NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Delaware Water Gap NRA
Drowning Prevented At Park Beach Through Prompt Staff Response
Quick action by a Pocono Environmental Education Center counselor and park lifeguards saved a five-year old girl from drowning at Milford Beach on the morning of Wednesday, July 9th. The girl was at Milford Beach as part of a day camp group from PEEC, a park partner with facilities in the Pennsylvania District. The group included 34 children and 10 counselors and instructors, two of whom were certified lifeguards. The girl was swimming in about five feet of water approximately 10 to 15 feet from the beach with several counselors and other children when she began to struggle. Within seconds, a counselor, who was within arm's reach, noticed the child's difficulties and was able to grab her and take her to the beach. Alerted to the incident, the two on-duty lifeguards met the counselor and the girl at the water's edge. The girl was unconscious and was not breathing. Lifeguards administered back blows and opened the girl's airway. Her breathing was restored and she regained consciousness, making CPR unnecessary. The child was taken to Bon Secours Community Hospital by the Milford Ambulance Corps and later transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit at a Morristown hospital. She was treated there and has since been released. Rangers also responded and are investigating the incident. [Deb Nordeen, Public Affairs Officer]
Cape Lookout NS
Man Arrested In Domestic Violence Incident
Protection rangers put their recently developed emergency response team training into effect during the pre-dawn hours of July 5th when they dealt with a domestic violence incident that took place near the lighthouse on South Core Banks. Lead by chief ranger Barry Munyan, protection rangers Lance Herman, Meredith Riester, Pete Duncan and Joe Lamm responded from the park's mainland headquarters in a 25-foot open patrol boat during a severe thunderstorm that produced lightning and high winds. The assaulted victim was safely secured at the Lighthouse Keepers Quarters and the rangers took her attacker into custody without incident. The assailant has a long history of domestic violence and resisting arrest. At the time of the incident, he had custody of his four-year-old son, who was with him in their tent. Excessive alcohol consumption was a contributing factor in the incident. A second boat with rangers Shad Dusseau and John Bland was dispatched to move the victim to the mainland, where she received medical treatment and was taken to a hospital. The man remains in custody pending trial. This is his third domestic violence arrest in the park since April. [Barry Munyan, Chief Ranger]
Colonial NHP
Ranger, Deputies Intervene In Planned Suicide
The York County Sheriff's Office called park dispatch on the morning of July 11th and asked that rangers be on the lookout for a possibly suicidal woman. The woman had just fled from the county courthouse in Yorktown after losing custody of her children. She'd reportedly told family members that she was going to commit suicide and said that she had a plan in place to do so. Her children were currently at home in nearby Williamsburg with a teenage babysitter, and family members were concerned that she might harm the children as well as herself. The park's chief ranger immediately headed west on the Colonial Parkway from Yorktown toward Williamsburg, looking for the woman's red Chevrolet pickup. He spotted it westbound on the parkway just a couple of miles from Yorktown. Using a regional radio system, he was able to talk directly with county deputies and coordinate a high risk stop along the parkway. The woman was taken into protective custody without incident. The regional law enforcement/emergency services radio system has proven to be very useful on special events and in other, similar emergency incidents. [Tom Nash, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
Other stories can be read on InsideNPS at one or the other of these two sites:
NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/
Please note that both publications carry a combined NIFC/NPS fire report. That is generally posted around 8 a.m. Eastern.
Among the stories in today's edition are the following:
Lewis and Clark NHP - Over two hundred years ago, the 33 people of the Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered at Fort Clatsop. The 34th “member” of this expedition was not a human. His name was Seaman, and he was Meriwether Lewis' Newfoundland dog. Last week, the park had an annual event commemorating his participation in the expedition.
Fire and Aviation Management - Tom Nichols has been named chief of the Division of Fire and Aviation Management. He succeeds Mike Wallace, who retired on April 30th.
Tallgrass Prairie NP - Stephen T. Miller, superintendent of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, will be retiring on August 2nd after almost 36 years with the National Park Service.
Intermountain Region - Mary Hinson, chief ranger at Lake Mead, has been selected as the Randy Jones Fellow.
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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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