Neighborhood News is a monthly Salem Reporter feature to highlight news or issues of concern to each Salem neighborhood association. Read previous editions here.
Salem is divided into 17 neighborhood associations that meet monthly. They serve as a conduit to city officials for things like park improvements, road projects and planning and building. Learn more and find your association here.
Leaders of each association are invited to submit a brief news item or report highlighting the association’s work, neighborhood concerns, upcoming activities or anything else of interest. Submissions are lightly edited for style and clarity.
Grant Neighborhood Association
In the beginning of August developers Dev NW invited us to their open house for Evergreen Veterans Apartments, the permanent supportive housing project in the historic First German Baptist Church and Parsonage site on Cottage Street.
There are many aspects of their renovation to be wowed by, including essentially constructing a building within a building to maintain many of the unique architectural features while creating bright, accessible apartments. We were particularly pleased to see that the aesthetic decisions we were invited to participate in were thoughtfully considered and implemented, including the design layouts and locations of the informative plaques in front of the site, the choice of exterior paint colors, and most importantly, the effort to maintain the distinctive arched windows. We look forward to welcoming our new Grant residents to the neighborhood!
Our Sept. 5 meeting was lively and well attended. There were no scheduled outside speakers allowing for plenty of time to focus on concerns about neighborhood safety, off-leash dog issues, take-aways from the Community Violence Reduction Initiative, and a vote to pursue funds for Grant Park improvements. In addition, we discussed our response to the land use application for the much anticipated Cannery development project.
A summary of the meeting will be available in our October newsletter and on our website. Minutes from the September meeting will be posted before the Oct. 3 meeting.
For more news, follow GNA on Instagram and Facebook.
–Submitted by Susan Napack, vice chair
Highland Neighborhood Association
The Highland Neighborhood Association is hosting Highland Harvest Play & Photo Day on Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Highland Park, 2025 Broadway St N.E. This free event is open to all local families and offers a kids’ playdate and a professional photoshoot with a fall-themed setup. It’s a great opportunity for families to spend time together and meet neighbors while enjoying the fall season.
Kids can enjoy outdoor playtime, while parents can take advantage of the seasonal photo opportunity. The photoshoot will feature an autumn-themed backdrop, providing a chance to capture memorable family pictures.
Please note that the event is weather-dependent, so keep an eye out for updates.
–Submitted by Holly Schiefelbein, outreach committee chair
North Lancaster Neighborhood Association
Do you live, work, own property or own a business in the North Lancaster Neighborhood? If so, then you’re a member of NOLA Neighborhood Association! Aren’t sure? Check out this link to find out which NA you land in.
NOLA meets on the first Wednesday of every month at Blanchet Catholic High School – 4373 Market St N.E. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.
Our next meeting is on Wednesday, Oct. 2nd. This will be NOLA’s annual meeting. The theme is seniors. Come learn about resources, programs and activities from a presentation by Center 50+.
We will have our standard agenda items including reports from law enforcement and city council followed by Board appointments. NOLA has a few openings on the board roster for the coming year. We encourage any member of the North Lancaster Neighborhood Association to join us in making NOLA a better place.
We hope to see you in October…I usually plug muffins in here, but there might be something even tastier since it’s our Annual Meeting.🎃
-Submitted by Deanna Garcia, chair
Northgate Neighborhood Association
We are coming to a period when we are between seasons. The ice cream truck that rolled slowly down our streets with its merry music is almost gone, replaced by yellow buses everywhere picking up or bringing school children back from school for the day. But one thing that does not change in season is the art mural at Northgate Park. It will remain perpetually spring.
For those who never got there, we’d like to share a few more pictures of these Northwest wildlife,
some small, some large with their offspring, born with pride.
We received a request to get a wolverine into the mural as there were sightings of this ferocious, loner animal at the Oregon Coast. North American wolverines receive federal protection as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
So, this is what the mama and her cubs look like.
You might be wondering what that antelope-looking animal is in the panel next to the wolverine. It is the pronghorn. Although they look like antelopes, they shed their horns annually while antelopes keep theirs for life. Some people may mistake them for deer, but pronghorn are much smaller, standing roughly three feet high at the shoulder.
We took August off and now that it’s September, our association is back with all cylinders running.
At the July meeting, Kevin Mannix and Julie Hoy were our guest speakers.
