Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site (GA)
Special Event: King Week
On January 15th, President Bush came to the park and laid a wreath at
the grave of Dr. King, who would have been 75 years old this year. He
then met briefly with Mrs. Coretta Scott King, family members, and Frank
Catroppa, the park's superintendent. The event attracted nearly a
thousand protestors. Security was provided by rangers from the park,
Kennesaw Mountain NBP and Chattahoochee River NRA, Secret Service agents
and officers from Atlanta PD and Fulton County SO. Only two incidents
occurred during the day. Two people were arrested for attempting to
break through Secret Service barricades, and a search was conducted for
a missing child. The latter occurred during one of the children's
activities that the park hosted to celebrate Dr. King's birthday. A
mentally-challenged 11-year-old boy was reported missing. Rangers and
Atlanta PD officers began a search, but he was still missing at the time
of the report last Friday.
[Submitted by Clark Moore, Chief
Ranger]
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (AZ)
Border Incidents
Rangers interdicted smugglers carrying more than a third of a ton of
marijuana last week. On January 11th, Organ Pipe rangers, assisted by
members of the Pacific West SET team, tracked backpackers for five miles
across the park's remote backcountry. Three of the smugglers were caught
(one just 16 years old) and taken into custody at gunpoint; another
seven fled on foot. Ten bundles of marijuana weighing a total of 460
pounds were seized. Three days later, rangers and SET members again
tracked smugglers through the backcountry, this time covering more than
seven miles before finding and seizing six backpacks with 280 pounds of
marijuana. No arrests were made.
[Submitted by Matt Stoffolano, Park
Ranger]
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (DC)
Narcotics Arrests
Officer Penti Gillespie was monitoring a bank of surveillance cameras
at the Park Police's Central District on the night of January 14th when
he saw two people scaling a frozen water fountain wall in "room number
four" of the FDR Memorial. Officers Holly Davis, Patricia Demarco and
Keith Johnson were dispatched to investigate and detained the two men,
who'd been drinking alcohol. When Davis attempted to identify them, they
told her that they'd left their ID's in their vehicle. The officers saw
open containers of alcohol in plain view in the vehicle; when they went
to retrieve them, they also found 84 grams of crack cocaine and $2,460
in cash. The men were arrested for possession with intent to distribute
crack cocaine. A 1999 Toyota Solara was impounded for asset forfeiture
for being utilized in narcotics trafficking.
[Submitted by Kevin
Hay, US Park Police]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (TX)
GS-025-9 Commissioned Ranger
The park is seeking qualified candidates for a lateral transfer to a GS-025-9 commissioned ranger position in the Division of Resource Management and Visitor Protection. The ranger selected will provide visitor and resource protection in both rural and urban settings in a park that has four active Catholic churches and associated parish activities. The park has proprietary jurisdiction, with well-established working relations with both local and federal law enforcement agencies. Besides the law enforcement program, the RM&VP Division also manages physical security, structural and wildland fire programs, natural resources, and environmental compliance. San Antonio Missions NHP is located almost entirely within the city limits of San Antonio, the ninth largest city in the United States. The park contains four Spanish colonial missions and associated cultural and natural resources. Summers are hot and humid and winters are mild. San Antonio offers all the amenities of a major metropolitan area, including several universities, health care facilities, professional sports, cultural attractions and recreation. The city is also in close proximity to the Texas Hill Country, Gulf Coast and Mexico. No government housing is available, but apartments and houses to rent or purchase are plentiful. If interested, please contact Dan Steed, chief ranger, at 210-534-8875, extension 224, for more information.
[Submitted by Dan Steed, Chief Ranger]
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.