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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, November 2, 2012 INCIDENTS Eastern Areas Incident Teams Prepare For Recovery Operations Hurricane Sandy has affected parks in all three regions along the East Coast. In order to provide assistance and support to these areas, the Eastern Incident Management Team staged in Hagerstown, Maryland, on Monday evening, and is now preparing to move to the New York Harbor area, possibly after the New York marathon this Sunday. The Midwest Incident Management Team has joined them and will also be heading to New York. Over 100 NPS employees have so far been committed to this response. As of Wednesday morning, 30 team members were at the ICP in Hagerstown. Another 45 were en route, including the Southeast Region's special events team, a saw team from Sequoia-Kings Canyon, three HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_incident_stress_management" CISM teams, 23 FMSS specialists, the Park Police helicopter “Eagle II” with flight crew, and one air operations manager. Another 20 people had been deployed in the affected area to begin gathering information and start work where possible. They were located at Fire Island, Gateway, and Morristown and included members of the Cumberland Gap and Northeast Region saw teams and the employee assistance team leader. The USPP New York Field Office has delegated authority to the Eastern IMT and provided a liaison to the team's command staff. A Park Police branch director has also been assigned to the general staff under the operations section chief. The team will begin work once delegations of authority are in hand from affected areas and assessments have been completed in order to determine needed resources. IC Zeph Cunningham closed the Wednesday evening organizational meeting by emphasizing that the team's top goal is employee assistance. Parks included in the delegation and currently closed are the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Gateway, Governors Island, African Burial Ground, the six units of Manhattan Sites, Sagamore Hill, Fire Island, Morristown, and Thomas Edison. [Linda Friar, Incident Information Officer] Cape Lookout NS Ranger Bitten By Unrestrained Dog Ranger Jesse Kanuch approached a visitor concerning his unrestrained dog while patrolling the North Core Banks on October 16th. The visitor complied and Kanuch continued his patrol. Later, Kanuch approached this same visitor concerning another matter and again encountered the dog off leash. The dog snarled at and bit Kanuch on the arm, leaving a puncture wound, but Kanuch was able to fend the dog off and get the visitor to again put it on a leash. Rangers Joseph Lamm, Lance Herman, and Daniel Williams responded to assist Kanuch. He was transported to Carteret General Hospital, where he received treatment, and was later released. With help from maintenance worker Ricky Daniel, Carteret County Animal Control was transported to North Core Banks and assisted Williams and Herman. The dog was taken by animal control and quarantined for ten days. The visitor was issued citations for a mandatory court appearance. [Joseph Lamm, Park Ranger] Indiana Dunes NL Hikers Come Upon Suicide Victim Two hikers coming out of the restrooms at the Calumet Dune Interpretive Center on the afternoon of October 25th heard a “pop” from the parking lot. As they drove out of the lot, they passed a car with a man leaning back in the driver's seat, covered in blood. Responding ranger identified him as a 58-year-old resident of Chesterton, Indiana. Clutched in his hand was a .44 caliber handgun. It appeared that the man died from a single gunshot wound to the right temple. He left a diary in the passenger armrest of the car and had placed his driver's license in the seam of the glove compartment door for easy retrieval. Rangers Bill Tadych and Kyle Hudick, along with a chaplain from the sheriff's office, notified the surviving wife and two teenage daughters. Entries in the diary, which were confirmed by the family, revealed long-standing and very emotional work-related issues. The Porter County coroner has ruled the death a suicide. [Mike Bremer, 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/): Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - The NPS has launched a website to assist with the response to and recovery from Hurricane Sandy. The site includes resource needs, human resource and operational guidance, and other pertinent information. Office of Communications - America's 398 national parks will offer everyone free admission during the Veterans Day weekend in honor of those who serve and have served in the United States military. Yosemite NP - The National Park Service lost a dear friend when retired NPS narcotics canine “Emma” passed away late on Saturday, October 27th, just a month after her 14th birthday. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |