NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, April 20, 2009

INCIDENTS

Stones River NB

Significant Progress Made In Tornado Recovery Operations

The Type 3 incident management team (Wayne Elliott, IC) charged with managing the tornado recovery operation is now in place. Two more team members arrived on Saturday - Mammoth Cave automotive mechanic Bobby Sanders will maintain equipment and Pictured Rocks chief ranger Tim Colyer will serve as a safety officer trainee. The archeologists from the Southeast Archeological Center have completed their assessment of disturbed areas and departed. Crews cleared downed limbs and branches, removed hazard trees and snags, and made great progress. A local Civil Air Patrol group volunteered to help and picked up fence rails and trash in a couple of the agricultural fields in the park. The Salvation Army sent a mobile canteen to the park and provided lunch for everyone working on the incident. Portions of the park, including the tour road, the Hazen Brigade Monument, and the boundary trail, remain closed to the public. The visitor center, national cemetery, the quarter-mile-long Pioneer Brigade trail, the McFadden Farm unit, Fortress Rosecrans, Redoubt Brannan, and the generals' headquarters sites remain open. [Gib Backlund, Chief of Operations]

Indiana Dunes NL

Man Sentenced To Long Jail Term In Assault On Rangers

The man who assaulted and injured two park rangers last summer has been sentenced to a long jail term. The park has also provided additional information on the original incident that was previously withheld at the request of the U. S. Attorney's Office. On May 3, 2008, rangers Jennifer Jackson and Todd Papesh were patrolling the Dunewood Campground when they observed a can of beer on a picnic table. As they approached the campsite, they contacted J.Y., a local resident, who admitted to possessing the beer (the superintendent's compendium has closed the campground to alcoholic beverages). During the brief contact, J.Y. became very agitated. He attacked Papesh by throwing cold campfire ashes and sand in his eyes and shoving him toward a set of stairs leading to the campsite. Jackson then drew her baton and delivered a strike to J.Y.'s leg. More than twice the size of Jackson, J.Y. was able to jerk the baton from her, then strike her on the head with it. Papesh, who was attempting to clear his vision, heard the deployment of the baton and came to the aid of Jackson. J.Y. used the baton to deliver a full force strike to the top of Papesh's head. Jackson, who was bleeding profusely from her head wound, saw J.Y. drop the baton and begin walking across the campsite. She used her pepper spray on J.Y., hitting him in the face and eyes. The spray had little effect, though, possibly due to J.Y.'s eyeglasses. Jackson then drew her handgun and ordered J.Y. and the five other people who were in a tent onto the ground. J.Y. lowered himself onto his side, not fully complying with her order. By then, thing were beginning to stabilize and help was on the way. J.Y.'s two-year-old son wandered across the campsite toward his father. J.Y. grabbed his son and held him out in front as a human shield toward Jackson and her drawn weapon, then backed out of the campsite towards his vehicle. Jackson and Papesh, who was also suffering from a significant head injury, moved with J.Y. as he placed the child in his car. J.Y. then began walking through the campground. Concerned for the safety of other campers and despite their injuries, the rangers followed J.Y. and called in situation reports to dispatch. Within minutes, assistance arrived from local police and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. After officers had sprayed J.Y. with a significant amount of additional pepper spray, which he licked off his face, they rushed him and took him into custody. An ambulance took both rangers to the hospital, where they received treatment for lacerations and contusions to their heads. They both returned to full duty within two weeks of the incident. J.Y. was charged with numerous violations, the most significant being two counts of assault on a federal officer with a deadly weapon. The court rejected a motion for bond. On July 22, 2008, J.Y. entered a plea of guilty to both assault counts. On April 15th, he received his sentence. Before the judge passed sentence, J.Y. made a plea for mercy from the court and forgiveness from the rangers. J.Y. received two sentences of 108 months of incarceration, to run concurrently. He must repay the Department of Labor for the rangers' worker's compensation claims. Upon his release, J.Y. will be required to undergo a minimum of two years of supervised release. With time already served and good behavior, he will not be eligible for release for at least 79 months. In his sentencing, the judge noted that J.Y. was very fortunate that he did not kill either of the rangers. He was also dismayed and saddened that J.Y. chose to injure the lives of so many people over a can of beer. Parks interested in additional information on this incident may call the Chief Ranger's Office at 219-395-1644. [Mike Bremer, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. Due to a technical problem today, most of these stories did NOT get posted to the public NPS Digest site, so the links are all NPS internal links…

Servicewide - Scavenger hunts, craft demonstrations, puppet shows, artillery displays, and nature hikes are just some of the hundreds of free special events taking place in national parks during National Park Week, which began on Saturday and runs through this coming Sunday.

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7581" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7581

Alaska Region - Secretary Ken Salazar held his first meeting with the Department's Alaska workforce on the afternoon of April 14th in a face-to-face session in the Alaska Regional Office in Anchorage and via simultaneous videoconference with employees in 23 other locations around the state.

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7582" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7582

Natural Resource Program Center - Dr. Steven Fancy will lead the Natural Resource Program Center's inventory and monitoring program as chief of the NRPC Office of Inventory, Monitoring, and Evaluation.

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=2305" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=2305

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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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