Park News August 6,2008

North Cascades National Park Complex - WA

On July 31st, climbing rangers from North Cascades National Park were finally able to recover the body of a 50-year-old Maryland woman who died after a fall on July 26th while on a mountaineering trip in the park. The woman and her husband were three days into a week-long traverse across several glaciers and alpine terrain when the accident occurred. They were negotiating a col which separates the Klawatti and McAllister Glaciers, scrambling un-roped, when she fell approximately 35 feet into a moat separating glacier ice from a rock wall.  The woman’s husband cared for her for 24 hours, unable to reach a 911 cell connection, before she died in their tent. The 58-year-old husband then crossed three glaciers and over several off-trail miles, descending 6,000 feet in elevation. Just before reaching a road, he fell from a log while crossing a river, nearly drowning and injuring a knee before jettisoning his pack and getting unpinned. Other climbers found him on the road and delivered him to the NPS ranger station during the night. Attempts to reach the accident site by helicopter were thwarted for two full days. Rangers focused on assisting the surviving climber, who had emerged with no personal resources (cash, cards, car keys, phone or clothes). During a window of clear weather between two storms, rangers recovered the woman’s body from the top of the Klawatti Glacier, and transferred it to the Skagit County coroner. Although from the east coast, the couple had been spending mountaineering vacations in the North Cascades for many years, having accomplished other alpine traverses and peak ascents.

 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

On August 6, 2007, two vehicles were broken into in the park – one at the Alum Cave trailhead and the other at the Laurel Falls trailhead. In both cases, the vehicles were entered in a manner that kept the victims from realizing that their cars had been broken into until the following day. The thief took only a credit card from one woman’s purse, and stole a laptop computer and the rear license plate from the other victim. Usage of the credit card was tracked and a large amount of store video was obtained showing an older man who was driving a motor home. At a Wal-Mart, he purchased loadable cell phone minutes for a TracPhone. Information was obtained from the cell phone company which showed that he made a phone call to a small campground in Georgia. Special agent Greg Podany interviewed the owners of that campground and came up with the name of one Richard Powers as the possible suspect. Information was obtained about Powers and it was determined that he was the person who had made the fraudulent charges on the credit card. Special agent Jeff Carlisle determined that Powers had been recently arrested in Charleston, South Carolina, and was being held in a local county jail. Carlisle went to Charleston and interviewed Powers, who admitted his involvement in the theft of property from the two vehicles and the use of the credit card. The motor home Powers was driving was also found to have been stolen from Florida, and the license plate from the second victim's vehicle was found on it. Powers was subsequently indicted in the Eastern District of Tennessee for 18 USC 661 (theft), 18 USC 1029 (use of the credit card), and 18 USC 2312 (interstate transport of a stolen motor vehicle). Powers pled guilty to the charges and on July 31st was sentenced to 16 months incarceration, followed by 36 months of supervised release. Powers was also ordered to pay $3,032 in restitution to the victims and a $400 special assessment.

 

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

A family from the Chicago area came to the area on August 2nd to go swimming in Lake Michigan. Due to hazardous surf conditions, the state park was closed to swimming, so the group traveled a short distance to Porter Beach, an unstaffed beach in the national lakeshore. Just after 1 p.m., two members of the group were overcome by the dangerous waves. Family members and bystanders rescued one of them, a nine-year-old boy, but were unable to reach a 13-year-old boy. He was last seen disappearing under the lake’s surface. It was windy at the time, with surf about three feet high and increasing and possible rip currents. Members of the group were about 30 to 50 yards from shore when the incident occurred. A multi-agency search was begun that employed boats, divers and helicopters. A line search was conducted by lifeguards from Indiana Dunes State Park, but diving operations were soon halted due to the severity of the water conditions. A surface search using boats, personal watercraft, and a Coast Guard helicopter equipped with forward looking infrared (FLIR) gear continued through the night. Family members of the victim maintained a vigil on the beach through the night. The boy’s body was found on the state park beach just after 6 a.m. – a point about a half mile from where he’d last been seen.

 

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

On Saturday, August 2nd, Jack Sweitzer, 70, a long-time volunteer and very dear friend of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, passed away while doing the work he loved – clearing trails of downed trees in the Vickery Creek unit. His death was evidently the result of a heart attack. Volunteer coordinator David Thomas performed CPR while waiting for the paramedics. Despite his valiant effort and the quick action of the two SCA interns on site, Sweitzer did not survive. He was transported to North Fulton Hospital and pronounced dead upon arrival.

As a volunteer at the park for over five years, Jack Sweitzer was a part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area "park family". He was such a wonderful person – talented, loving and always greeting staff with a smile and a hug. He worked hard and enthusiastically maintaining park trails, removing invasive plants, supporting all of our major park events, and maintaining the park bulletin boards. He was a resident of Marietta, Georgia, and retired from Kimberlee Clark.

A funeral will take place on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. at the HM Patterson & Son Funeral Home, located at 1157 Old Canton Road, Northeast, in Marietta.

Letters of condolence may be sent to park headquarters at 1978 Island Ford Parkway, Atlanta GA 30350 and will be forwarded to the family.

 

Ozark National Scenic Riverways

Roger Dillard, the chief of maintenance at Ozark NSR, will retire on August 15th after 37.5 years of federal service with the NPS. 

Following a stint in the US Army in Viet Nam, Roger began his NPS career as a maintenance seasonal at Ozark in March 1971. He’s has also worked in maintenance at Yellowstone, Lyndon B. Johnson, Rocky Mountain and Buffalo, and has served on details to Point Reyes, Big Bend and Washington. He also participated in several operations evaluations Servicewide.

Roger attended the second NPS facility managers training course at Albright in 1990 and subsequently served as an instructor for the intake program at Albright and as a mentor for the first facility managers leader program in 2006.

Roger will retire to his small farm in Eminence, Missouri.  Remembrances, photos and well wishes may be sent to Julie_Stewart@nps.gov by August 12th for inclusion in a memory book highlighting Roger’s NPS career.

For more information, contact Cheryl Dillard (CDillard@nps.gov, AdmDillard@nps.gov, Cheryl_Dillard@nps.gov, or 573-323-4236 x250]

 

Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Dates: 08/04/2008 - 08/14/2008

Chaco Culture has issued an announcement for a chief for its visitor and resource protection division. Candidates must be commissioned. The person selected will also serve as the park's safety officer and special use permit coordinator. For a copy of the announcement with full details, click on the link below.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park is located in the Four Corners area of New Mexico in the town of Nageezi.  The nearest towns are Bloomfield (65 miles northwest), Farmington (75 miles northwest), and Aztec (70 miles northeast). The nearest grocery store is located at Crownpoint (39 miles south). Schools, shopping, doctors, hospital, etc., are located in the towns of Bloomfield, Farmington, and Aztec.  Roads leading into the park from the northeast are paved for 5 miles and are dirt for another 16 miles.  Roads from the south are all dirt for 19 miles.  Precipitation for the area is minimal.  Rain and snow are not common, though they can make the roads impassable. 

For more information about the position, contact Barbara West at (505) 786-7014, ext. 230.  For more information about the park, call (505) 334-6174, ext. 221 or 230.

If you are a current Federal employee, relocation will be paid.



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