Park Rangers

Rangers at Glacier National Park said Tuesday that the two hikers with ties to Western Maryland, including former Boonsboro resident Neal Peckens, were well-prepared for their unexpected situation in the Montana wilderness. Peckens, 32, who now lives in Herndon, Va., and Jason Hiser, 32, of Richmond, Va., were found safe Monday - although very cold and wet - after spending almost a week in the park's rugged backcountry, park rangers said. “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this incident, and perhaps we all can learn from this experience and these two men,” Glacier National Park Chief Ranger Mark Foust said in a news release posted on the park's website.

Most state park rangers will become Natural Resources Police officers in a merger aimed at saving $5 million to $6 million, the Ehrlich administration said Friday. Joining the two law-enforcement arms of the Department of Natural Resources was one recommendation of a task force on state government efficiency established by Gov. Robert Ehrlich. "This consolidation of law-enforcement units creates additional geographic and seasonal flexibility in order to meet critical conservation-law and park-safety needs," Ehrlich said.

ANNAPOLIS - The Maryland Park Service recently honored five Department of Natural Resources employees for their successful completion of the Maryland Park Ranger training program. Their outstanding performance in both classroom and field experiences earned them the right to bear the title of Maryland Park Ranger. Maryland's newest park rangers successfully demonstrated expertise in 10 functions of ranger work, including: knowledge of Maryland geography and history; first responder certification; search and rescue skills; and basic skills in natural, cultural, and historical interpretation.

WILLIAMSPORT - A $250 reward is being offered for information leading to the apprehension or arrest of a man who was seen trying to run over two puppies last Saturday at the Cushwa Basin, said Mark Spier, a park ranger. "We're still hoping someone saw more than what has been said so far," Spier said. A visitor at the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park witnessed a man drive into the parking lot of the canal's Cushwa Basin at about 2:50 p.m. and take two golden retriever mix puppies, believed to be between 8 and 10 weeks old, out of the truck's cab, according to park rangers.

Three people, including two Harpers Ferry, W.Va., residents, were taken to Meritus Medical Center to be treated for serious injuries following a two-vehicle accident Tuesday on Md. 65 near Antietam National Battlefield. All three people involved in the accident — William Lee of McLean, Va., and Richard and Cynthia Nutzman of Harpers Ferry — were being evaluated in the emergency room as of 4:15 p.m., a hospital spokeswoman said. Maryland State Police said the accident occurred at about 11:15 a.m., when the Hyundai Tucson that Lee was driving pulled from Dunker Church Road into the path of a Subaru Forrester that the Nutzmans were driving north on Md. 65. Trooper 1st Class J. Eichelberger said at the scene that he believed all three people suffered serious injuries.

WILLIAMSPORT - Two puppies that were almost intentionally run over by an unidentified man in a pickup truck Saturday at the Cushwa Basin are doing well and one has already found a good home, said George DeLancey, a park ranger. A visitor at the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park witnessed a man drive into the parking lot of the canal's Cushwa Basin at about 2:50 p.m. and take two golden retriever mix puppies, believed to be between 8 and 10 weeks old, out of the truck's cab. The man placed the puppies beneath the truck in the path of the tires, got back in the truck, and tried to drive over them, the visitor told DeLancey.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- A teenage girl was rescued from the lake at Greenbrier State Park on Sunday afternoon following a near-drowning incident, a 911 dispatcher said. Lifeguards rescued the girl from the water in the incident, which was reported about 4:50 p.m., and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed on her, the dispatcher said. The girl was breathing and was taken to Washington County Hospital, the dispatcher said. Officials at Boonsboro Ambulance & Rescue Inc., who responded to the call, would not comment on the incident and referred questions to park rangers, who were not available for comment Sunday night.

THURMONT, Md. -- Park rangers were searching Tuesday for an 81-year-old woman who has been missing since she didn't return from a hike Monday in Catoctin Mountain Park, park officials said in a news release. Barbara Freund is 4 feet 11 inches tall, weighs about 120 pounds, and has blond hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a white shirt, red shorts and tan shoes, park officials said. She also suffers from minor dementia and mobility impairments. Freund was last seen along Camp Misty Mount, park officials said.

DOWNSVILLE tiffanya@herald-mail.com A 5-ton roller dangled from a crane like a puppet on strings when park rangers at the C&O Canal National Historical Park extracted it from the Potomac River late Tuesday morning. Investigators think the roller was dumped near Dam No. 4 over the weekend by vandals who stole it from a nearby towpath, park ranger Martin Gallery said. He said the vandals hot-wired the roller's engine after prying open a metal box that secured the locked ignition.

The National Park Service is seeking information regarding vandalism earlier this summer at the McMahons Mill area of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park at the end of Avis Mill Road. Sometime between Sunday June 8, and Tuesday, June 10, graffiti was spraypainted on the parking area and the park's natural and cultural resources along the Potomac River. Park Rangers have increased patrol in this area to prevent further vandalism. Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the National Park Service toll-free at 1-866-677-6677 or contact U.S. Park Ranger Dan Johnston at 301-714-2235.

