NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, June 26, 2009

INCIDENT

Grand Teton National Park

Commercial Vehicle Inspection Held In Park

Park staff and personnel from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Wyoming Highway Patrol conducted two days of full-level commercial vehicle safety inspections on June 23rd and 24th. A complete inspection evaluates both the driver and the commercial vehicle to ensure compliance with federal regulations that govern these vehicles. The inspections were unannounced and focused on commercial buses and trucks. A safety inspection station was assembled in Colter Bay Village, and every commercial vehicle traveling on Highway 89/287 through the park was diverted to it by rangers. Vehicles inspected included passenger vans operated by local hotels for touring guests, commercial passenger buses, delivery vehicles, construction vehicles, and commercial vehicles carrying hazardous materials (a propane truck and a double trailer hauling gasoline). A total of 45 commercial vehicles and drivers were inspected. Inspections focused on safety issues that could lead to motor vehicle accidents, injuries to passengers and others, and/or resource damage to the park. The inspections resulted in nine “out-of-service” violations, requiring the vehicles to be parked until identified safety issues were resolved. Three construction side-loading dump trucks were parked for mechanical failures, two vehicles (a beverage delivery truck and a 40-passenger bus) were parked for brake failure, one propane truck was parked due to an unsecured load, and a delivery truck with an underage driver was suspended from service until the driver could be replaced. Additionally, nine operators received citations for equipment or driver violations. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]

Lake Mead NRA

Man Drowns In Crescent Cove

C.F., 48, was with friends on a houseboat in Crescent Cove in the Virgin Basin yesterday when he jumped into the water for a swim. C.F. had been treading water for about a minute when he called for help. By the time his friends began throwing life rings into the water, he'd slipped beneath the surface. Rangers were notified around 4:30 p.m. and responded with five rescue boats - two from Boulder Harbor, two from Echo Bay and one from Temple Bar. Las Vegas Metro PD provided a rescue helicopter. Surface and shoreline searches were fruitless, and operations were suspended at dusk. Weather conditions in the area had created a light chop, about one to one-and-a-half foot waves in open water. According to rangers, though, the water was relatively calm in the area where he was last seen. [Andrew S. Muñoz, Public Affairs Officer]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS.

WASO Public Affairs - The National Park Service has made available, in time for the Fourth of July, a website to assist visitors as they make plans to visit national parks this Independence Day.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PressReleases&id=870" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PressReleases&id=870

Fire and Aviation Management - The latest stories in support of the National Fire Plan highlight myriad successes in fire and fuels in the national parks.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7865" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7865

Death Valley NP - On the evening of Tuesday, June 23rd, family members discovered the body of park employee Connie L. Patterson, 59, at her home in Beatty, Nevada.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2398" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2398

Pacific West Region - Deanne Adams, regional chief of interpretation and education in the Pacific West Region, has announced her plans to retire on August 31st. Photo.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2396" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2396

Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by the NPS and its partners across the nation. New this week are the following - cancellation of the fixed asset subsystem course set for July at Mather and the addition of a course on NAGPRA at Gulf Islands, also in July.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=1791" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=1791

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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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