NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, January 5, 2015
INCIDENTS
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Arch Closed Due To Protestors
On December 27th, about 100 people marched through downtown St. Louis as part of the “United We Stand Silent March,” which protested police brutality. They were shadowed by St. Louis Police Department officers, who alerted park dispatch when the group pushed down construction fencing along Memorial Drive to enter the park grounds. Law enforcement rangers had less than five minutes to respond.
Between 30 and 40 of the protestors blocked the south entrance to the Arch and some of them attempted to rush through the security checkpoint. Park guards and rangers locked the entrance doors and closed the gates. They were forced to hold the gates closed as protestors attempted to pull the gates back open. The group stayed about 20 minutes before leaving. As they departed the Arch grounds, they pushed down another section of fencing.
During the protest, visitors were unable to leave the Arch complex. Interpretive staff assisted by keeping visitors away from the entrance ramps and informing them of what was going on. Due to statements by protestors that they would be back, the Arch was closed at 4 p.m., two hours early. Normal operations resumed the next day.
For a related article, click on the link below.
HYPERLINK "http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/silent-march-through-downtown-st-louis-ends-loudly-at-arch/article_4e631895-9ecf-55c8-b9b4-a29c1978c50b.html" http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/silent-march-through-downtown-st-louis-ends-loudly-at-arch/article_4e631895-9ecf-55c8-b9b4-a29c1978c50b.html
[Mike Horton, Law Enforcement Specialist]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers):
• Office of International Affairs - The National Park Service played a significant leadership role at the Sixth World Parks Congress, held in Sydney, Australia, this past November. A summary of the congress is provided along with links to relevant web pages.
• Today's Almanac - A clipper system will bring snow, low temperatures and strong winds across northern tier states from the Northwest to the Northeast.
• Mount Rainier NP - Ranger Margaret Anderson's sacrifice and memory were recognized at Mount Rainier National Park on January 1st, the third anniversary of her murder.
• Workforce, Relevancy and Inclusion Directorate - Nominations are now being accepted for a variety of NPS awards and all Department of the Interior honor awards. They are due by February 28th.
• C&O Canal NHP - Brad Clawson, chief ranger for Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, retired on January 3rd following 35 years as a commissioned NPS ranger.
• Midwest Regional Office - Sändra Washington retired from the Midwest Regional Office on January 2nd after 24 years of service with the National Park Service.
• National Mall and Memorial Parks - Supervisory interpretive ranger Wayne Braxton retired on Friday, January 2nd, after more than 38 years of government service.
• Haleakala NP - Terrance M. Lind, a native of Maui, is retiring from the National Park Service after four decades of service.
To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites:
NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/
The Morning Report is produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).
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