Glacier National Park
Missing Hikers Were Well Prepared
On Monday, October 15th, the search for two hikers missing in the
park's backcountry came to a successful conclusion. Additional
information has since been gathered on how the pair got lost and how
they fared during the five days that searchers were looking for them.
Hikers N.P. and J.H. were planning to hike from the North
Shore trailhead at Two Medicine and camp at the Oldman backcountry
campground on Tuesday, October 9th. After spending the night in the
campground as planned, they continued on their 17-mile hike,
encountering snow on the trail and very high gusts of winds as they
hiked a section of trail on a ridge along the Continental Divide. One of
the men slipped and fell approximately 100 feet down a steep slope. The
men then tried to hike in parallel for a bit, one above and one
below. They determined that the best approach would be for both
hikers to be together, to go down the mountain, and to perhaps try
another route back up. The men had a quality map of the area, but lost
it when extreme wind gusts blew it out of their hands. They continued
down the mountainside and spent Wednesday evening in the Nyack Lakes
area, where they set up camp and lighted a fire. On Thursday, they
started to hike back up the mountain by another route, hoping to follow
their original direction. Weather conditions and mountainous terrain
were challenging. They put considerable thought into what their
best options would be, finally deciding to travel back down the wet and
slippery terrain and wait for a break in the weather. That break
did not come, so they camped near the headwaters of the Nyack Drainage
at approximately 6,000 feet for the next four nights. They
rationed their food, collected firewood and materials to create a fire
and smoke, turned their cell phones on during the day, displayed their
space blanket for possible reflection during the day and used it to stay
warn at night, and created an SOS message with logs. On the afternoon of
Monday, October 15th, two park employees were searching on foot when one
of them saw colored flagging that led him to a tent and the missing
hikers. N.P. and J.H. were cold and wet, but in fairly good
condition with no injuries. The two men communicated their appreciation
to the searchers and were ready to travel home with family and
friends.
[Submitted by Denise Germann, Public Affairs Officer]
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
One Killed, Three Injured In Vehicle Collision
Rangers responded to a two-vehicle accident on the northbound side of
the Pigeon Forge – Gatlinburg Spur near West Gate Resort just
after noon last Saturday. The preliminary investigation revealed that
J.M., 34, of Pittman Center, Tennesse, may have been attempting
to cross the spur from Westgate when a vehicle driven by N.S.,
19, of Kodak, Tennessee, collided with his pickup. J.M. was
transported to Leconte Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Swaggerty's vehicle carried two passengers, an 18-year-old male and a
17-year-old female. One was extricated from the vehicle by Gatlinburg
EMS. Lifestar flew both to UT Medical Center, while N.S. was
transported to the center by a personal vehicle. All three have since
been released.
[Submitted by Dana Soehn, Public Affairs]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Intermountain Region
GS-1640-11 Supervisory Facility Operations Specialist (Lateral)
Dates: 10/19/2012 - 10/31/2012
Fort Davis National Historic Site is seeking candidates interested in lateral reassignment to a permanent, full-time supervisory facility operations specialist position. The person selected will serve as the park's cultural resource/facility manager. Candidates must be or have been at the GS-11 grade or higher.
The park is looking for an individual with experience in historic preservation and facilities management, a proven ability to function in all aspects of FMSS/PMIS systems, and excellent people skills.
This position requires working across division lines with a diverse park staff in coordinating projects, preserving resources, and fostering effective relationships with other groups and agencies.
Fort Davis National Historic Site is one of the best surviving examples of an Indian Wars' frontier military post in the Southwest. It is widely recognized for the:
- integrity of the surrounding landscape
- preponderance of historic structures,
- unique opportunity to interpret to role of the Buffalo Soldier on the frontier,
- unique opportunity to interpret frontier military medicine, and
- preserved portion of the San Antonio-El Paso Road
Dual-career opportunities exist.
Located on the east flank of the Davis Mountains and adjacent to the town of Fort Davis, the park is approximately 500 acres and shares a boundary with the Davis Mountains State Park. Surrounding areas are open grasslands and rolling hills with mountains rising to 8,380 feet to form some of the most spectacular scenery in Texas. Vegetation on the mountains is primarily piñon-juniper community with some ponderosa pine and cottonwoods at appropriate areas. Temperatures are considered mild but extremes of 95 degrees in the summer and minus 10 degrees in the winter may occur. Occasional weather fronts bring winds in excess of 40 mph. Elevation at the historic site is 4,900 feet. Average yearly temperature is 63 degrees. Average rainfall is approximately 15 - 20 inches per year. Elementary and secondary schools, a bank, churches, small stores, gas stations, cafes, health clinic, doctor, and a dentist are available in the town of Fort Davis; Marfa, 21 miles; or Alpine, a busy commercial center and home of Sul Ross State University, is 26 miles.
For more information regarding this position, please contact John Morlock, superintendent, at 432-426-3224 x221 or via email at john_morlock@nps.gov.
