NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

BLACKBERRY EDITION

Thursday, August 18, 2005

INCIDENTS

Blue Ridge Parkway

Update on Ranger Brian Stackowicz

Ranger Brian Stackowicz, who suffered serious leg and arm injuries in a collision with another vehicle on August 8th, remains in the ICU at Mission Memorial Hospital but has gone through what will likely be his last round of surgery and is doing well. His left hip, femur, knee and arm were all repaired, and the surgeons said that everything went well and looks good. He will probably remain in the ICU through tomorrow. Brian's wife, Alisha, extends her sincere thanks to everyone for their calls and notes and support. Please send cards to Brian c/o Blue Ridge Parkway, 199 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville, NC 28803, Attention: Teresa Lovelace. [Tim Francis, Pisgah District Ranger]

Mojave NP

Train Burglary Arrests

On August 5th, a Budget rental box truck was observed parked two miles from the Union Pacific Railroad tracks near Cima, California, within the park. Rangers Kirk Gebicke and Joe Spillane contacted the two men - A.Z. and A.C.-B. - seated in the truck. They determined that the men had been drinking and that their reasons for being parked in the area did not add up. The two men gave the rangers permission to search the vehicle, which proved to be empty. While a computer check was being run on the pair, ranger Wayne Dingman found a bindle of cocaine four feet from the point where A.C.-B. had thrown it into the roadside grass. Both men were arrested. The rangers consulted with Union Pacific special agents and found that the duo had possibly been involved in thefts from trains and were in the park to collect stolen property. The two men were turned over to Union Pacific police for follow-up interviews, then taken to jail. A ground and aerial search of the railroad tracks the next day led to the discovery of 75 stolen television sets that had been thrown from the train. The estimated value is in excess of $225,000. Rangers and UP special agents watched the property throughout the night to see if other gang members would return for the property, but without results. [Kirk Gebicke, Supervisory Park Ranger]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

NIFC remains at PL 3. Initial attack was again light on Wednesday.

Individual fire entries for today for the National Park Service can be obtained at HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/fire/news" http://www.nps.gov/fire/news . The full NIFC Incident Management Situation Report for today can be obtained at HYPERLINK "http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf" http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Horace M. Albright Training Center

NPS Founder's Day Photo Event

Founder's Day is on Thursday, August 25th. In honor of this event, which celebrates the birth of the National Park Service, the Horace M. Albright Training Center is asking that parks and offices all over the country take a moment during the day to take group and individual photos of employees. These photos will become part of new exhibits at the training center that highlight the people of the National Park Service.

As far as we know, this will be the first time that the NPS has undertaken an effort on this scale to photograph as many current employees as possible. The goal is to show the many faces of the National Park Service to students and the public who visit the Albright Training Center at the Grand Canyon.

It would be great to get as many photos as possible. Group photos are encouraged but any photos of employees are welcome. Photos should be in the highest digital resolution jpeg format available and uploaded to the “Park Employees and Volunteers” section of the NPS Digital Photo Website at HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/imagebase.html" http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/imagebase.html.

We hope to get as many employee photos as we can to create a “snapshot” of the NPS on the 2005 Founders Day.

For more information, contact Constantine Dillon, superintendent of Albright Training Center at HYPERLINK "mailto:Constantine_Dillon@nps.gov" Constantine_Dillon@nps.gov.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Nothing today.

JOBS

Nothing today.

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Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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