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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2017)
6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 WORLD IN BRIEF Beeswax: ‘We do one ship a year. It’s a long process’ Associated Press Continued from Page 1A Interstate 84 westbound reopens after fire closure PORTLAND — Transportation officials say the west- bound lanes of Interstate 84 in the Columbia River Gorge have reopened to motorists between Hood River and Troutdale, more than a week after the lanes closed because of wildfires. The Oregon Department of Transportation says the lanes opened just before 6:30 p.m. Thursday when officials deter- mined the road was clear and no longer threatened by fires. Officials say the eastbound lanes remain closed with no timeline yet for reopening. Interstate ramps along the 45-mile stretch of road from milepost 62 to 17 remain closed, includ- ing the ramps in and out of Cascade Locks. Motorists should not stop anywhere along the interstate as the fire continues to burn in the area. Manhunt on after bomb wounds 22 on London subway LONDON — Hundreds of British police embarked on a massive manhunt Friday, racing to find out who placed a homemade bomb on a packed London subway train during the morning rush hour. The explosion — labeled a terrorist attack by police — wounded 22 people and ignited a panicked stampede to safety. Experts said London may have escaped far worse carnage because it appeared that the bomb only partially exploded. “Clearly, this was a device that was intended to cause signif- icant harm,” Prime Minister Theresa May said after chairing a meeting of the government’s COBRA emergency committee. Police called it a terrorist attack, the fifth in Britain this year. Witnesses described seeing a “wall of fire” as the bomb — hidden in a plastic bucket inside a supermarket freezer bag — went off about 8:20 a.m. while the train was at the Parsons Green station in southwest London. It was not a large explosion, and British police and health officials said none of the injured was thought to be seriously hurt. North Korea fires missile over Japan in longest-ever flight SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea conducted its lon- gest-ever test flight of a ballistic missile Friday, sending an intermediate-range weapon hurtling over U.S. ally Japan into the northern Pacific Ocean in a launch that signals both defi- ance to its rivals and a big technological advance. Since President Donald Trump threatened the North with “fire and fury” in August, Pyongyang has conducted its most powerful nuclear test, threatened to send missiles into the waters around the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam and launched two missiles of increasing range over Japan. July saw its first tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles that could strike deep into the U.S. mainland when perfected. The growing frequency, power and confidence displayed by these tests seem to confirm what governments and outside experts have long feared: North Korea is closer than ever to its goal of building a military arsenal that can viably target both U.S. troops in Asia and the U.S. homeland. On the first day, they used Magie’s sonar to gather images of the coast from Cape Falcon to Manzanita to study for pos- sible future outings. Instead of magnetometers, the society on the second day took out Clatsop Community College’s underwater robot, Lazarus, and robotics team CEO Jennifer Jordan, who sur- veyed with the submersible just north of the beach. Neither Jordan nor another survey by the society’s underwater robot uncovered any artifacts. “We’re kind of getting close to the end of the season,” Dewey said of the worsening weather. “We may not make it back out there.” Clues of a wreck The legend of a ship- wreck off the coast of Man- zanita stretches back to the early 19th century, when a fur trader noticed Native Amer- icans trading in beeswax despite there being no native honeybees in Oregon. To this day, beachcombers periodi- cally find blocks of beeswax and pieces of fine china around Short Sands beach and the Nehalem Spit. The search for the Bees- wax wreck has been ongoing for more than a decade, first through the Beeswax Wreck Project and later through the archaeological society. During a search in 2013, a company briefly scanned the area near Short Sands with a magnetom- eter and found a spike indi- cating the presence of metal, Dewey said. During a dive with friends a year later, Dewey saw an unusual growth near the sur- face in the same spot. The next step for the society is to raise funds for a working magnetometer, which Dewey said will cost about $18,000, and preparing to possibly dive next year in the areas around Short Sands. The instrument is necessary for identifying metal objects buried in the sand and underwater. “We could find something Photos by Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Tim Stentz, a mariner and Maritime Archaeological Soci- ety member aboard the vessel Sovereign, launches the Clatsop Community College underwater robot Lazarus. (with sonar and robots), and it might be something very cool, but the rest of the wreck might be a foot under sand right next to it or half a mile away,” Dewey said. Beyond Beeswax While finding the Beeswax is the top priority, the society was formed three years ago from the Beeswax Wreck Proj- ect to expand the group’s mis- sion and state support for iden- tifying some of the thousands of shipwrecks throughout the region, Dewey said. The group is a loose collection of vol- unteers from throughout the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. State databases include more than 31,000 documented archaeological sites on land, State Archaeologist David Griffin wrote in a 2013 report on underwater archaeological research. “Recorded shipwreck locales within this data- base number just over 300,” he wrote. “With over 3,000 reported shipwrecks off the Oregon Coast alone, the huge disparity between this num- ber and that earmarked in the state’s records highlights the need for improvement in both recording location information for shipwreck sites and more professional investigation of the significance of submerged resources in general.” Through its Oregon Coastal Survey Project, the society has been trying to find wrecks and abandoned vessels all along the state’s coastline. Last spring, volunteers surveyed near the THANK YOU, seaside! Hood To Coast / Portland To Coast Relays would like to thank the City of Seaside, Seaside Fire and Rescue, Seaside Police Department, and Seaside Chamber of Commerce for hosting the 36th HTC/PTC Relays Finish Party. Your beautiful city and county were on display this year for participants from all 50 U.S States and 37 countries. We would also like to thank Clatsop County public safety, residents, and businesses for your patience and support. $19,000 will again be donated to Seaside Parks and Recreation. With more than 60,000 individuals visiting Seaside for The Hood and Portland To Coast Relays, this visit represents a first impression to a captive audience that very often leads to future visits for these individuals and their families. This is an economic impact that goes beyond measure and one that can very often be a lifelong development of future memories in your town. Additionally, participants raised a record amount of over $725,000, which benefits Providence Cancer Center and their continuous efforts to find a cure for cancer. Thank you Seaside, for supporting the race for 28 years in your community! We look forward to many more fantastic race finishes in Seaside. Special thanks to all the amazing charities on course; runners and walkers loved everything you provided, and we hope you continue to raise money for your charities in future years. Looking forward to seeing you all in 2018! Jennifer Jordan, CEO of Clatsop Community Col- lege’s underwater robot- ics team, pilots the robot Lazarus off the coast of Oswald West State Park. New Youngs Bay Bridge in Astoria for the wreck of the T.J. Potter, a 19th-century steamer burned and scrapped for parts around 1920. The society has sent a report in and is close to documentation with the state, Dewey said. Next year, the group might focus on using its underwater robot to better survey the Sil- via de Grasse, a lumber schoo- ner that sank in Astoria near Pier 39 in 1849. “We do one ship a year,” Dewey said. “It’s a long pro- cess. The T.J. Potter report was about 40 pages. We’re writing up reports on all the ones we can. “And we’re a volunteer group, so we’re doing it as quickly as a volunteer group can do.”