Gulf Islands National Seashore (FL,MS)
Hate Crime Assault and Arrests
On January 4th, rangers received a report of criminal activity in the
Santa Rosa area. Ranger Ryan Parr arrived on scene minutes later, made
contact with the victim, and learned that the he had been assaulted and
battered by four men who had fled from the area. They had chased him
down the beach and surrounded his car, screaming racial slurs and
punching him in the face. They then shattered his windshield, his
passenger window, and kicked the door in while attempting to drag him
from the vehicle. He was able to dial 911 on his cell phone, though,
which prompted his assailants to flee the area. Parr was able to obtain
suspect and vehicle descriptions and relayed a "be on the lookout"
notification to the local sheriff's office and to ranger Jay Drinkwater.
Drinkwater and a deputy located the vehicle, conducted a felony stop and
detained the foursome. Parr brought the victim to the scene, where he
positively identified all four. The suspects, three juveniles and an
adult, were arrested without incident and charged with criminal
mischief, battery, and aggravated assault while committing a hate crime.
Because of the hate crime, the charges have been elevated to second
degree felonies. Ryan Parr is the case agent.
[Submitted by John
Bandurski]
Vicksburg National Military Park (MS)
Relic Hunting Conviction and Sentencing
On the evening of January 4, 2003, ranger Bob Irish was closing the
park when he came upon a white pickup parked on an isolated road at the
Great Redoubt adjacent to a private cemetery. Irish contacted J.M.
of Eight Mile, Alabama, who had an open can of beer on top of
the truck's cab. J.M. told Irish that he was relic hunting, but only
admitted to digging near the cemetery grounds — not on park
property. Irish saw a metal detector, trenching tools, maps and related
relic hunting items in plain sight. He called ranger Patricia Montague
and Vicksburg PD for backup. Montague surveyed the area and found
numerous holes on both cemetery and park property. J.M. was cited for
resource protection, closed area and other violations. Dr. Bennie Keel
of the Southeast Archeological Center conducted an archeological
assessment with the rangers' assistance. Last August, J.M. pled
guilty to resource violations covered under 16 USC. He has been
sentenced to two years' supervised probation, banned from NPS sites for
the duration of his probation, ordered to attend a drug and alcohol
program, and fined $500 and court costs.
[Submitted by Patricia
Montague, Supervisory Park Ranger]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Law Enforcement and Emergency Services
Formal Standards Adopted by SAA for ARPA Cases
The following was extracted from the society's web site:
"The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) announces its new professional standards for use in determining archaeological value in criminal and civil cases brought under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA). These standards represent a strong step toward better protection of the nation's archaeological and cultural heritage.
"ARPA is one of the principal federal statutes protecting archaeological and cultural heritage resources in the United States. Criminal prosecutions and the assessment of civil penalties under ARPA require the determination of "archaeological value" (16 USC 470ee and 470ff). This critical determination also assumed increased importance in sentencing for violations of ARPA and certain other federal statutes when the new Cultural Heritage Sentencing Guideline recently developed by the United States Sentencing Commission became effective on November 1, 2002.
"When ARPA cases occur, archaeologists are called upon to assess the extent of the damage to the archaeological resources involved in the violation. Beyond the legal definition of the term "archaeological value" in the ARPA Uniform Regulations, however, no formalized professional standards existed to assist archaeologists performing archaeological damage assessments in ARPA cases.
"Over the past two years the SAA Task Force on Archaeological Law Enforcement has worked to develop professional standards for the determination of archaeological value in ARPA criminal and civil cases. Last month, SAA's Board of Directors formally adopted the Task Force's final product. The SAA believes that these standards will greatly assist both archaeologists and law enforcement officials in protecting the nation's irreplaceable archaeological resources.
"The professional standards can be viewed at www.saa.org/goverment/ARPAstandards.pdf."
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Mammoth Cave National Park (KY)
E. Lee Davis Retires
E. Lee Davis, southern gentleman and concessions guru, retired from the NPS on January 3rd.
After 28 years, Lee knew the concessions management business inside out — especially since he spent 10 years prior to his NPS career with National Park Concessions, Inc., managing facilities at Big Bend and Mammoth Cave NPs.
His first NPS job was as concessions specialist at Zion and Bryce NPs (1976-78). He transferred to Omaha in 1978, to be chief of concessions management for the Midwest Region. From 1982-89, Lee served as chief of concessions at Yellowstone NP, which included the fires of 1988. Washington called him in 1989, to be the NPS chief of concessions management. In 1994-95, Lee went to the George Washington Parkway as interim superintendent, and then to Big South Fork NRA to be superintendent, 1995-97. Since 1997, Lee has worked with the Southeast Regional Office of concessions management.
His wife, Mary Anne, plans to retire from the NPS in February. Their children visit often -- Sarah is the development director at Belle Mead Plantation in Nashville, Tenn.; Suzi teaches Spanish at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky.; Barry, entreprenuer and skier, lives in Vail, Colo. Once they are both retired, Lee and Mary Anne intend to travel, raise horses on their Barren County, KY, farm, and play with grandchildren.
They can be reached at 790 Wilson Road, Cave City, KY 42127.
Pacific West Region
Mark Forbes Retires
Mark Forbes retired from the NPS on January 2nd after 36 years of federal service. Mark began as a seasonal on a Forest Service survey crew while a student at the University of Washington in the 1960s. His first job with the NPS was as a student intake at Mount Rainier in 1969. Mark moved on to the Washington Office in September, 1970, then to Yosemite in December, 1971. He transferred to Crater Lake in May, 1978, then to the regional office in Seattle in July, 1985. He retired as acting chief ranger for Pacific West Region. A party is being planned for later this month.
Southern Arizona Group
Tribute to Fallen Border Patrol Agent
On the evening of December 16th, Border Patrol agent James Epling rescued a Chinese woman from the Colorado River. During a foot pursuit of four other illegal immigrants from the same group, Epling disappeared from sight. After a massive three-day search and rescue effort involving multiple local, state, federal agencies and Mexican officials, Epling's body was recovered in 27 feet of water approximately 200 yards from where he disappeared. Epling is survived by his wife, who is eight months pregnant, their three children and his parents. He was 24 years old. On Tuesday, December 22nd, Epling's memorial service in Yuma was attended by over 1,000 people, most of whom were Border Patrol agents and other fellow brothers and sisters in law enforcement from throughout Arizona and California. The funeral procession was escorted by over 400 marked patrol vehicles. The National Park Service was represented by three rangers from Organ Pipe Cactus NM, two rangers from Saguaro NP, one ranger from Bryce Canyon NM and one ranger from the Southern Arizona Office to support the family and an agency that the NPS works very closely with in our border parks. Bob Eggle, father of slain NPS ranger Kris Eggle, traveled from Cadillac, Michigan, to provide his support to the family. [Dwayne Collier]
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.