NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
BLACKBERRY EDITION
Monday, December 19, 2005
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INCIDENTS
Gateway NRA
Car Clouting Arrests
Since early November, rangers have been investigating numerous auto burglaries in the park's Sandy Hook Unit. These car clouts followed a pattern of entry through passenger side door locks, with removal of property, cash, and credit cards. Credit cards stolen from the vehicles have been used throughout New Jersey, totaling over $10,000 in fraudulent charges. Rangers conducted extensive follow-up investigations, including numerous victim interviews. They also tracked the charges made on the stolen credit cards, conducted follow-up investigations at the store locations, interviewed store personnel, secured transaction receipts, and reviewed store security videos of the suspects. They then worked with numerous surrounding jurisdictions in an attempt to identify the various actors caught on store surveillance tapes. Rangers also analyzed the burglaries, identified a potential pattern of car clouts, and conducted directed patrols in areas at higher risk based on the previous burglaries. On December 9th, rangers located a vehicle that matched the description of a suspect vehicle given by a gas attendant. They investigated and immediately identified the two occupants as subjects they recognized from store surveillance tapes, as persons who had made fraudulent purchases with credit cards stolen from vehicles in the park. The two were interviewed, with rangers employing the information developed regarding many small details of the crimes gained from interviewing victims, witnesses, and store personnel. Both provided signed, post-Miranda confessions. Search of their vehicle resulted in the recovery of burglary tools, property stolen in Sandy Hook auto burglaries, and property stolen in several auto burglaries from jurisdictions around the state. The two subjects have been charged with multiple felonies and lodged in Monmouth County Jail with bail set at $20,000 and $10,000, respectively. Rangers are working with detectives from several jurisdictions and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office on numerous additional felony counts resulting from evidence seized from the suspect vehicle. [Robert Louden, Acting Law Enforcement Specialist)
Colorado NM
Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident
On the afternoon of December 14th, a 23-year-old man from Mesa, Colorado, died in a single vehicle rollover accident. He was driving on Rim Rock Drive when he skidded off an icy section of the road and plunged approximately 200 feet into a steep ravine. A friend of the victim was following him in another vehicle and witnessed the accident. It appears excessive speed was a contributing factor. Rangers and the Colorado State Patrol are investigating. [Phil Akers, Chief Ranger)
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Hopewell Furnace NHS
Bill Sanders Retiring on January 3rd
A significant and rewarding career in the National Park Service will conclude with the January 3rd retirement of William A. (Bill) Sanders. Bill is retiring from his position as superintendent at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site in Elverson, Pennsylvania after 33 years of dedicated service to the Service and to park rangers.
Bill's career extended from seasonal park technician at Morristown NHP to park ranger at Independence NHP, subdistrict and district ranger at Delaware Water Gap NRA, and chief ranger at the Appalachian Trail. Bill also served an extended detail as Acting Associate Regional Director for Park Operations in the Northeast Region during 2004 and 2005. Perhaps Bill's most significant career contribution was his service as “Ranger Careers” manager in the Washington Office, Division of Ranger Activities, from 1992 until 1998.
Heeding recommendations of renowned experts convened during the Service's 75th anniversary conference (the “Vail Agenda”) and the results of the “Ranger Futures” study, a position was created in Ranger Activities to revitalize and professionalize the entire park ranger occupation. Excellent stewardship of the Service's human resources was envisioned as being vital to the success of the Service in the 21st Century. Bill was selected to “make it happen” for park rangers by then NPS Chief Ranger Jim Brady and Chief of Interpretation Corky Mayo.
Guiding an inter-disciplinary team of senior experts from NPS, DOI, OPM, and private personnel contractors, Bill produced “Ranger Careers Volume I,” essentially reinventing position management for both protection and interpretation park rangers. A new career pathway from entry level (GS-5) through full performance level (GS-9) of the park ranger occupation was instituted which professionalized, restructured, and re-described park ranger work using Servicewide benchmark position descriptions. The benchmarks replaced hundreds of custom position descriptions and also standardized basic ranger grades and duties across the Service. Seasonal park ranger work was also re-described and standardized while most non-professional work was removed from the core duties of park rangers.
Largely through Bill's efforts, for the first time NPS resource protection rangers received enhanced annuity retirement coverage and status as Federal law enforcement officers. Leading the conversion of an entire Bureau's existing law enforcement workforce to the enhanced annuity retirement system was another monumental task largely without precedent in the National Park Service.
Beyond authoring “Ranger Careers”, Bill simultaneously served as the NPS representative on other human resources initiatives within the Department of the Interior including the Performance Appraisal Team and the Awards Group where he was instrumental in instituting major changes to the way Interior employees were evaluated and rewarded for their dedicated service. The Departmental Medical Standard for Law Enforcement was developed and implemented under his leadership. Bill was presented the Meritorious Service Award by the Department of the Interior for his outstanding service as Ranger Careers Manager. While the official recognition was much appreciated, Bill says his greatest honor came when fellow rangers would offer to buy him a brew for his efforts on behalf of national park rangers.
As superintendent of Hopewell Furnace from 1998 through 2005, Bill ensured high quality park operations during a period of funding constraint, addressed many internal issues, and continued to actively assist with Regional and Servicewide initiatives including law enforcement, counter-terrorism and security, ranger field-training, and others.
Bill and his wife Nancy plan to continue living in their current home in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, while their daughter Kayla completes high school. The Hopewell Furnace staff is planning a retirement party for Bill on January 20th. Contact park secretary Barbara Gergle at 610-582-8773 (ext 221) for details.
Ozark NSR
Chris Ward to Retire
Chris Ward, deputy superintendent at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, will be retiring on January 2nd after more than 35 years of dedicated service.
He began his career as a seasonal maintenance laborer and fire control aide at Ozark National Scenic Riverways in 1970 when the park was beginning to develop. He then moved on to Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis that November for his first permanent position as a park technician in interpretation. Chris became an intake protection ranger at Shenandoah in 1978, which began his law enforcement career. He served as chief ranger at Great Sand Dunes NM and Death Valley NP. Other parks where Chris served were Hot Springs National Park, Glen Canyon NRA, and Delaware Water Gap NRA.
One of his most memorable highlights was his intense involvement with the California Desert Bill in 1994 as the first chief ranger for the newly designated Death Valley NP. He worked with all of the various government agencies and park personnel, including Ernie Quintana of Joshua Tree NP and Bill Blake at Mojave NP, in establishing the largest wilderness park in the lower 48 states.
He served on all-risk regional teams and special event teams to serve parks that required special assistance for a variety of events, with his most interesting assignment as a team member the transfer of the Presidio military base in San Francisco to the National Park Service.
Park staff at Ozark have heard Chris reminisce about his many memorable experiences at Death Valley. And now, after eight years at Ozark NSR, he is hanging up his flat hat. Chris now lives in Van Buren, Missouri, with his wife Nancy. His children, Angela and Gregory, both live in Springfield, Missouri. [Patty Dorris]
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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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