Daily Report - Yosemite National Park
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Weather
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
239 AM PDT TUE APR 1 2008
...RAINY SEASON NOT OVER JUST YET..
AFTER A VERY DRY PERIOD OF WEATHER FOR MOST LOCATIONS IN THE CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...A TASTE OF WET WEATHER IS LIKELY ON WEDNESDAY AS A
PACIFIC STORM MOVES INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. ALTHOUGH THIS
SYSTEM DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE TOO STRONG...LOWER ELEVATION RAIN AND MOUNTAIN
SNOW IS LIKELY AT MOST
LOCATIONS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY ARE EXPECTED TO
AVERAGE IN THE 0.10 TO 0.20 INCH RANGE WHILE ISOLATED SPOTS MAY RECEIVE A
LITTLE MORE. IN THE SIERRA NEVADA AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE KERN COUNTY
MOUNTAINS...SNOWFALL AMOUNTS AROUND 6 INCHES ARE LIKELY WITH ISOLATED
HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. IN THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS...RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF
0.10 TO 0.20 INCHES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE BEFORE THE PRECIPITATION ENDS
WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN AND MOVE EAST OF THE AREA
THURSDAY WITH A RETURN TO DRY AND WARMING WEATHER INTO THE WEEKEND.
Yosemite: TODAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS 51 TO 61 IN YOSEMITE VALLEY...34 TO
44 IN THE HIGH COUNTRY.
TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING THEN BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 28
TO 38 IN YOSEMITE VALLEY...14 TO 24 IN THE HIGH COUNTRY.
WEDNESDAY...SNOW LIKELY AND CHANCE OF RAIN. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 70
PERCENT. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 3 INCHES. SNOW LEVEL 5500 FEET. HIGHS 38
TO 48 IN YOSEMITE VALLEY...25 TO 35 IN THE HIGH COUNTRY.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT...SNOW LIKELY AND CHANCE OF RAIN. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION
60 PERCENT. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 2 INCHES. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO
5 INCHES. SNOW LEVEL 6000 FEET. LOWS 28 TO 38 IN YOSEMITE VALLEY...15 TO 25
IN THE HIGH COUNTRY.
THURSDAY...SUNNY. NOT AS COOL. HIGHS 52 TO 62 IN YOSEMITE VALLEY... 37 TO
45 IN THE HIGH COUNTRY.
El Portal: Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. North wind 6 to 10 mph
becoming west southwest.
Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 35. Southwest wind at 9 mph
becoming east northeast.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 60. Calm
wind becoming west southwest between 6 and 9 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 40 percent chance of rain. during the early evening,
then gradual clearing, with a low around 35. West southwest wind between 4
and 7 mph becoming calm.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 66. South wind around 6 mph becoming
calm.
Happening Today/This Week (Check the Community News section for other
events)
The Hetch Hetchy Road will be open 7 am to 8 pm starting April 1st. (C.
Flores - 4/1/08)
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Tree work: On Tuesday April 1st, 10:00am to Noon, The Valley Forestry Crew
will be removing hazard trees along N. Side Drive between the east and west
entrances of Yosemite Lodge. During this time the road will be closed to
traffic. Access to N. Side Drive west of Yosemite Lodge will still be
available through the Lodge loop road. (L. Castro - 3/28/08)
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Travel Series:
Disaster, Development, Aid & Sustainability in the Peace Corps: Learning
from tribal people
Tuesday, April 1 at 7pm in the El Portal Community Hall
This month's Travel Series, hosted by Pam Meierding, features her 2+ years
experience in Peace Corps living and working with tribal "Igorots" in the
Philippine mountains of Luzon, and living for 3 months on the island of
Leyte in the aftermath of a landslide that created many orphans and a
refuge community. After a 30 minute video clip and slide show of her
experience, participate in an organic discussion about effective
development and aid strategies based on the United Nations Millenium
Development Goals and what we can learn from tribal Igorots who have lived
sustainably off the land for hundreds of years--share your thoughts and
experiences! (P. Meierding - 3/24/08)
New Today
Hodgdon Meadow Duplex Installation - The contractor has completed work on
the concrete foundation footings. Work on the foundation stem wall is
scheduled to be completed by the end of this week. Installation of the
perimeter drain and backfilling of the foundation wall will occur the
following week. Framing and utility crews will mobilize the week following
foundations completion. Construction is scheduled to continue through the
spring and summer and be completed in September. (J. Chisum - 04/01/08)
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Reminder: For all Maintenance repair requests in Yosemite, please contact
the Customer Service Center. Maintenance repair requests include: Park
Housing, Buildings, Grounds, Utilities, Roads, Trails and Forestry issues.
