NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

INCIDENTS

Eastern Areas

Western IMT Issues Final Recovery Update

Due to the progress made in helping New York Harbor area parks recover from the impacts of Hurricane Sandy, the Western IMT is significantly scaling back its efforts. This update comes from the team's last operations planning conference call. Further updates will be sent when progress warrants. Here's today's status update, focusing entirely on areas within Gateway NRA:

Fort Tilden - The first phase of mold mitigation has been completed.

Jacob Riis Park - Road and trail clearing and sand redistribution should be completed today.

Great Kills - Debris removal operations and sand redistribution continued (approximately 90% complete). The sand berm should be completed today.

Miller Field - Sand restoration work should also be completed today.

Sandy Hook - Debris removal from roadsides and beach plazas continues.

More information on the response can be found at these websites:

Hurricane response and recovery - A HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/waso.cfm?prg=1168&lv=3" webpage with current information on the NPS response to Hurricane Sandy.

Resource needs shopping list - A HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=1168&id=10935" ”shopping list” HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/documents/SHOPPING%20LIST%2011-5.pdf" of incident management team positions that still need to be filled, updated daily.

Hurricane Sandy relief fund - E&AA has set up a HYPERLINK "http://www.eparks.com/_" relief fund web page where you can make donations in support of employees who were affected by the storm.

Facebook - A HYPERLINK "https://www.facebook.com/HurricaneResponseNPS" Facebook page managed by the IMT with updates on the response.

Twitter - A HYPERLINK "http://mobile.twitter.com/NPS_Sandy?" Twitter page managed by the IMT with updates on the response.

Flickr - A HYPERLINK "http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandyresponsenps/sets/72157631954446291/" Flickr page managed by the IMT with images of the response.

[Jason Wickersty, Incident Information Officer]

Hot Springs NP

Assailant In Brutal Assault Sentenced In Federal Court

On March 5th, rangers David Van Nest and John Hughes responded to numerous 911 calls reporting a brutal attack occurring along Gulpha Gorge Road. They were advised that a man was beating a woman adjacent to a parked vehicle and that a small child was also present. As rangers were responding, they learned that the man had fled the scene, that he was wearing bloody clothing, and that he was being followed by witnesses. The witnesses pursued him to a point where he ran into the woods near Centerfolds Lounge, just outside of the park. Hughes provided first aid to the injured woman until an EMS unit arrived on scene. The three-year-old child was also bloody, but was not injured (the blood was from the woman). The female and child were transported by EMS to a local hospital for treatment and observation. Investigation revealed that she had suffered serious bodily injury in the attack. Later that afternoon, as the rangers continued their investigation into the incident, they were notified that the man had contacted the towing company where the seized vehicle had been stored and had inquired about getting it back. Rangers responded and stationed themselves around the area of the tow yard. A short time later they saw a man fitting the description of the suspect enter the yard and approach the seized vehicle, located in a fenced-in area. He was immediately taken into custody. At the jail, rangers used HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Integrated_Automated_Fingerprint_Identification_System" AFIS to positively identify the man, who turned out to be 33-year-old B.A.F. of Hot Springs, a convicted felon who was on active probation for another vicious attack on a woman. Although he had bruised knuckles, B.A.F. denied any assault on the woman. That evening, rangers searched B.A.F.'s motel room and found the bloody shirt that he had been wearing at the time of the attack. Hughes later testified at a federal grand jury hearing in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where B.A.F. was indicted for felonious assault with enhanced penalty for committing the attack in the presence of a child. B.A.F. was ordered held in federal custody due to the danger he presented to society. Later, B.A.F. pled guilty as charged and his sentencing was set for Friday, December 14th.  Witnesses who had observed the attack also testified at the sentencing. One reported that the victim could no longer stand up from being beaten; she fell to the ground, only to be picked back up by B.A.F. and placed against the truck so that he could continue to beat on her. It is strongly believed by investigating rangers that motorists who stopped and called 911 most probably saved her life.

A federal judge in Hot Springs sentenced B.A.F. to three years federal imprisonment for the attack, followed by an additional two years of federal probation. B.A.F. was also ordered to pay restitution to cover the victim's medical bills. [John Hughes, 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/):

The White House - By order of President Obama, all US flags are to be flown at half staff in honor of Senator Daniel Inouye, who passed away on December 17th. They are to remain at half staff until the date of interment, which has not yet been set.

Alaska Region - Students from the fifth grade from the Marshwood Great Works School in South Berwick, Maine, recently employed Skype to talk to a representative from the Service's Beringian Heritage Program and learn about life in the Beringia region, which spans the Bering Strait and includes areas in Alaska and in Chukotka, Russia.

Southeast Region - Tracy Stakely, chief of Southeast Region's branch for cultural landscapes, is heading to Congaree in South Carolina to serve as the park's superintendent.

Southeast Region - Southeast Region Chief of Interpretation Don Wollenhaupt received the Sequoia Award at the 2012 National Association for Interpretation Workshop. It is the highest honor awarded to NPS interpreters.

Lowell NHP - Galen Marr, who retired from the position of chief ranger at Lowell National Historical Park in 1997, passed away on November 30th in Illinois.

Niobrara NSR - After more than 30 years of service with the NPS, Stuart Schneider, chief ranger at Niobrara National Scenic River, is heading to the Buerau of Land Management's Gunnison District in Colorado as associate field manager.

* * * *

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).

--- ### ---