NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

INCIDENTS

National Park of American Samoa

Update On Recovery From Tsunami

The National Park of American Samoa, supported by the Western Incident Management Team (Denny Ziemann, IC) continues to aid partner villages in recovery efforts following the tsunami that struck the island on September 29th. Crews totaling up to 50 staff and volunteers are working to remove debris from homes, roads and schools in five villages. The critical incident stress management team has contacted all of the park crews and some of their immediate family members. They continue to provide information and education on coping strategies for these types of incidents. By Thursday of this week, they will have had an opportunity to talk to more than 70 park staff. The families on the island are very close knit and their support of each other is encouraging to the peer support team. On Tuesday, the cultural resource team was medically cleared and fitted for respiratory protection for mold and other airborne contaminants that they may encounter inside the visitor center. The cultural resource team is working inside the building to inventory and remove herbarium specimens and archeological collections. Confined space monitoring conducted by the National Guard returned negative results for hazardous materials inside the building. [Patti Wold, Information Officer, Western IMT]

Grand Canyon National Park

Man Receives Significant Sentence For Aggravated DUI

During a traffic stop on East Rim Drive on August 8, 2008, ranger Aaron Titus noticed that the driver, D.L. of Tuba City, Arizona, had the smell of an alcoholic beverage on his breath and that a similar smell was emanating from the car. D.L. failed the standard field sobriety tests administered by Titus and provided a preliminary breath sample that indicated a an alcohol level of .19. Subsequent intoxilyzer breath tests registered .178 and .171. Investigation revealed that D.L.'s criminal history included three prior convictions for driving under the influence (including two prior felony convictions) in the past seven years, which would make this case a felony in the state of Arizona, and that his license was suspended for DUI at the time of his arrest, another state felony. Arizona has enhanced sentencing guidelines for “extreme DUI” for breath alcohol content greater than .150. On September 1st, D.L. pled guilty to aggravated driving under the influence in state superior court. He was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $5,862 in fines, assessments, fees, and surcharges. One of the aggravating circumstances noted in the judgment order was the danger presented by D.L. to the traveling public. [Jennifer Sypher, Special Agent]

OTHER NEWS

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

Fire and Aviation Management - As part of the Service's focus on Fire Prevention Week, which began last Sunday and continues through Saturday, InsideNPS today offers an overview of the National Park Service's structural fire program - a program that protects employees, visitors and many thousands of structures across the agency.

Wilderness Stewardship - Yosemite has created an outreach campaign to help spread its wilderness message. The campaign employs brochures and postcards to reach specific wilderness audiences. Photo.

Office of Public Affairs - A new partnership among the NPS, the National Association of State Park Directors, and the National Recreation and Park Association was recently formed to develop and promote programs and policies in parks and other areas that connect children with nature.

Mesa Verde NP - A retirement party will be held for superintendent Larry Weise on Friday, October 23rd, in Cortez, Colorado.

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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