It is especially important to remember to contact the Customer Service
Center before any requests for Sign Shop fabrications. You may do so by
phone, e-mail or fax.
Please note that the Customer Service Center staff phone numbers have
changed:
Phone:
Sunshine Good Morning................379-1065
Katie Brown........................................379-1058
E-Mail:
YOSE_FMD_Customer_Service_Center@nps.gov
Fax:
(209) 379-1066 (S. Goodmorning - 4/1/08)
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The entire Yosemite/El Portal community is invited to join the retirement
party for Hugh Carter and Steve Speltz. Please stop by the Cedar Lodge
Conference room after 6:30 pm Sat., April 5th to thank Hugh and Steve for
their years of service at the El Portal Market. A private dinner is being
served earlier, but all community members are encouraged to stop by after
6:30 for the short program and sharing of memories and other facinating
facts about the last 40 years of the EPMarket. There will be live music
and a no-host bar provided by the Yosemite Employee Association. We hope
to see you all there! (M. Carter - 4/1/08)
Construction News
North and Southside Drive Rehabilitation
*April 7th thru April 17th>>Southside Drive will be closed between
Sentinel Bridge and the west end of Housekeeping. (Access to Housekeeping,
Leconte Memorial, Curry Village, and Campgrounds will be via Northside
Drive.) Northside Drive between Camp-6 Intersection and Curry Village will
become 2-way traffic during this 10-day detour. Also, Southside Drive will
remain open between Curry Village and Housekeeping with 2-way traffic.
During this closure crews will be placing culverts on this segment of
Southside Drive.
*March 24th thru April 4th---There will be intermittent one lane traffic
control on Southside Drive between Housekeeping and Pohono Bridge as crews
are surveying and placing rock (Less than 15-minute delays).
*Crews on Northside Drive are placing culverts and today they will begin
grinding up the existing asphalt in preparation for paving. (M. Pieper -
3/24/08)
Announcements
Please be advised that in order to prepare for an AMR CAP Status review,
the Contracting Office will be closed onThursday 3 April 2008. (L. Sheetz -
3/21/08)
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Yosemite Training Opportunity Available!
The Introduction to Park Program Management (IPPM) class is going to be
offered in El Portal May 12 through May 16, 2008. It has recently been
posted to DOI Learn. The The course code is NPS-ADM2010. There is more
than one IPPM course listed so applicants need to scroll down and make sure
they are selecting the Yosemite course. It has been a few years since the
course was last offered in Yosemite, so please consider attending. Below
is the course description from DOI learn. A course annoucement is also
attached with additional information. You must apply to this course
through DOI Learn. Deadline to apply: April 4, 2008
Target Audience: Superintendents, managers, division chiefs, first-line
supervisors and program managers with budget and programming
responsibilities in all disciplines. Prioirty given to those with limited
budget training.
Class: NPS-2008-0512-YOSE-IPPM Class Dates: 05/12/2008 - 05/16/2008 M Tu W
Tr F Class Times: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Course: Introduction to Park Program
Management Course Code: NPS-ADM2010 Course Description: Inter-disciplinary
course providing an introduction to analyzing and accomplishing work,
techniques for planning and organizing work, managment and accountability
of funds, and evaluation of results. Upon completion, participants will
have a thorough understanding of the relationships between resources, the
park mission and the planning, programming and standards for all
activities.
Competencies Addressed: OPMG064-Team Building-Level 2 OPMG091-Attention To
Detail-Level 2 OPMG031-Flexibility-Level 2 OPMG075-External Awareness-Level
2 OPM0G77-Strategic Thinking-Level 2 OPMG105-Auditing-Level 2
This course requires supervisory approval. Your supervisor will be notified
by automated email and asked to approve your training.
Your course will not be available in My Courses until your request has been
approved
Categories: Business Administration & Financial Management , Engineering
Facilities Management Course Objectives: Budget, Accountability, Financial
Management 32 hours of supervisory training credit for taking this class
General Information: Tuition, treavel and per diem to be paid for by
benefitting account. Course Tuition: $300.00 Classroom (Location): TBD
(NPS-YOSE (Yosemite NP)
Please contact Tom Pimentel, Course Coordinator at 379-1863 or by email at
Tom_Pimentel@nps.gov. (T. Pimentel - 3/27/08)
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National Weather Service SkyWarn class - Anyone with an interest in the
weather can become a volunteer Weather Spotter for the National Weather
Service (NWS)!
