NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Friday, October 24, 1997

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

97-426 - Catoctin Mountain Park (MD) - Follow-up on Burglary

Three of the four people charged in last July's breaking and entering and
theft of donation box funds from the park's visitor center were tried before
a federal magistrate on October 17th.  Two entered guilty pleas to charges of
interfering with an agency function and received fines of $110 and probation
for a year, during which time they are banned from the park.  Chad Reisinger
of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, entered guilty pleas to CFR charges of theft and
trespassing.  He was fined $445 and sentenced to court supervised restitution
of 50% of the cost of damages and a year's supervised probation, during which
time he's banned from all NPS areas in Maryland.  Charges are pending against
a fourth person, who was seriously injured in an accident while fleeing from
the park and is still in a nursing care facility.  [Roger Steintl, CR, CATO,
7/31]

97-663 - Arches NP (UT) - Theft of Fee Collection Receipts

On September 21st, a locked canvas bag containing $2,025 in cash, travelers'
checks and personal checks - the receipts from one fee collector's entrance
station duty that morning - was stolen from the park's fee collection office. 
The theft was discovered the following morning by two visitor use assistants
who were preparing the previous day's remittance.  Rangers conducted the
initial investigation and interviews; the FBI participated in the subsequent
investigation.  On October 15th, an FBI agent interviewed a first-year
seasonal visitor use assistant (one of the two who "discovered" the theft)
and elicited a confession to the theft.  About half the cash was found buried
in a plastic bag out in the desert near Moab and was recovered; the balance
had already been spent.  The canvas bag had been tossed in a dumpster in town
and the personal and travelers' checks had been destroyed.  The employee, who
has been terminated, has agreed to repay the stolen money.  The U.S.
attorney's office will prosecute for theft of public money (18 USC 641).  Jim
Braggs was the lead NPS investigator.  [Jim Webster, CR, ARCH, 10/23]

97-664 - National Capital Parks East (DC/MD) - Pipe Bomb

The Suitland Parkway was closed to traffic for more than three hours
yesterday morning after an NPS maintenance employee discovered an apparent
pipe bomb on the ramp from Branch Avenue.  The device was constructed from a
six-and-a-half inch piece of plastic pipe.  USPP officers, county police and
fire personnel, and ATF bomb technicians responded.  The device was
dismantled by members of the bomb squad.  Preliminary investigation revealed
components of an explosive device; additional testing will be done by ATF. 
There were no injuries or damage to park resources.  [Bill Lynch, LES, NCRO,
10/24]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No submissions.

MEMORANDA

"MicroSoft Office Training," prepared by the NPS Employee Development Office
and the NPS Information and Telecommunication Center and sent yesterday to
all superintendents, park training coordinators and park information resource
management coordinators.  The full text follows:

"Beginning November 1997, the National Park Service's standard for file
exchange will be MicroSoft (MS) Office format.  The MS Office Suite includes
four products that provide a range of office automation and database tools. 
MS Office includes a word processor (MS Word), spread sheet (MS Excel),
presentation software (MS Power Point), and relational database (MS Access).

"To assist in the transition to MS Office, the NPS Training and Development
Program will be distributing to all Parks the ViaGraphic MS Office video
training tape series.  The ViaGraphic video tape series provides training for
the four primary MS Office software(s).  The series has six video training
tapes, including one training tape on each of the main MS Office products
(Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access).  The set also has training tapes on
Windows 95 and MS Outlook. 

"The video series provides basic MS Office software skills training.  This is
a 'first step' to full office automation competency.  Upon completion of the
MS Office training, NPS employees may officially record their training. 
After the employee completes the training, he/she fills out a training form
(Standard Form 182), then submits it to [his/her] training coordinator for
approval.

"For further information contact your regional Employee Development Officer
(EDO) or the NPS IRM Training Manager."

EXCHANGE

No submissions.

                                *  *  *  *  *

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coordinator.

Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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