NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

INCIDENTS

New River Gorge NR

Intoxicated Driver Floats The New River In Her Car

Ranger Justin Cawiezel responded to a 911 report of a car driven into the New River at the Grandview Sandbar just before 2 a.m. on September 13th. The dispatcher also advised that the woman who'd called in the report sounded intoxicated. When Cawiezel arrived, he located the driver of the vehicle, who reported that she had accidentally driven the vehicle into the river and said that she first became aware that she was in the river when she noticed her feet were getting wet. She said that she was able to get out of the vehicle through the open driver's side window. Cawiezel determined that she had been alone when she drove the car in the river; suspecting that the driver was impaired, he performed the standard field sobriety tests and found that she registered a .094 two hours after the accident. The 1991 white Cavalier had floated for some distance before it sank. Assisted by a regional dive team, rangers were able to locate the vehicle about 30 yards downstream from the landing. The vehicle was removed from the river intact without any leakage. [Jeff West, Chief Ranger]

Hopewell Culture NHP

Resource Damage Settlement Funds Used For Archeological Work

In November, 2010, a settlement agreement was signed with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) for a 19jj incident that took place in the park in September, 2009. A contractor working for ODOT at that time inadvertently placed a silt fence within park boundaries during a highway expansion project. In the settlement agreement, which did not constitute an admission of liability, ODOT agreed to pay the Department of Interior a sum of $152,377. The National Park Service, through the Department of Interior, has been using the funds to survey, test, and assess archeological resources along the west boundary of the park's Mound City Group Unit, which may have been injured during the incident, and to fund actions to restore and protect archeological resources. The Midwest Archeological Center has worked with the park to undertake archeological investigations along Highway 104 to document any archeological resources identified within the 8.16-acre project area since 2010. A geophysical survey was completed and numerous magnetic and resistive anomalies were identified in the data that could represent subsurface cultural features. A sample of the anomalies was investigated through excavation, and two features attributed to the Middle Woodland period were encountered as well as historic and prehistoric artifacts. These results verify the presence of buried site resources in the project area, provide important information on previous occupations, and will contribute to site protection. A GIS base map of Mound City has been updated with accurate state site locations, a revised park boundary, historical imagery, and project-related data layers. The geophysical data have been accurately geo-referenced and spatial data generated by previous archeological fieldwork have been processed and integrated with existing data. Newly added historical data include digitized plan maps of Camp Sherman - geo-referenced directly to magnetically detected building remains - and Squier and Davis' 1846 plan map. Finally, the base map also makes use of high-resolution aerial imagery of Ross County and the Ohio statewide LiDAR dataset. Research is on-going, and data collected is assisting park operations. [Rick Perkins, Chief Ranger, and Ann Bauermeister, Midwest Archeological Center]

Glacier NP

Fisherman Dies In Flathead River

The body of a 67-year-old Colorado man was recovered from the North Fork of the Flathead River last Tuesday. The man was fishing in the park near Camas Creek with a relative from the local area when they became separated from each other's sight by a bend in the river. The relative subsequently went downstream to check on Hughes, but was unable to find him so left the area and called for help. Individuals and rescue teams responded from Flathead County Sheriff's Office, North Valley Search and Rescue, Border Patrol, and Glacier National Park. A.L.E.R.T. helicopter from Kalispell Regional Medical Center also responded. The man was found underwater about 100 yards south of Camas Creek. He was wearing waders, but was not wearing a life jacket. [Denise Germann, 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/):

Valley Forge NHP - The iconic Knox covered bridge on Yellow Springs Road in Valley Forge NHP has received an important preservation treatment thanks to the perseverance of the Friends of Valley Forge Park.

Climate Change Response Program - The Climate Change Response Program is now soliciting project proposals for the 2013 George Melendez Wright Climate Change Internship Program. Proposals are due by October 26th.

Intermountain Region - Freddi Steele, contracting officer with the Arizona Major Acquisition Buying Office in Flagstaff, Arizona, is retiring on October 3rd following 36 years of Federal service, all with the National Park Service.

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The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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