Park News September 25,2008

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

On Friday, September 19th, Edward J. Renehan, a well-known author and historian, was sentenced in federal court to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $86,700 in restitution for his theft and sale of historic letters written by Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Renehan admitted that he stole the letters from the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) when he was the interim executive director in 2005 and 2006 and that he then sold them at an auction. Renehan pled guilty to federal charges of interstate transportation of stolen goods in May, citing bipolar disorder as the cause for the thefts. The judge imposed this significant sentence in part because Renehan held a position of trust within the association. The Theodore Roosevelt Association is a cooperating association with Sagamore Hill and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historical Sites in New York.  Renehan faces additional sentencing next week in state court for the theft of an additional letter, written by Theodore Roosevelt, which was investigated by Nassau County. All of the letters were recovered and will be returned to the National Park Service and the Theodore Roosevelt Association. In his press release, US attorney Michael Garcia praised the work of NPS special agent Glenn Van Neil, who investigated this significant case. Click on the link below for the original report.


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Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

On the afternoon of September 21st, park dispatch received a report of an accident between a jet ski and a boat that had left a woman spitting up blood and slipping into shock. The incident occurred in the Gunsight Bay area on Lake Powell. Ranger/medic Laurie Axelsen and ranger/EMTs Chad Hunter and Ryan Gallagher responded. They found a young woman in the back of an open bow boat with a severely compromised airway due to facial fractures, missing teeth and a broken lower jaw who was also bleeding and vomiting blood and suffering from neck and back pain. The rangers maintained spinal protection, manually suctioned the blood, maintained her airway and provided ALS for over an hour until a Classic Lifeguard helicopter could reach the scene. Together, EMS personnel made a difficult intubation in the dark on shore prior to transferring the woman to the trauma center in Flagstaff. The accident is being investigated by a state park ranger.

 

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

A woman and two children from Madison, Wisconsin, came to Kemil Beach on the afternoon of September 21st. The girls, ages nine and ten, were playing in the water about 30 feet from shore when they began having trouble. The woman entered the water to get them; she was able to push her foster daughter toward the beach, but could not find the ten-year-old and called for help. Another woman at the beach used her cell phone to summon assistance, and rescuers began arriving on scene within six minutes. The girl was found close to shore. It’s estimated that she’d been underwater for about 25 minutes. Resuscitation efforts were immediately begun and she was taken to St. Anthony’s Hospital in nearby Michigan City, where doctors were able to establish a weak pulse. She was placed on a respirator, then later taken to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee. At the time of the report, she was suffering from significant brain swelling and still on a ventilator. Her prognosis is unknown. The preliminary investigation indicates that the girl was bouncing up and down on a sandbar in water that was at least chest deep. At some point, she probably bounced off into deeper water. There were no dangerous surf conditions at the time.

 

Olympic National Park

The park will be hiring a permanent, full-time safety officer to manage its safety and environmental management programs.

Often referred to as 'three parks in one", Olympic National Park protects 922,651 acres of three distinctly different ecosystems - rugged glacier capped mountains, over 73 miles of wild Pacific coast and magnificent stands of old-growth and temperate rain forest. For more information about Olympic National Park visit: www.nps.gov/olym

For a copy of the announcement, click on the link below.



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United States Park Police

On August 18th, 17 motivated individuals from the United States Park Police (USPP), the United States Marine Corps, and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department arrived at the USPP Anacostia Operations Facility to participate in the USPP four-week basic SWAT School.  The requirements and expectations were laid out to the individuals, who were eager to prove their mettle and complete the rigorous course.

Week One began with several physical fitness challenges that proved overwhelming for some candidates, and by the end of the week, only 13 candidates remained. 

Week Two initiated the candidates to the USPP SWAT pistol and rifle courses ,where one of the candidates, a firearms instructor, commented that the courses being fired indeed challenged each participant.  During the second week, and throughout the school, candidates were also required to participate in various physical fitness regimens that were integrated into the firearms training.  At the end of Week Two, only six candidates remained.

Weeks Three and Four were loaded down with tactical and physical instruction that provided each candidate with the tactical knowledge base they needed to become a competent SWAT operator.   Countless team building exercises were woven into each day of instruction to ensure that each candidate not only used his own abilities to accomplish a task, but required candidates to work cohesively as a unit. 

On September 12, 2008, the United States Park Police proudly graduated 6 candidates from the USPP SWAT School.  The following successfully completed the course:

• Officer Michael Fermaint, U.S. Park Police


• Officer Chad R. Gordon, U.S. Park Police


• Officer Anthony Lordo, Jr., U.S. Park Police


• Officer Carlton B. Wicker, Sr., Washington Metropolitan Police Department


• Officer Joseph O. Williams, Washington Metropolitan Police Department


• Corporal Josam Waterman, United States Marine Corps

Officer Fermaint completed the course as the top physical fitness candidate. Officer Joseph O. Williams completed the course as the top firearms candidate. Officer Carlton B. Wicker, Sr. completed the course with no alibis or disqualifications and was the top overall graduate.