NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Olympic NP
Park Truck Driver's Actions Avert Tragedy
A park dump truck laden with sand lost its brakes last Friday morning on the grade down Mount Angeles road heading into Port Angles. It crossed Park Avenue and Lauridsen Boulevard, passing school children waiting to cross the street, then turned onto its side at Night Street, skidding for a block before coming to a stop just short of the Eighth Street intersection. Witnesses praised driver Paul Duce for slowing the truck down as much as he could be dumping its load to reduce weight and lowering the blade of his snowplow onto the pavement. The blade appeared to catch the curb near Ninth Street, tipping the truck onto its side. Duce was treated and released from Olympic Medical Center; nobody else was hurt. According to news reports, at least a half dozen people told police that Duce should be given an award for his actions. Duce, a park employee since 1982 and a heavy equipment operator the past five-and-a-half years, spreads sand regularly on often-snowy Hurricane Ridge Road and removes rocks that have slipped to the pavement. He was on his way back from that duty when he discovered his brakes didn't work. He called 911 to tell Port Angeles police he couldn't stop the truck. When he saw cars waiting at the traffic light at Race and Eighth streets, he knew he'd have to tip the truck. Park spokesperson Barb Maynes quoted him as saying, "I wasn't going to run into the back of those people without doing something to try to stop." David Goldstein of Port Angeles was driving his car directly in front of Duce's truck. "I looked back in my mirror. It was rather unsettling to see sparks from his plow blade," Goldstein told police. "He probably saved my life. His quick thinking and actions probably saved my life and those of others.” [Peninsula Daily News]
HYPERLINK "http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080504/NEWS/805040302" http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080504/NEWS/805040302
Canaveral NS
Conviction For Lewd Behavior Leads To Lifetime Ban
On January 19th, a ranger on patrol in a beach area frequented by nudists came upon a naked man engaged in lewd behavior with beachgoers no more than 75 yards away and in the direction in which he was walking. While citing the man - identified as J.F. - for disorderly conduct (36 CFR 2.34), she found that J.F. had been cited twice before for the same offence - once in 2005, then again in 2006. Her citation therefore called for a mandatory appearance before a federal magistrate. On April 10th, J.F. appeared in court and pled guilty to the offence. He was fined $1,000 and banned from the park for life. Lewd behavior in the nudist area has been an ongoing problem for rangers. [Eric Lugo, Chief Ranger]
Natchez Trace Parkway
Burglary Suspect Caught After Running Out Of Gas In Park
On the morning of Wednesday, April 30th, supervisory park ranger Patrick Shell came upon a white Dodge pickup parked on the west side of the parkway with its hazard lights on. The truck was also hauling several new, large appliances, and this type of hauling is prohibited on the parkway. As Shell stopped to investigate, the chief of a local police department arrived on scene along with the driver, identified as J.A., 37, of Shubuta, Mississippi. The chief told Shell that he'd contacted J.A. as he was walking to a nearby town and that J.A. told him he'd run out of gas. They'd returned to his truck with a container of fuel. Shell asked J.A. about the appliances, which were still in their original shipping containers. Shell noted that J.A. was very nervous, and determined that he could possibly be under the influence of drugs. J.A. and his passenger provided conflicting information about their trip and the appliances. Further investigation revealed that they'd been stolen that morning from a new housing development nearby. J.A. and his companion were arrested on numerous charges. [Allen Etheridge, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS:
Fort Pulaski NM - This year's anniversary of the 1862 Battle of Fort Pulaski featured a new area under development on Tybee Island that shows the Union perspective in the siege of the fort.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6464" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6464
Rocky Mountain NP - The company that owns the Grand River Ditch, which breached in 2003 and caused serious damage to park resources, has agreed to pay $9 million in damages to the NPS - the largest natural resource damages payment in the history of the Park System Resource Protection Act.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6472" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6472
Office of the Chief Information Officer - Next Wednesday's call will focus on plans for program office, regional and thematic websites. All interested parties are invited to join the discussion.
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=6465" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=6465
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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363
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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