NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
INCIDENTS
Grand Canyon NP
Search For Missing Woman Scaled Back
The search for 21-year-old K.K., underway since last Saturday, has been scaled back due to lack of clues as to her whereabouts. K.K. was last seen on Friday at a river camp located near Tapeats Creek on the north side of the Colorado River. Rangers used the park's helicopter to search the river corridor and area trails for two days, while ground-based teams thoroughly searched the accessible trails, beaches, drainages and backcountry areas in the vicinity. With no additional clues to guide search efforts on land, the decision was made to scale the search back to a continuous but limited mode in which rangers and pilots will continue to search for clues when in the area. Flyers with K.K.'s picture and description remain posted at popular river trip launch and takeout points, and anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is encouraged to call the park tip line at 928-638-7767. [Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Officer]
Great Smoky Mountains NP
Woman Killed In Accident With Park Vehicle
A Chrysler SUV heading south on the Newfound Gap Road collided with a northbound park pickup truck yesterday afternoon, killing the Chrysler's 24-year-old driver. The driver of the park vehicle and his passenger were taken to a local hospital for assessment. The North Carolina Highway Patrol is leading the accident investigation at the request of the park. “Normally, we complete the investigation of motor vehicle collisions within the park,” said Clay Jordan, the park's chief ranger, “but because two of our NPS employees were involved in the accident, we have asked the NC Highway Patrol to lead this investigation.” [Dana Soehn, Public Affairs Officer]
National Capital Region
NPS IMT's Prepare For Presidential Inauguration
With Inauguration Day just around the corner, National Park Service operations and preparations for the event are in full swing, with numerous NPS personnel from across the Service pitching in. The Service's Eastern IMT arrived on January 9th to support the NPS IMT for the 57th Presidential Inaugural, which is being led by incident commander John Stanwich, the deputy NPS liaison to the White House. The NPS IMT has been in place for months, planning and preparing for Inauguration Day. The Service has been directly involved in all inaugurals since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took the oath of office in 1933 - a total of 20 inaugurations spanning 80 years. The role of the NPS in presidential inaugurations is primarily to provide logistical support, ensure the protection of park resources, and provide visitor services. The NPS works directly with the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), issuing permits to the PIC for use of areas of the National Mall, Lafayette Square and Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site. Under the PIC's direction, military bands, floats and other parade participants assemble on the National Mall before joining the inaugural parade. This event has been declared a National Special Security Event (NSSE) and the Secret Service is serving as the lead federal law enforcement agency. The United Sates Park Police, NPS law enforcement rangers, and NPS emergency medical services providers will be fully supporting this event. Though the inauguration is certainly among the largest events handled by the National Park Service, it is only one of more than 3,000 permitted events held on the National Mall each year that range from small annual commemorations to the Fourth of July and large-scale First Amendment demonstrations. [Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, Information Officer, 57th Presidential Inaugural IMT]
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/):
Arlington House - In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Arlington House recently hosted two special programs - the first commemorating the manumission of enslaved people from Arlington House and two other plantations and the second honoring and celebrating the moment when the proclamation went into effect.
Gettysburg NMP - The NPS has issued a decision regarding the future of the Cyclorama building at Gettysburg. The FONSI calls for demolition of the building in order to rehabilitate North Cemetery Ridge to its historic 1863 battle and 1864 to 1938 commemorative-era appearance.
Glacier NP - Kym Hall, a 26-year veteran of the National Park Service, will be serving as acting Glacier National Park superintendent until the position is filled permanently.
* * * *
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).
--- ### ---