NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

INCIDENTS

Voyageur NP

Teen Suffers Monoxide Poisoning

Ranger Karl Spilde responded to an emergency call of a 14-year-old boy having seizures this past weekend. Spilde arrived within 10 minutes and found the boy almost unconscious from carbon monoxide poisoning. The teen's family had a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bareboat_charter" bareboat charter - a houseboat rented from a company conducting business outside the park under a CUA. The teen had been swimming off the stern of the houseboat while the generator was running and began to succumb to monoxide poisoning. The teen recognized something wasn't right and was able to grab onto the boat ladder but was unable to pull himself out of the water and could not respond to verbal commands. His parents noticed they had not heard from him and discovered he had 'locked on' to the ladder in a semi-conscious state. The teen was pulled out of the water and an emergency call for assistance was made on the marine radio. Spilde responded and administered oxygen within 10 minutes, observing an immediate improvement in oxygen saturation with the parks recently acquired HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oximeter" pulse oximeter. The teen was transported by boat to an awaiting ambulance as his condition began to improve. He is expected to fully recover. The houseboat company owner was contacted by park staff. He said that the company has written warnings on the houseboat and provides verbal warnings to their customers to avoid the stern of the boat when running the generator. [Jim Hummel, Chief Ranger]

Saint Croix NSR

Scores Rescued Due To High Water From Rains

During the first week of August, numerous heavy rainstorms traversed the park and surrounding area, causing the river to rise six feet. The combination of high water and debris from last month's windstorm made for difficult navigation and people venturing beyond their abilities. During the period, there were17 different searches for a total of 98 very tired and wet canoeists. The local sheriff departments and the St. Croix Tribal Police, with their hovercraft, assisted rangers in responding to these incidents. Six canoes were damaged beyond repair and several canoes are still missing along with the canoeists' personal gear. The high water readings match those of typical spring snowmelt levels on the St. Croix, with the difference being that the summertime temperatures are enticing people into the water. [Chuck Carlson, Namekagon District Ranger, and Scott Carrigan, St. Croix District Ranger]

Castillo de San Marcos NM

Judge Sends Message To Graffiti Vandals

On August 2nd, a federal magistrate judge increased the penalties in a proposed plea agreement to send a strong message that vandalizing the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fortification in the United Sates, would not be tolerated. On January 20th, St. Augustine police officers came upon a man and a woman in their early 20's in possession of spray paint cans that led to their subsequent arrest for graffiti at the Castillo de San Marcos and other sites throughout the city of St Augustine. Ranger Jill Jaworski was able to locate eight separate spray painted areas on federal property and filed charges against the vandals with the United States Attorney's Office. The violators were each sentenced to 30 days home detention, two years of probation, a $1,000 fine, 200 hours community service (to be completed at the park), and restitution of close to $850 in materials and labor necessary to remove the graffiti. Imprisonment was waived only due to the fact that the violators had no previous records. Local media interest in this case has been high. [Kimberly Mayo, Chief Ranger]

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/):

Gettysburg NMP - Park maintenance employees were cutting through a fallen oak tree on Culp's Hill last Thursday when the chainsaw hit bullets from the battle fought there in 1863.

Workplace Enrichment - Workplace Enrichment has released a report that summarizes workplace communication realities and needs that were identified by a recent completed internal communications study. A summary and a link to the full report are provided.

Southeast Arizona Group - Mark J. Ruggiero, Southeast Region's emergency services coordinator, has been selected as the interim general superintendent of the Southeast Arizona Group, which includes Chiricahua NM, Coronado NM, and Fort Bowie NHS. Photo.

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Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of Communications and 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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