Bow from ship towed out to sea
By Joseph B. Frazier
The Associated Press
WALDPORT — This time,
when the tug pulled the oil-laden
wreck of the New Carissa out to
sea, there were no high-fives, no
champagne bottles, no celebrato
ry cigars.
Salvage crews instead had
pained, nervous faces Monday,
guardedly optimistic the cargo
ship’s broken bow would weath
er the 248-mile trip to its watery
grave and not wash ashore in
Oregon for a third time.
“There is no sigh of relief until
she’s on the bottom,” said Bill
Milwee, salvage consultant to the
ship’s Japanese owners.
He looked tired and drained,
a far cry from last week when
the ship was towed out of Coos
Bay and he let out a joyous
“Yabba Dabba Doo!” Within
hours, a violent storm ripped
the wreck from its tow line and,
like a nightmare that wouldn’t
go away, it washed ashore here
last Wednesday.
Milwee said that this time
around, the weather shouldn’t be
a problem. Winds were expected
to actually decrease and seas
should run no more than 15 feet.
“There is no reason we should
part a tow line in this weather,”
he said.
In fact, waves actually helped
the 420-foot bow break free from
the surf Monday at 3:16 a.m.,
about 45 minutes short of high
tide.
It headed over the horizon in
the morning sun — with a rain
bow over it — and was to be sunk
by a Coast Guard gunboat in
thousands of feet of water, proba
bly Wednesday or Thursday.
Coast Guard Cmdr. Dawayne
Penberthy said the trick will be
to shoot enough holes in the
bow to sink it without ruptur
ing the fuel tanks, which still
contain up to 130,000 gallons of
heavy fuel oil.
Just in case, he said, a Coast
Guard skimmer boat was follow
ing behind the wreck.
The saga of the New Carissa
began Feb. 4, when the 639-foot
freighter with 400,000 gallons of
fuel oil on board ran aground off
Coos Bay.
About half of that was burned
off by explosives experts. Hours
after the Feb. 10 fire, the ship
split in two, spilling a total of
70.000 gallons.
Efforts to tow the bow out to
sea last week failed when it broke
away and washed ashore 80
miles north at this tiny town
along the central Oregon coast.
Tar balls from the latest
grounding have been seen as far
north as southern Washington
state. The ship leaked again Sun
day as it was being maneuvered
into position for towing.
Only 10,000 to 15,000 gallons
of the spilled oil has shown up
on Oregon’s beaches, leaving
55.000 to 60,000 gallons unac
counted for. The cold ocean bot
tom temperatures will solidify
the oil and it could come wash
ing ashore for months.
Mike Szerlog of the Oregon De
partment of Environmental Qual
ity said full damage assessments
could take months, even years, to
complete.
Artist
Continued from Page 1
The department receives gov
ernment money to support
low-income housing projects.
Weinman said the depart
ment was intrigued by the
idea of an artist co-operative
and voted to provide NEDCO
with $150,000 to purchase
land for the housing as well
as cover the building permits
fees.
“The component of people
both living and working in the
co-operative intrigued us,”
Weinman said.
Weinman also said the de
partment wanted to encourage
housing projects in the
Whiteaker community, which
I?as struggled in the past to
provide affordable housing for
its inhabitants.
“We wanted to provide
some stability to the neighbor
hood,” he said.
The city of Eugene isn’t
the only organization that
provided loans for the co-op
erative. According to Kre
hbiel, the Intergovernmental
Housing Board and Key
Bank have also stepped for
ward to provide funds for
the project.
“There’s been a lot of enthu
siasm for the project in the
community,” Krehbiel said.
According to Masterjohn,
her group’s enthusiasm for
the project led the members
to take steps to become a
non-profit organization so
they can buy the facility and
serve as overseers of the op
eration.
“Right now we’re laying the
group rules to be a non-profit,”
she said.
Masterjohn said she is hap
py to be able to contribute to
the project, adding that stu
dents who fit the criteria can
live there.
“It’s a nice metaphor for
community building,” she
said. “Working on the project
is a unique opportunity.”
STOREWIDE
SALE!
20%-70
OFF
Ski Equipment
Downhill • Cross Country
Snowboards
ONNOW!
Open Mon-Sat 10-7
13th & Lawrence *683-1300
Proudly serving
Our famous
smoked chicken
Pizza
♦
♦
Salads
Soups
^ A large selection
of Microbrews
on draft
/
ISMOKE ♦ HOUSE]
w
Watch your
EVENTS
on our
TV
rmm
14th & Alder 344-4471
special events/meeting room available *
M
005332
THE FRENCH h|>RN
- cafe - bakery - wine - produce - gifts -
WINE • GOURMET FOODS • ORGANIC PRODUCE •
• CAFE • BAKERY • CATERING • BOX LUNCHES •
• CARDS • GIFTS • GIFT Bi1
iKETS •
SHIPPING *' l#<S*L.DEL|VERY AVAILABLE
ASK ABOUT CORPORATE ACCOUNTS!
CALL KATY BAKER CATERING/GIFT BASKET/SHIPPfNG DIRECTOR
541-343-6392 caf«/bak«ry * 544-686-2985 wlne/glfte
*345-3934 fa>f
Located in the L&L Marketplace - 1591 Willamette, Eugene, OR 97401
LOOK FOR IT IN
THE ODE CLASSIFIEDS!
Oregon vs. Georgia Tech.
First Round N.I.T.
Mac Court.
Wednesday. 9pm.
Student Tickets
Get your $4 student N.l. T. basketball tickets by
visiting the Cas Center Ticket Office today!
Extended hours - 9am to 8pm.