Kevin didn’t care where our jurisdiction borders ended. His concern was about finding solutions to problems to help the whole community regardless of what party we are. For example, bipartisan housing supply expansion and securing funding for local housing shelters and looking for treatment places for addicts for their better life while helping the whole community.
As for Julie, we hereby wish her a lot of success in her future endeavors!
Before we go, we wanted to add one more art mural of the American Bald Eagle pair below. They are sophisticated birds and mate for life, only finding a new mate if theirs dies.
The one at the left is telling her he’s off to get some salmon. She is looking at him as if to say, “Don’t you dare bring back any ugly carp like you did before.”
Since we have more art murals to show to anyone who has not been there yet, tune in next time to the coming attractions.
-Submitted by Kaethe Mentrum, secretary/park chair
Northeast Neighbors
NEN Sept. 17th meeting
NEN’s September meeting will be held in person at McRae Park, 2051 Chemeketa St. N.E. from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
We had an amazing time at the Englewood Forest Festival, our free art, environmental, and community event! Save the date for 2025 festival on Saturday, Aug. 9, in Englewood Park. Artist applications open on February 15, 2025.
McRae Park mural
We are finally going to draw and paint a mural at McRae Park funded by the Salem Park Improvement Fund!
Sorry about the wait- a shoulder surgery delayed the start of the mural. Look for more information on how you can participate on our new website, http://www.NortheastNeighbors.org/ The project will begin in September and run through mid-October. Or email us to be put on the mailing list.
October 8 NEN candidate forum
Meet and ask questions of candidates for the Oregon House of Representatives from District 21 at NEN’s October in person meeting at The Jory Apartments, 909 Park Ave NE. at 6:30 p.m.
Who to call
We are receiving an increase in concerns about public safety and houselessness. The police department has advised us that if we are afraid for our safety, please call at the time. Although the police are overwhelmed with calls about violence, if they are available, they can send a car.
For concerns about suspected drug sales, please contact the detectives at the Drug Activity Tip Line by calling 503-315-2566, or send an email with photographs to [email protected]. Please be aware these investigations take time.
The city has a page of who to call for concerns about homeless camping, garbage and resources for the unsheltered here.
The city’s SOS team will respond to concerns on public and private property.
CVRI
NEN participated in the planning sessions and meetings of the Community Violence Reduction Initiative. We will give an update at our Sept. 17th meeting.
–Submitted by Lynn Takata, chair
South Central Association of Neighbors
The SCAN neighborhood association kicks off our year with our first meeting following our summer hiatus on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 6:30 p.m. at the South Salem High School library. Come meet your neighbors and find out about great things we are working on for the year ahead. Visit us online at www.scansalem.org
The biggest event of the year in SCAN is coming soon! The Salem Art Fair at Bush’s Pasture Park runs September 13-15. Che k out the Art Fair website for more information.
–Submitted by Evan West, president
West Salem Neighborhood Association
August and September were the proverbial “lazy days of summer” for the WSNA. We had no executive meeting in August, or general meeting in September, but we’re ready to kick things off again beginning Oct. 3. Please join us for the annual election of WSNA board members. The positions of chair, vice chair, treasurer, and secretary are on the ballot. There is no proxy voting, so you must register at the meeting to make your vote count.
Website: WSNA is getting ready to launch our new website, thanks to the amazing efforts of web designer Rebekah Cheeley, also WSNA’s newest committee chair for social media. Look for it at: www.westsalemna.com after the first of October.
Community Engagement Committee: WSNA has launched a new committee to help bring community projects to life in West Salem. The group of six have met once to discuss potential projects, some of which “lean into the community” where we offer our support to existing projects, and some that will be spearheaded by WSNA itself. We’ll keep you posted on upcoming meetings and new projects, but if you’re interested in getting involved, please reach out via email at: [email protected]. We’d love to have your ideas and energy!
Parks: Thanks to the hard work of former WSNA Parks Chair Linda Birley and current Parks Chair Pamela Garland, the new Edgewater Park signage, kiosk, and garbage cans were installed this last week. Thank you to everyone who made this happen, it looks amazing!
Upcoming Meetings:
- Oct. 3: 6:30 p.m. at Roth’s in West Salem.
- Nov. 7: 6:30 p.m. at Roth’s in West Salem.
WSNA Contact Information
- Website: www.westsalemna.com
- Email: [email protected]
-Submitted by Mo Zwicker, communications chair
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