|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, November 28, 2011 INCIDENTS Vicksburg NMP Alabama Man Convicted On Felony ARPA Charges The park's resource program manager was traveling down Confederate Avenue on September 3rd when she came upon a man who was putting something large into the trunk of his vehicle, which was parked near the 40th Alabama marker. Since his actions seemed suspicious, she contacted rangers. Their investigation revealed that the man was E.T. of Foley, Alabama, and that he'd been metal detecting in and around the park, city of Vicksburg and Warren County on a planned expedition with his family. Recovered were fragments from Civil War era Hotchkiss and Parrot-type artillery projectiles, Depression era bottles, and railroad spikes. E.T. was charged with two counts of violation of the Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 USC 470) and convicted in federal court on November 15th. He was fined a $100 assessment, required to relinquish possession of all his equipment (including two metal detectors valued at nearly $2,500), ordered to prepare a paper on the significance of the Vicksburg Campaign, and placed on three years' probation. During this probationary period, he is prohibited from entering all NPS military parks. The prosecution was conducted in conjunction with the Southeast Archeological Center and the U.S. Attorney's Office. [Patricia Montague, Supervisory Park Ranger] Blue Ridge Parkway Woman Dies In Single-Car Rollover Accident Rangers Josh McMann and Dave Bauer were called to a report of a vehicle discovered down an embankment below Flannery Fork Road on the morning of November 25th. They found the body of a 66-year-old woman inside the car, which was on its roof. It appeared to have drifted off the dirt road and down the 10-foot embankment, ending up on a carriage trail that is popular with hikers, joggers and horseback riders. It appears that the woman survived the crash, but subsequently died due to exposure or medical conditions. Responding rescuers knew her and reported that she had a lengthy medical history. Since Flannery Fork Road is a state road passing through park land, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol is leading the investigation. [Dave Bauer, Highlands District 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/): Palo Alto Battlefield NHP - Nearly a thousand visitors joined the staff of Palo Alto Battlefield NHP on November 19th for the official dedication of the Resaca de la Palma Battlefield as a new unit of the park and to participate in the memorial illumination ceremony held annually at the site. Workplace Enrichment - The annual "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government" rankings were recently released and preliminary analysis shows similar trends in the NPS as in DOI and other federal agencies. Ozark NSR - Reed E. Detring, superintendent at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, is hanging up his ranger hat after 35 years of federal service in parks from Washington State to Florida. He has served as Ozark's superintendent since 2008. * * * * The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced with the support of the Office of the Assistant Director for Information Resources and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). --- ### --- |