- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, August 29, 1997
- Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Friday, August 29, 1997
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
97-509 - Arches NP (UT) - Significant Vandalism
At 7:30 p.m. on August 22nd, dispatch at the local sheriff's office received
a report that several people dressed in camouflage fatigues and ski masks and
carrying rifles had gotten out of a vehicle near the Courthouse Wash
trailhead and had entered the park. The area is just across a busy highway
from a commercial campground and only three miles north of Moab city limits.
The responding rangers and sheriff's deputy located five juvenile male
Explorer Scouts matching the description. The boys, all from Layton, Utah,
had been dropped off by three adult guardians who were going on a sunset hike
to Delicate Arch. Investigation revealed that the rifles were in fact CO2-
powered handguns that shoot paint balls, and that the boys were in the
process of "playing war." An NPS-owned bulletin board, highway bridge, rock
cliffs and culvert had all been struck by paint balls. Three of the boys
eluded pursuit; the fifth boy was finally contacted 30 minutes after the
arrival of the first ranger. The juveniles were brought to a park office to
await the arrival of their guardians, who finally returned at 10 p.m., well
after dark. Several mandatory appearance citations were issued, and the
juveniles were released to the custody of the guardians after parental
contact. This incident followed another paint ball vandalism incident in the
Fiery Furnace section of the park earlier in the summer by a group of younger
Boy Scouts from the Salt Lake City area who were on a sanctioned "adventure
camp" trip. These incidents and others have led the park to begin
discussions with the Utah Boy Scout executive leadership about the conduct,
actions, guidance and supervision of Utah-based Boy Scout trips to NPS areas.
If anyone in the NPS has had recent similar incidents concerning Utah Boy
Scouts, please relay them to NPS Utah state director Marty Ott or to Arches
chief ranger Jim Webster. [Jim Webster, CR, ARCH, 8/28]
97-510 - Martin Luther King NHS (GA) - Homicide
A property owner who lives within the park's preservation district returned
home after several days and discovered the body of a woman on the floor in
the rear of an abandoned house next door to his residence on Old Wheat
Street. Park law enforcement rangers responded and secured the crime scene.
City police, state investigators and FBI agents investigated the death, which
appears to be a homicide. The woman, who was in her mid-30s, apparently had
been dead for three to four days. No suspects have yet been identified.
City detectives are investigating. [Clark Moore, CR, MALU, 8/27]
97-511 - C&O Canal NHP (MD/DC/WV) - Assault; Employee Arrest
On August 27th, park maintenance employees A.J. and R.T.
exchanged words during the morning hours. At the end of their tour, both men
left the park and stopped just outside the entrance to the Great Falls area,
where additional words were followed by A.J. reportedly assaulting R.T.
with an ice pick before leaving the scene. R.T. was not seriously injured
and was treated at the scene. Since the incident occurred off park property,
Montgomery County police were called to investigate; they subsequently
obtained a warrant for A.J., charging him with first degree assault. Rather
than return to work on the 28th, A.J. advised the park that he would turn
himself in after seeking legal council. [Kevin FitzGerald, CHOH, 8/28]
97-512 - National Capital Parks East (DC/MD) - Assist; Burglary Arrests
On Thursday, August 28th, Park Police officers assisted Prince George county
officers in apprehending three juveniles wanted in connection with an armed
burglary that had occurred earlier in the county. Park Police officers
joined county officers in a pursuit of the subjects southbound on the
Baltimore Washington Parkway into the District of Columbia. The operator
lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a utility pole. All three
occupants fled, but were apprehended by Park Police officers after a brief
search. Three firearms were recovered at the scene. [Bill Lynch, RLES,
NCRO, 8/28]
97-513 - National Capital Parks Central (DC) - Assist; Bank Robbery Arrest
On Thursday, August 28th, Park Police officer David Hurley arrested D.D.
of Washington, DC, minutes after D.D. had robbed a First Union
Bank located a few blocks from the National Mall. Hurley, who was in
plainclothes, had received a lookout notice and saw a man matching the
broadcast description standing on the platform of the Mall subway station.
Hurley was unable to call out on radio, as he was below ground, so elected to
identify himself and arrest D.D. before an approaching train could arrive.
He did so, but D.D. broke free and got into the train. Following a brief
struggle, Hurley was able to apprehend D.D. and remove him from the train
before it left the station. D.D. was identified by bank employees and
$1,200 in cash was recovered from his person. It was later learned that
D.D. had removed his shirt after fleeing from the bank and had stopped to
purchase a t-shirt from one of the vendors on the Mall in an attempt to
conceal his identity. [Bill Lynch, RLES, NCRO, 8/28]
97-514 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Geothermal Burn
On the afternoon of August 27th, B.V., 44, of Evanston, Wyoming
suffered a geothermal burn while at Beryl Spring, which is located along the
Grand Loop Road between Madison and Norris Junctions. B.V., who was
barefoot, left the walkway to get a closer look at the hot springs. He broke
through the crust and suffered a second degree burn to his right foot. B.V.
