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| Unloaded firearms! |
We were very excited when we found out we were working with Natural
Resources for another day on Tuesday. We went with intern Tom to Short Hill to
help him with his EAB studies, which we mentioned previously in an earlier
blog. Renee, who specializes in Dendrology, was able to identify the trees Tom
needed identified, as I was also learning the trees. After some time at Short
Hill, we went over to Virginuis Island to continue with tree identification.
Within a couple minutes of walking we came across an interesting sight. A pitch
fork, garden rake and large bucket were chained to a tree. Scattered all around
were moth balls, and at the river a small dam was made and crayfish were in the
small pool the dam was creating. We called LE to see what should be done about
it. Ranger Boyce and Ranger Sheetz who were on duty came down to check it out.
We decided to wait 24 hours, the amount of time one can leave an item at a
park, and if it was still there the next day then we would confiscate it. Sure
enough all the items were still there the next day, so we removed the chain to
get the items. Renee and I then proceeded to take our shoes off, roll up our
pants, walk in the water and destroy the dam.
Later that week Supervisor Mark Howard gave us some handcuff
training, and we were able to practice the techniques on intern Dustin Turner.
The following week we went with Mark Howard to court on some
misdemeanors that were being fought. Seeing the whole process of the paperwork,
appearing in court and how the judicial system works was a great opportunity and
learning experience for us. Later that day we were with Administration for the
last time. First we met with Betty Bell, who is the Supply Technician. Then we
met with Gayleen Boyd, who is the Administrative Officer. They both have
significant duties that play an important role at HAFE. The next day we met up
with the Superintendent of HAFE NHP, Rebecca Harriet. We sat in on a conference
call about the Youth Conservation Camp out that will be taken place at Prince
William National Forest Park. It was great being able to talk with her. She
informed us about her experiences working for the NPS and how she achieved her
position.
On Friday the 13th, we had the opportunity to
take the summer PEB and were very proud to see all of our hard work paid off. Our weekly fitness regime was indicated on
our new scores. Our scores improved
tremendously from just a few months ago. Later that day we partook in our first
river rescue. While on vehicle patrol supervisor Mark Howard was approached by
a park visitor stating that there was a young female in distress located in the
Potomac River. We swiftly proceeded to
the located and found the female sitting on a pillar underneath the bridge in
the middle of the Potomac River. I (Benson)
quickly distributed my belongings to my partner Jackie and made my way to the
subject. It was pretty shallow for the
most part but as soon as I made my way close to the pillar, the strength of the
current was working against me. I made
my way slowly to the subject and reassured her that everything was going to be
ok. While Supervisor Howard was communicating with Central Dispatch, I flagged
a boating fisherman nearby. The
fisherman responded and I assisted the subject on the boat where we were taken
to the shoreline and the subject was picked up by her tubing company. It was a very successful water rescue because
of teamwork and every one played a major role in this incident.
After the river rescue we practiced some more traffic stops.
This time we actually ‘pulled over’ a car (with intern Dustin as the role
player) by using the emergency lights. We ran through the operation like it was
a real life situation from start to finish. We even called in to Central Dispatch
on the radios (which we warned them ahead of time it was just a practice) to
run Dustin’s vehicle tag and driver’s license.
Supervisor Mark Howard taught us viable information that we will use in
the future. Dustin is a great sport for assisting in our training!
Written by: Jackie Innella & Renee Benson
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