NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, September 28, 2009

INCIDENTS

Chattahoochee River NRA

Flood Recovery Continues; Some Areas Reopen

Chattahoochee River waters contaminated with sewage continue to present a public health issue. Damage assessments continued last Friday, but were limited because many areas remain covered by contaminated debris and silt. Following three days of sunny weather, Abbotts Bridge and Don White areas were reopened on Friday; the Powers Island parking lot and pavilion were reopened yesterday. Seven park areas and 25 miles of the river remain closed, with rangers continuing to enforce closures to ensure public safety. [Scot Pfeninger, Acting Superintendent]

Yosemite NP

Music Fest Near Hetch Hetchy Results In Many Drug Arrests In Park

Over the six-day period from September 17th to September 22nd, there was a significant increase in drug-related arrests throughout the park. A majority of these were related to the Symbiosis Gathering music festival that occurred on lands adjacent to the park near the Hetch Hetchy entrance. A shift in the park's existing staffing levels on the days during which the event occurred resulted in 23 misdemeanor arrests for possession of controlled substances, including hallucinogenic mushrooms, amphetamines, LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, opiates, hydrocodone, nitrous oxide and large amounts of marijuana. One incident in which a driver failed to pay for or show proof of entrance into the park led rangers on a slow speed pursuit through the park and down a rugged dirt road. When the driver finally stopped but refused to follow rangers' instructions, she was taken into custody after a taser deployment. A vehicle search revealed hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana and also, ironically, a valid entrance pass. Though the festival ended officially at noon on Monday, September 21st, many participants were still in the area early last week and generating cases within the park. [Sally Sprouse, Mather District Ranger]

Yosemite NP

Suicide Victim Found On Summit Of Half Dome

Park dispatch received a 911 call from a hiker who found a man's body on the summit of Half Dome early on the morning of Saturday, September 19th. The hiker said that the man had no pulse, was not breathing, and was cold to the touch. He also said that the victim was bleeding from his head and ears and that there was a large pool of blood around him - plus a handgun and bullet casing. Valley rangers flew to the summit in the park's contract helicopter and recovered the body of the 32-year-old man. Suicide is presumed. [Jack Hoeflich, Valley Shift IC]

OTHER NEWS

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

Director's Office - On Friday afternoon, Director-designate Jonathan Jarvis sent a message to all NPS employees and posted a video on InsideNPS, the first of what will be frequent communications with employees. Links to both and to other documents are provided.

Mather Training Center - The pilot National Trainer Development Program Instructor Institute was recently held at Midwest Regional Office in Omaha, Nebraska. The program has been designed to bring the level of instruction across the Service to a higher and more consistent standard. Photo.

Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service.

WASO Public Affairs - National Park Service chief archeologist and DOI consulting archeologist Francis P. Pierce-McManamon is retiring from the agency he has worked for over the past 32 years. He will officially retire in November.

To see these and other stories posted on InsideNPS (or NPS Digest, its public version), click on one or the other of the following links (please note that not all stories in the former appear in the latter): NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index ; non-NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

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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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