Interested applicants should send their application/resume, a list of references, an SF-50, and their most recent performance evaluations to Human Resources, P.O. Box 1379, Fort Davis, Texas 79734, ATTN: Regina Heiner. Applications must be postmarked by October 31st.
[Submitted by Regina Heiner, Administrative Officer, regina_heiner@nps.gov, (432) 426-3224 x222]
Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park (WA)
Spirit Trickey Joins Staff As Chief of Interpretation
Spirit Trickey has been selected as the new chief of interpretation for Klondike Gold Rush NHP's Seattle Unit.
Spirit began working for the NPS as a park guide in 2002 and later was an interpretive ranger and then chief of interpretation at Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site in Little Rock, Arkansas. While there, she served as public information officer, media specialist, interpreter, volunteer and special events coordinator, community outreach lead, guest lecturer, author, and liaison for local, national and international media.
Spirit was awarded the Freeman Tilden award in 2010 for establishing the park's Youth Leadership Academy (YLA). The purpose of the YLA is to train young leaders at the historic site and to promote volunteerism, nonviolence, youth empowerment and stewardship for the National Park Service.
Spirit is one of ten Americans who won the "Ticket to History" essay contest (with over 250,000 submissions) to witness the inauguration of President Barack Obama and attend the Inaugural Ball. She was recently named one of the "Top 100 History Makers in the Making" by TheGrio.com and featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.
Spirit is the playwright of "One Ninth," an exploration of human dignity and racial conflict as seen through the eyes of Minnijean Brown Trickey, one of the Little Rock Nine who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, who is Spirit's mother. The Arkansas Repertory Theatre selected "One Ninth" for the playwright development program for emerging African American and Latino playwrights, "Voices at the River." The theater also sponsored a statewide residency tour of "One Ninth" across the state of Arkansas. Over 15,000 students and members of the community were engaged with the play through interactive workshops, performances and community discussions.
Spirit was born Ontario, Canada. She lived in Washington D.C. and later moved to Little Rock, where she lived for about a decade before her move to Seattle to join the team at Klondike Gold Rush. Spirit received a B.A. in mass communications from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and her master's degree from the Clinton School of Public Service. Her international public service project at the Clinton School was with the South African education and environment project in Cape Town, South Africa.
The past ten years at Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site have been especially important to her because of her personal connection to the story.
"I have made meaningful friendships while learning about our interconnected American histories," she said. "I will miss my park family, but I am enthusiastic about the next chapter in my National Park Service career, to have the opportunity to begin a new experience to learn about the people who struggled and triumphed during the gold rush."
Spirit arrived in Seattle this week and is already hard at work — deeply immersed in the park's history, projects, and partnerships.
NPS Alumni
Passing Of Retired Ranger Jay Jessen
On a hot, sultry August day in 1934, in a farm home with no indoor plumbing and no electricity, Jay Jessen was born. He came from tough, uncomplaining country folk. To support his family during the Great Depression, Jay's father, Peter Jessen, raised fruit and vegetables to sell at market. The overabundance of certain crops gave Jay a life-long aversion to cucumbers and pears.
Jay attended a one-room country school, grades one through eight; high school years were in the small town of Garwin. By the time Jay was 16, he became a "hired man" at a neighbor's farm, where he worked for room and board. When he graduated from high school, he moved to the town of Dysart, where he lived with an aunt's family and worked at a seed corn company.
At 18, he enlisted in the US Air Force and received training as an electrician. For most of his four-year hitch, he worked on a top secret plane based in Frankfurt, Germany. Everyone at the base was curious about that plane; only after about 50 years was the information declassified and Jay shared with his family the story of what was, during the Korean War time frame, the most advanced camera system available to the military.
While in Germany, Jay met the love of his life, an Iowa girl raised just five miles away from his Iowa home. He and Helen Ruth Grimes married in Switzerland, and in 1956 returned to Iowa. Jay took advantage of the GI Bill and enrolled at Iowa State College in Ames. He graduated in 1961 with a bachelor of science degree.
Jay's main career was as a National Park Service ranger. His first duty assignment was at Colonial National Historic Park, followed by Catoctin Mountain Park, Big Bend National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Boston Navy Yard, and finally Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, where Jay retired from the Park Service in 1988. He immediately changed hats and became well known in the community as the operator of his own business, Jay's Home Repair. After ten years another retirement gave Jay and Ruth plenty of time to travel in their little motor home, looking for birds in every state of the union.
All of his life, Jay did things his way; in death, he did the same. He determined in August that he would not extend his life by chemotherapy, but would leave this earth as naturally as possible. His wife, Ruth, and children, Michael Spencer, Kent David, and Janis Kay, were with him in his final hours.
Memorial services will be held on Monday, October 22nd, at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery at 9:30, and at 11:30 at Redding Christian Fellowship at 2157 Victor in Redding, California.
Remembrances may be sent to Ruth Jessen, 851 Mission De Oro, #101, Redding, CA 96003.
[Submitted by Jim Richardson, Chief Ranger]
NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site:
http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id;=8728&lv;=2&pgid;=3504
All reports should now be submitted via this automated system.