Servicewide News
Flags Ordered to Half-Staff in Memory of Crew of Columbia
President Bush has ordered that all flags be lowered to half staff
through Wednesday in honor of the seven members of the crew of the space
shuttle Columbia who were lost when the ship disintegrated on reentry
Saturday morning. Flags are to be returned to full staff on Thursday,
February 6.
INCIDENTS
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Multiple Snowmobile DUI Arrests and Accidents
Around 8:30 p.m. on January 29, rangers received a report that five
intoxicated men had departed from a bar in the park, gotten on their
snowmobiles, and had last been seen heading toward Madison Subdistrict.
Subsequent investigation revealed that four of the men had been racing
back to West Yellowstone when one of the riders lost control of his
snowmobile and fell from his machine. The snowmobile continued 200 feet
overland before crashing into the Firehole River and ending up fully
submerged. A second member of the party apparently made a wrong turn and
blew the engine out of his snowmobile while attempting to catch up with
the main group. The party regrouped and continued toward West
Yellowstone with four riders on three snowmobiles. Gallatin Subdistrict
SDR Rick Bennett, assistant SDR Bonnie Gaffney and ranger Tom Schwartz
intercepted the remnants of the party at the West Entrance Station at
approximately 9:30 p.m. As they were stopping the three remaining
snowmobiles, one of the operators crashed into the other two. Two of the
operators and the passenger involved in the previous accident were taken
into custody for DUI; the fourth was cited for nighttime closure
violations and unsafe operation, then released. Meanwhile, Madison
Subdistrict assistant SDR Dennis Young responded to the report of the
broken down snowmobile and arrested that operator for DUI after an
on-scene investigation. A National Park Service over-snow ambulance was
called to transport the man to the West Yellowstone jail. One of the
operators contacted at the West Entrance Station was extremely
uncooperative on scene and at the West Yellowstone Police Department
jail. He refused to produce identification that he had on his person,
provided false information about his identity, refused to comply with
booking and jail procedures, and incited and threatened those with him.
The arrest scenes were further complicated by heavy snow falling at the
time. All of those arrested were charged with various DUI violations and
violation of the nighttime snowmobile closure. The man involved in the
accident was also charged with unsafe operation and damage to resources.
The uncooperative snowmobiler was charged with interference, and two
others were charged with failing to have valid snowmobile registrations.
All four were released the following day on cash bond or with one of
their snowmobiles as collateral. The prosecutor ordered that all the
snowmobiles be held pending disposition of the case. The names of the
defendants are being withheld pending their initial appearances, set for
later this month.
[Submitted by Chris Fors, Special Agent, Branch of
Law Enforcement]
Haleakala National Park (HI)
Search for Escaped Felon
While en route to work in the Kipahula area on the afternoon of
February 2, ranger Jon Liakos observed suspicious activity by M.C.
38, a known drug dealer. Maui PD asked Liakos and ranger John
Woychowski to assist with surveillance. M.C. was subsequently
contacted and found to have the following in his possession - marijuana,
drug paraphernalia, cash in a bank bag, and a notebook with entries
specifying money owed to him, with dollar amounts, names and telephone
numbers. There were also references to "ICE Contacts." M.C. had
recently been released from jail from convictions for dealing heroin and
cocaine and was on probation. During the arrest, M.C. made numerous
death threats against the rangers and MPD officers. While being
processed for transport to the holding facility in Wailuku, M.C. broke
the wooden block which secured his three leg shackles to the concrete
floor of the booking room. He then escaped out of the Hana Police
Station into the dense forests surrounding that facility. Maui PD asked
for additional rangers to assist in the search for M.C. Four rangers
from the Summit District were dispatched and participated in the search
until midnight. The search resumed yesterday morning, with three rangers
participating. M.C. was still at large at the time of the report.
[Submitted by Karen Newton, Chief Ranger]
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (OH)
Poaching and Related Wildlife Violations
During the course of the 2002 Ohio hunting season, rangers in the
park's South District made nearly a dozen poaching or poaching-related
cases, resulting in 26 citations and two arrests. Violations included
illegally taking wildlife, possession of concealed and/or discharged
weapons, spotlighting, drop-off trophy hunting using two-way radios,
construction of a "quail shed" on park lands, releasing penned quail in
the park to hunt and train dogs, possession of untagged animal parts,
and illegally placed treestands. Nearly $3,000 worth of hunting
equipment was seized during the four-month-long season.
[Submitted
by Dale Silvis, Senior LE Officer]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
George Washington Memorial Parkway (MD)
GS-13 Chief Ranger
The park has an opening for a GS-025-13 supervisory park ranger (chief ranger). Duties include providing leadership to the park resource management, education and visitor service programs. The park includes a wide range of sites, including Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial, Great Falls Park, Clara Barton NHS, Fort Hunt Park and Glen Echo Park. The announcement number on USA Jobs is NPS-NCR-03-1; it closes on February 24. For more information, contact deputy superintendent Dottie Marshall at 703-289-2500.
[Submitted by Anne Dayton]
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Contracting Specialist with Level IIB Warrant
The parks' contracting officer retired last April and their contracting specialist has accepted a new position in Texas. The park is now seeking a contracting specialist with at least a Level IIB warrant for at least two months (and that is negotiable) while they attempt to fill the positions. The park is willing to:
- provide furnished free park housing in quarters with a fully-equipped kitchen and furniture;
- pay the person's full salary during the detail, and, depending on the grade of the person selected, temporarily promote her or him to the next highest grade level, up to GS-12;
- pay reduced rate per diem of $16.50 per day; and
- pay for travel expenses.
If you're interested, contact Bobbie Antonich, acting chief of administration, at 559-565-3105.
[Submitted by Shauna Dyas]
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.