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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, December 8, 2014 INCIDENTS Hot Springs NP Rangers Capture Auto Thief Following Crash In Park On December 4th, a man entered an unattended vehicle that had been left at a residence just outside the park with the keys inside it and fled at a high rate of speed into the park, traveling down Black Snake Road. He failed to negotiate a sharp right hand turn and careened off the roadway into a tree, then jumped out and fled on foot. Witnesses were able to provide a good description of the man to responding rangers. A perimeter was established around the area until park canine officer Clint Forte and his dog, “Saki,” arrived on scene. Forte, Saki and spotter Matthew Tiger tracked the man into the woods for approximately 500 yards. After some resistance, he was taken into custody. The man continued to resist while he was brought back to the waiting patrol vehicle and while at the county jail. From the jail he was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where rangers stood by while he was being treated. A blood sample was obtained by rangers and he was later booked back into the jail by rangers on several misdemeanor and felony charges. Forte and “Saki” are being praised for their work in capturing the man so quickly, despite the fact that he'd crossed back and forth over the roadway several times on foot while fleeing the crash. [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): President's Park - President Barack Obama, joined by First Lady Michelle Obama and his family, officially lit the National Christmas Tree at the 92nd annual National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony last Thursday evening. Today's Almanac - A developing storm will move into the Northeast, bringing a wintry mix of rain, snow and freezing rain. A series of storms will also move into the Pacific Northwest and northern California. Canaveral NS - Staff from the park and from Kennedy Space Center emergency fire and rescue joined in a training session in the Playalinda section of the park on November 14th. Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the Service. This report covers activities in Congress for the period from November 21st to December 5th. Southeast Region - Cassius Cash, currently the superintendent of Boston NHP, has been selected as the new superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He will assume his new post in February. Denver Service Center - Darrin Knapp has been selected as a branch chief for DSC's Contracting Services Division. He will oversee contracting services for DSC projects in the eastern United States. 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). --- ### --- |