The Hanford office of the NWS has numerous weather spotters throughout the
San Joaquin Valley, southern Sierra Nevada, and Mojave desert. The training
takes about two hours and will familiarize you with the identification of
hazardous weather for the purpose of reporting these observations to the
forecasters at the NWS office in Hanford. The contribution of Weather
Spotters is significant and can make a huge difference during severe
weather by giving the forecasters eyes and ears in local areas that may
have a lack of quality ground reports. The purpose is the same as the whole
purpose of the NWS as an agency: to save lives and property and enhance the
US economy.
Two training sessions will be held in Yosemite National Park on Thursday,
April 3: at 10:00 am in the El Portal Maintenance and Administration
complex (large break room) and at 2:30 pm in the auditorium behind the
Yosemite Valley visitor center. Spotters that have previously had the
training are reminded that NWS policy is for you to have a refresher
training course every two years to be a renewed spotter.
The training is open to the public. However, due to space limitations, you
must RSVP via e-mail at henk_parson@nps.gov or via phone at 209-379-1140.
(J. Meyer - 3/18/08)
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Leave Share Participants
Currently, YOSE leave share participants are:
Shari Baudoux
Kevin Bowman
Kimberly Cunningham-Summerfield
You can find leave share participants Servicewide on InsideNPS at:
http://insidenps.gov/index.cfm?handler=leaveshare
If you are interested in contributing annual leave, please do so by
completing a Request to Donate Annual Leave to Leave Recipient (Within
Agency) Under the Leave Transfer Program, OPM Form 630-A. A fillable PDF
version of the OPM 630-A may be found at:
http://opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/opm630a.pdf (T. Hawkins - 1/31/07)
Community News
DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite
Yosemite Club Card
Effective December 3, 2007
Purpose:
To allow visitors of Yosemite National Park the opportunity to take
advantage of discounts in select retail and recreation facilities operated
by DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite.
Procedure:
Guests may make payment for the Yosemite Club Card at DNC P&R Cash
Operations located in Yosemite Village during normal business hours. The
Guest may then take receipt to the Learning Center (in the General Offices
building) to get their photo discount card. The cost of the card is $30.
Terms and conditions of use:
Yosemite Club Card is good for 10% DNC P&R Retail Locations.
Yosemite Club Card is good for 50% Ice Rink sessions and rentals.
Yosemite Club Card allows free admission to the Yosemite Lodge Pool.
Yosemite Club Card expires on the last day of the 12th month after
purchase.
Yosemite Club Card is non transferable.
No discounts on tobacco, alcohol, and/or other specialty items which may be
designated by DNC P&R at Yosemite.
Discounts are subject to change.
Yosemite Club Card must be presented at time of purchase to receive
discount.
An individual found to be in violation of these terms and conditions may
have their discount privileges revoked at the discretion of DNC Parks &
Resorts.
Program subject to change.
Questions:
Questions about this program may be directed to the Retail Office or Human
Resources.
Retail: 372-1227
Human Resources: 372-1234 (J. Nelson - 3/28/08)
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The 6th Annual El Portal Spring Fling and 3rd Annual El Portal Spring Run
-off will be held Saturday April 26, 2008. This awesome community event
will begin at 7 am with a pancake breakfast sponsored by the Yosemite
Lion's club. A 1 mile fun run, 5K and 10K races starting at 9 am. The
festivities will continue with a fun filled day with artisans, excellent
local food vendors and an exciting evening of music sponsored by El Portal
Live and beverages provided by YEA. Come on out and enjoy spring with all
of your friends and neighbors. For more information about the spring
run-off contact Claudine Ronay 379-2967. For spring fling info contact
Rosemary MacCallum 379-2665. (C. Ronay - 3/27/08)
Acting Designation
Acting Fire Chief designation - I'll be attending the Aviation Centered
Excellence Training in Boise Idaho next week and then I will be travelling
direct to FLETC for Law Enforcement for Managers training the following
week. I will be back in the area on April 12th.
Mike Beasley will be acting Fire Chief from March 31 - April 5th. He can
be contacted at 209-375-9574
Deron Mills will be acting Fire Chief from April 6th - April 12th. He can
be contacted at 209-379-1902 (K. Martin - 3/31/08)
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Dave Kari will be out of the office March 25 - April 1, returning to the
office April 2. During his absence, Jose Lopez will be in charge of Trails
April 1. You can reach Jose by cell at 742-8910, or by radio #640. (S.
Baudoux - 3/25/08)
