In brief: TSA agents take knife hidden in comb

PORTLAND – The Transportation Security Administration said a man was arrested for trying to pass through airport security carrying a knife that was concealed inside a comb.

KATU reported the TSA discovered the weapon at Portland International Airport on Aug. 15 and reported it later on its blog. Agents said it looked like a common plastic comb, but it could be pulled apart to reveal a dagger.

A TSA spokesman said the man was cited for carrying a concealed weapon. He was trying to catch a flight to Seattle when agents spotted something on a body scanner and patted him down.

Other prohibited items confiscated last week include four belt-buckle knives, one of them in Portland, a trio of seven-inch throwing knives, an 18-inch sword concealed in a walking cane and 30 guns.

Northwest cherry growers set mark

YAKIMA – The five states that make up the Northwest Cherry Growers have broken their shipment record this year, and the season isn’t over yet.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reported 22.7 million boxes of cherries have been shipped this year so far. Washington state leads with 18 million boxes.

The previous record was 20.3 million boxes set in 2009.

Producers said they still have until about Labor Day to continue shipping cherries.

B.J. Thurlby, president of the Washington State Fruit Commission and Northwest Cherry Growers, said the final season total should reach 23 million boxes.

Washington state is the largest of the five-state production area that also includes Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana.

Sheriff: Thieves stealing live wires

BELLINGHAM – The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said it has been seeing a rise in thieves using a lift or bucket truck to cut electrical wire from live circuits on power poles.

KOMO News reports that so far $100,000 worth of copper wire has been stolen.

Undersheriff Jeff Parks said the practice not only endangers the thieves but the public as well, especially in cases where live lines are left dangling. The thefts can also cause power outages and possibly fires.

Puget Sound Energy reported the thefts began in Whatcom County about two months ago.

Parks said it appears the suspects are using lift equipment or possibly a “bucket truck” to access live power lines, cutting whole spans of lines between power poles to steal the valuable metal they are made of.

Missing camper’s body found

MISSOULA – Montana authorities say they have found the body of a Tulsa, Okla., man reported missing as he traveled to Glacier National Park to celebrate his recovery from cancer.

The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office late Friday in a statement said the body of Mark Bennett was found after his truck and camper were spotted by a mountain biker on a forest road near Seeley Lake. He was last heard from Aug. 16.

Authorities say the body has been taken to the state Crime Lab in Missoula, and the death appears to be due to natural causes.

Deputy Bob Parcell said a journal indicated Parcell had been camping there for a few days. The last journal entry was Aug. 16.

Two dogs traveling with Bennett have been taken to an animal rescue facility.