which were with the NPS in Stehekin.

NPS Alumni - Retiree Ed Duffy died peacefully at his home in Northern Virginia on December 7th after a battle with lung cancer. He was 68 years old.

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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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