Superintendent Randy King said a short time ago that Mount Rainier National Park will reopen at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Park officials said Tuesday that the park would reopen on Saturday, but a specific time was not set.

King said he understands people’s desires to visit the park again, but managers wanted to give staffers adequate time to deal with their feelings following Sunday’s shooting death of law enforcement ranger Margaret Anderson.

The park has been closed Sunday as the search for the suspect extended into the discovery of his body Monday.

King said the decision to keep the park closed …

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To honor of ranger Margaret Anderson, the United States flag will be lowered to half-staff at National Park Service units in the Pacific West Region until sunset on the day she is buried.

That announcement was made Tuesday by Pacific West Regional Director Chris Lehnertz. Parks in all other regions are authorized to lower flags to half-staff on the day of interment until sunset.

In addition, uniformed employees are allowed to wear mourning bands to honor the life and service of Anderson until sunset on Jan. 31.

Anderson was shot and killed Sunday while trying to stop a vehicle that …

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Here is an editorial regarding the death of Mount Rainier National Park ranger Margaret Anderson that appeared in Wednesday’s Washington Post:

Park ranger Margaret Anderson was operating a roadblock in Mount Rainier National Park on New Year’s Day to prevent cars without snow chains from proceeding up the mountain. What should have been a routine assignment turned deadly, authorities say, when Benjamin Colton Barnes tried to evade a stop by shooting repeatedly into the side of Ms. Anderson’s patrol car. The barrage killed the 34-year-old mother of two little girls.

This was not the first violent incident of the day

…

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UPDATE: Mount Rainier National Park spokesman Lee Taylor says the park will reopen Saturday morning.

“We want to give park employees the time to start the grieving process,”  Taylor said. “Some are very traumatized. We do not want to put them into a situation that causes further stress.”

Because limited staffing will be available, the snowplay area at Paradise will not be open on Saturday.

The park has been closed since Sunday following the shooting death of 34-year-old law enforcement ranger Margaret Anderson. The suspect in the shooting, 24-year-old Benjamin Colton Barnes, was found dead Monday, partially …

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C.R. ROBERTS
Staff writer

Henry Johnsen of the rural New Jersey town of Scotch Plains remembers slain Mount Rainier National Park Ranger Margaret Anderson as “a quiet, reserved person. She was a sweet, loving young woman.”

Johnsen has lived next door to Anderson’s family for more than a decade, and said Monday that he attended Margaret’s wedding to husband Eric six years ago.

He heard the news of her death Sunday when Anderson’s parents, Paul and Dorothy Kritsch, “walked across the driveway arm-in-arm.. It was late in the day. This was a most unusual visit. They walked toward me …

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The Associated Press moved this story a short time ago:

The outgoing chair of a national organization of Park Service retirees says Congress should be regretting its decision to allow loaded weapons in national parks.

Bill Wade called Sunday’s fatal shooting of a Park Service ranger at Mount Rainier National Park a tragedy that could have been prevented.

He hopes Congress will reconsider the law that took effect in early 2010, but doubts that will happen in today’s political climate.

His organization, the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, advocated against the gun law, calling it a sad chapter in

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The approximately 125 people stuck at the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center have been evacuated as authorities continue to search for a gunman suspected of killing a park ranger.

Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said the visitors were transferred from the park overnight in groups of vehicles over the span of a few hours, The Associated Press is reporting. The evacuation began about 12:30 a.m. and was expected to be complete by 4 a.m.

The park remains closed today as authorities assess new tactical plans they intend to put into place at daylight. About 150 officers converged on …

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National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis issued a statement early today regarding the death of Mount Rainier National Park law enforcement ranger Margaret Anderson. Jarvis is a former superintendent at the park.

Here is what he said:

“Yesterday morning, Park Ranger Margaret Anderson was shot and killed while making a traffic stop at Mount Rainier National Park. As I write this late Sunday night, the murderer is still at large in the park, which has been closed. We are working closely with the FBI and local law enforcement to protect visitors and staff and to track down Margaret’s killer and

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