|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, May 16, 2014 INCIDENTS Independence NHP Two Men Sentenced Following Assault Convictions Two men, B.C., 26, and S.C., 48, both of Camden, New Jersey, were sentenced in federal court last week for crimes which occurred within Independence National Historical Park. B.C. was sentenced to five years and S.C. to 15 years in jail; both will also have to pay restitution to their victims. B.C. and S.C. were convicted last year on multiple felony counts stemming from a series of assaults and robberies which occurred on National Park Service property in June 2012. The attacks resulted in three people suffering injuries ranging from bruises to extensive hospitalization and reconstructive surgery. The investigation was led by NPS rangers with the assistance of the Philadelphia Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [Eli Bowers] New River Gorge NR Rangers Rescue Stranded Fishermen Rangers responded to a report of an overturned boat and a missing boater near the Glade Creek river launch on Thursday, May 8th. The reporting party, who had been a passenger in the boat, was located across the river from the ramp - he was cold but in good condition. The boat operator was located a short distance downstream on the shore. The men, although only separated by about 100 yards, could not hear or see each other because of the bend in the river and the roar of the rapid. They had launched that morning for a fishing trip and were attempting to run a john boat up Glade Creek shoals when the boat swamped and capsized. Both men were wearing their life jackets and made it to shore uninjured. River rangers arrived with a boat, ran across the river, and picked the men up. After the fishermen were safely deposited at the landing, rangers went back out to unpin the john boat and recover some of their lost fishing gear. A ranger had talked to the men about life jackets while fishing the week before. During the debriefing after this incident, they told rangers that they recalled the conversation just before they put in and decided to wear their life jackets. [Jeff West, Chief Ranger] Hot Springs NP Man Receives Jail Term For Theft Of Bathtubs On May 12th, Hot Springs resident P.W., 26, was sentenced to 12 months in federal jail followed by a year's federal probation, banned from the park, and ordered to pay $3,500 restitution to the park after being found guilty of theft of government property (18 USC 641) and aiding and abetting (18 USC 2). The park received a report of a break-in at its maintenance facility on May 1, 2012. Ranger Zach Summerlin found that a person or persons had cut a government lock, had entered the facility, and had stolen five stainless steel bathtubs valued at $15,000 that had been stored for later use in the park museum. A one-year investigation conducted by Summerlin revealed that the tubs had been destroyed and broken down before they were sold to a scrapyard for around $700. Rangers then seized them as evidence. Bank records, video surveillance, and witness testimony revealed that P.W. had returned to the scrapyard shortly after its operator was contacted by the park and had repaid the company $700 for its losses, as he did not want to be banned from future business dealings with them. In an attempt to conceal this crime, P.W. conspired with a 16-year-old juvenile to file a false police report by implicating a third subject as the suspect. It was determined that the third subject did not have anything to do with the offense and was later released. [John Hughes, Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers): Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Division - The National Park Service will again join the American Hiking Society this year in promoting and supporting National Trails Day, which falls on the first Saturday in June. Information is provided on how you can host an event and join in other related activities. Cabrillo NM - On May 4th, Cabrillo staff and volunteers participated in a Trails & Rails outreach program in Los Angeles at Union Station as part of its new partnership with Amtrak. Big Cypress NP - In honor of National Poetry Month, Big Cypress National Preserve held its second annual poetry contest during the month of April. There were 52 entries this year; winners were selected by park employees. Office of Communications - Director Jarvis has added a new entry to his blog that includes an interview conducted during Monday's reopening of the Washington Monument. A link is included. Inventory and Monitoring Division - Dr. Kirsten Gallo has been named chief of Natural Resource Stewardship and Science's Inventory and Monitoring Division. She has served as the acting deputy chief of I&M for the last eight months. Servicewide Training Calendar - Added to this week's listing are an environmental planning course in Lakewood, Colorado, and an introduction to PEPC course in Moab, Utah. Both are next month. NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management - NOTE: Although not included in this email edition of the Morning Report because of its early release time, the seasonal consolidated NIFC/NPS fire report will begin appearing today on the web editions of the Morning Report and InsideNPS, with a daily posting around 8 a.m. EDT. To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites: NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/ The Morning Report is 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@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov). --- ### --- |