Rangers at Glacier National Park said Tuesday that the two hikers with ties to Western Maryland, including former Boonsboro resident Neal Peckens, were well-prepared for their unexpected situation in the Montana wilderness. Peckens, 32, who now lives in Herndon, Va., and Jason Hiser, 32, of Richmond, Va., were found safe Monday - although very cold and wet - after spending almost a week in the park's rugged backcountry, park rangers said. “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this incident, and perhaps we all can learn from this experience and these two men,” Glacier National Park Chief Ranger Mark Foust said in a news release posted on the park's website.

A National Park Service ranger shot and killed in the line of duty Sunday morning in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state worked at the C&O Canal National Historical Park from 2004-08, park officials said Monday. Ranger Margaret Anderson, 34, was killed when a gunman opened fire on her as she sat in her vehicle as part of a roadblock set up to stop a man who had blown through a checkpoint rangers use to determine if vehicles have tire chains for winter conditions, authorities said.

St. Mary Catholic School eighth-graders recently visited Antietam National Battlefield to participate in the Alice Ferguson Foundation's Bridging the Watershed program.   The program is used to determine stream health. Students also learned the history of a Civil War cannon and the proper way to fire the cannon by one of the park rangers.     Bridging the Watershed is an outreach program of the Alice Ferguson Foundation, in partnership with the National Park Service and area schools, designed to promote student academic achievement, personal connections with the natural world, lifelong civic engagement and environmental stewardship through hands-on, curriculum-based outdoor studies in national parks and public lands.

Debra Mills, park ranger at Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont, received the National Capital Region's Freeman Tilden Award for Interpretive Excellence. Mills received the Tilden Award in recognition of the First Bloom program, a year-long project with Robert Moton Elementary School in Westminster, Md. She tailored the project to introduce the natural world and national parks to 80 fourth-graders, many of whom had previously experienced the outdoors only through television and computers.

Three people, including two Harpers Ferry, W.Va., residents, were taken to Meritus Medical Center to be treated for serious injuries following a two-vehicle accident Tuesday on Md. 65 near Antietam National Battlefield. All three people involved in the accident — William Lee of McLean, Va., and Richard and Cynthia Nutzman of Harpers Ferry — were being evaluated in the emergency room as of 4:15 p.m., a hospital spokeswoman said. Maryland State Police said the accident occurred at about 11:15 a.m., when the Hyundai Tucson that Lee was driving pulled from Dunker Church Road into the path of a Subaru Forrester that the Nutzmans were driving north on Md. 65. Trooper 1st Class J. Eichelberger said at the scene that he believed all three people suffered serious injuries.

Heritage Academy will hold its annual auction and spring festival Saturday, April 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.   The auction begins at 10 a.m.   There will be children’s activities such as barrel rides, a petting zoo and an egg hunt.   There also will be a concession stand that will feature pulled pork, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, baked goods and homemade fries.   The school is at 11215 Walnut Point Road in Hagerstown. For more information, call 301-582-2600 or go to www.heritage-academy.net . 1,000 workouts for Kris Stotler Congratulations to Kris Stotler, who has 1,000 workouts at Clear Spring Curves.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- A teenage girl was rescued from the lake at Greenbrier State Park on Sunday afternoon following a near-drowning incident, a 911 dispatcher said. Lifeguards rescued the girl from the water in the incident, which was reported about 4:50 p.m., and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed on her, the dispatcher said. The girl was breathing and was taken to Washington County Hospital, the dispatcher said. Officials at Boonsboro Ambulance & Rescue Inc., who responded to the call, would not comment on the incident and referred questions to park rangers, who were not available for comment Sunday night.

SHARPSBURG - In the 23 years the annual Salute to Independence has been held at Antietam National Battlefield, it has never been rained out, according to park Superintendent John Howard. But last year came close. Rain moved in toward the end of the event, and music by the Maryland Symphony Orchestra was cut short by about 20 minutes to get in the fireworks display, Howard said. There is no rain date for the 24th annual show, which is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Civil War battlefield, Howard said.

SMITHSBURG - Not everyone gets to realize a lifelong dream, but Jacob Doyle is not one of those. One of the 16 members of the newest graduating class of the Maryland Park Service Ranger School, Doyle said the Feb. 20 ceremony marked the first class of new ranger graduates since 1996. "My dad was into camping when he was young," Doyle said. "Then he took us to Maryland state parks when we were young. " Born and raised in Smithsburg, Doyle, 27, is a 1999 graduate of Smithsburg High School.

ANNAPOLIS - The Maryland Park Service recently honored five Department of Natural Resources employees for their successful completion of the Maryland Park Ranger training program. Their outstanding performance in both classroom and field experiences earned them the right to bear the title of Maryland Park Ranger. Maryland's newest park rangers successfully demonstrated expertise in 10 functions of ranger work, including: knowledge of Maryland geography and history; first responder certification; search and rescue skills; and basic skills in natural, cultural, and historical interpretation.