was transported by private vehicle to the Canyon visitor center, where he
reported the incident. He was then transported by park ambulance to Lake
Hospital for treatment. For safety reasons, travel in geothermal areas is
restricted to designated trails, walkways, and boardwalks. This information
is provided to every incoming vehicle and is posted in roadside geothermal
areas. [Mike Murray, ACR, YELL, 8/28]
[Additional reports pending...]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Wed Thu % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 8/27 8/28 Con Con
WA State Olympia Command -- 5,000 5,500 100 CND
Heading Notes
Unit -- Agency = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA state resource
or ranger unit; RD = state ranger district; District = BLM
district; NWR = USFWS wildlife refuge
Fire -- * = newly reported fire (on this report); Cx = complex
IMT -- T1 = Type 1; T2 = Type II; ST = State Team
% Con -- Percent of fire contained
Est Con -- Estimated containment date; NEC = no estimated date of
containment; CND = fully contained; NR = no report
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FIVE DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Sunday, 8/24 2 3 12 1 34 30 82
Monday, 8/25 3 7 12 0 34 34 90
Tuesday, 8/26 2 2 7 0 37 14 62
Wednesday, 8/27 0 4 3 1 29 27 64
Thursday, 8/28 0 2 12 1 47 21 83
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Sunday, 8/24 40 88 18 1 260
Monday, 8/25 35 72 17 0 188
Tuesday, 8/26 28 47 12 0 128
Wednesday, 8/27 32 62 17 0 101
Thursday, 8/28 23 56 14 0 98
CURRENT SITUATION
No significant fire activity was reported nationally. Very high and extreme
fire indices were reported on several units in California and Nevada.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/29]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Reports pending.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No submissions.
MEMORANDA
"FY 1997 Uniform Allowance Closeout Procedures," sent to regional and park
uniform program administrators by the Servicewide uniform program manager on
August 28th. Please note that the instructions in the memo, which follow,
are for park uniform program administrators, although some aspects apply to
all uniformed employees:
"The fiscal year is nearing an end, which means that it is again time to
closeout current uniform allowances and pending business with the contractor
and prepare for the coming fiscal year.
o Closeout for FY 1997 - Uniform allowances authorized for FY 1997 cannot
be applied beyond the end of the fiscal year. Uniform orders placed
against FY 1997 allowances must be postmarked to R&R no later than
September 10 or telefaxed to R & R no later than September 13.
Existing backorders will be charged against current allowance balances
and will be shipped as soon as R & R receives the merchandise. All
outstanding dealings with R & R must be resolved before the end of
September. Credits should be applied, refunds made, and exchanges
completed as soon as possible.
o Establishing Accounts for FY 1998 - Attached is the Consolidated
Uniform Allowance Report (CUAR), which is to be employed to reauthorize
uniform allowances for permanent employees. This is the only
documentation which will be required for these employees; in order to
assure that their accounts are activated for FY 1998, it is imperative
that the printouts be reviewed, certified and returned to R & R
Uniforms before the September 1 deadline. Several points need to be
emphasized regarding this process:
* In past years, many new authorizations for seasonals have been
held up due to improper completion of Uniform Uniform Allowance
Authorization (UAAs). Please be sure to complete them accurately
(see NPS-43, Servicewide Uniform Guideline) and submit them
promptly.
* Because the CUAR must be submitted by September 1 in order to
allow data processing sufficient time to make all necessary
changes, a UAA must be submitted for any new permanent employee
who begins work on or after that date to get them into the
system. Employees who come on during that month and receive
initial allowances must still expend the full amount of their
initial allowance before ordering for FY 1997 ceases.
* Since temporary and seasonal employees do not appear on the CUAR
printout, UAAs for replacement allowances must be prepared and
submitted for any seasonals who are still on the roles on October
1. Please keep in mind that seasonal employees working any part
of a period qualify for the full amount of the replacement
allowance for that period. In so far as is possible, new UAAs
should be sent to R&R at the same time as the CUAR.
* Any adjustments or corrections to the information contained in
the report may be made in writing on the page itself. The
superintendent or her/his designated representative must then
sign each page of the report to certify its validity - this means
all pages, even those without any changes. Unsigned reports will
be returned.
* We recommend that you send your report to R & R via express mail
or certified mail (return receipt requested) to reduce the
chances of its being lost in the mails.
* Reports should be returned directly to R & R Uniforms in
Nashville. The mailing address for regular or certified mail is
R & R Uniforms, PO Box 27005, Nashville, TN 37202-7005; the
delivery address for express mail is R & R Uniforms, 730B
Freeland Station Road, Nashville, TN 37228.
If you have any problems in completing or submitting the report, please
contact your regional or SSO uniform coordinator as soon as possible.
o Price Changes - Price changes will take effect on October 1 under a
contractual provision whereby R&R is permitted an annual adjustment
based on the Producer Price Index (PPI) for the previous year.
Existing order forms will therefore be invalid after September 30, and
orders received after the closeout date will be returned for
resubmission on new order forms. R & R will send new forms to all park
uniform coordinators by late September. It is particularly important
that employees purchase items at this year's prices with funds
remaining in their current allowances."
EXCHANGE
No submissions.
* * * * *
Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
office and/or field area cc:Mail hub coordinators. Please address requests
pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your servicing hub
coordinator.
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
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