NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, January 25, 2008

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INCIDENTS

Lewis and Clark NHP

Thieves Steal Statue Of Sacagawea

A bronze statue of Sacagawea and her infant son was stolen from the park on January 19th. The statue was an interpretive piece honoring the many contributions of Sacagawea and the native peoples of North America to the Lewis and Clark expedition. Sacagawea was an invaluable member of the expedition, serving as a language interpreter between two Indian tribes and the English speaking Lewis and Clark. Her presence in the Corps of Discovery eased what could have been disastrous first encounters between the corps and tribes during the cross-continental journey. The statue had been donated to Lewis and Clark NHP to commemorate the centennial year of the beginning of the explorations. The park estimates the statue's value at $20,000. Unfortunately, the bronze statue may have been stolen for its salvage value. Thefts of other metals for salvage value has become an emerging problem in Pacific West parks and across the nation, sometimes associated with other drug-related crimes. Special agents are investigating the incident. (Note: The theft of phone lines last year at Oregon Caves NM rendered that park's phone system inoperable for several months. The phone lines may have been stolen for the salvage value of the copper. A reward may be offered for information leading to conviction in the Oregon Caves case). [David Szymanski, Superintendent]

Delaware Water Gap NRA

Woman Rescued From Wrecked Car

Ranger trainee Shane Musgrave and field training ranger Ed Appel were on patrol on Route 209 on January 2nd when they saw a car go off the highway, strike a tree, then roll onto the driver's side and come to rest in about two feet of standing water. Musgrave saw that the 80-year-old driver and sole occupant was still in the car and possibly injured and that the engine compartment was smoking. Appel extinguished the potential fire with an extinguisher from his patrol car. The temperature at the time was about 15 degrees, and Musgrave saw that icy water was creeping into the car on the side where the woman was his trapped. He broke the rear window of the car with his baton, entered it, and freed the woman, preventing her from becoming hypothermic and possibly saving her life. [Phil Selleck, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS (internal) or NPS Digest (external):

Office of Public Affairs - The National Park Service has created a site to provide information to potential visitors on winter activities taking place across the agency.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6165" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6165

Servicewide - The National Park Service will be co-sponsoring a two-part national conference this year to take a new look at innovations in the design of buildings and landscapes in state, regional and national parks.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6166" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6166

George Rogers Clark NHP - Willard Cockerham, a veteran of 33 years as a seasonal park ranger, has passed away.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1811" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1811

Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by both the NPS and its partners across the nation. Included in this week's calendar are an accessibility coordinator's training session at Indiana University in March, this year's Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History summer seminars, mounted horse patrol training at Yosemite in April, and a course on preserving coastal forts at Fort Sumter in April.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=775" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=775

Events Calendar - Today's listing of upcoming NPS and NPS-related events across the nation. New on this week's calendar is a listing for National Park Week in April.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=776" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=776

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Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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