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What’s making news in Salem you might have missed

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Good morning…

The impact in Salem is like a medium-sized company closing.

Western University of Health Sciences Lebanon Oregon

More than 100 people learned Friday they no longer have jobs with the Salem-Keizer School District.

That’s a lot of paychecks that will disappear – money that flows through the local economy.

Employees learned their fates in early morning emails, as Managing Editor Rachel Alexander reported.

And hundreds more have to pack their work things and move to a new school.

In the coming days, we’ll track how this will affect students, schools and staff. No part of Salem will remain untouched.

We’re interested in hearing from school employees. What’s in your future? What does this shuffle likely mean for students? If you’re moving to a new job, is that an opportunity or a setback?

For parents and others, what questions would you like our team to answer?

Send your thoughts and questions to Rachel ([email protected]).

This all comes as the community prepares for the 25th annual Crystal Apple Awards. The much-anticipated event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 22, at the Salem Convention Center.

Among the nominees we profiled was Marie Davis-Anderson, a custodian at McNary High School, and Trang Pham, a math mentor at Yoshikai Elementary School.

On the politics front, Tuesday is Election Day. You have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to get your ballot delivered to an official drop box. If you haven’t voted yet, check our election page for how to do so and background on local candidates.

Our team has kept a close eye on the mayor’s race between Chris Hoy, the incumbent, and his challenger, Julie Hoy. We’ve done profiles and hosted a televised debate to give the community background not otherwise available.

Reporter Abbey McDonald has gone beyond traditional political reporting. Her latest is a look at the campaign literature sent out by the mayoral candidates. Earlier, she delved into donations made to the campaigns.

On Tuesday night, you can count on Salem Reporter to bring you updated results. Watch our website and channels on Facebook and Twitter for the latest.

In other news you might have missed:

• Reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian reports that the Marion County Sheriff’s Office has a plan to keep its east Salem patrols, banking on raising fees.

• Reporter Joe Siess has the story about Salem police investigating the middle-of-the-night killing of a family’s cat, caught on surveillance video.

• New government oversight has been added to a downtown apartment project that has been awarded a tax break.

• Photographer Laura Tesler uses her pictures to take you to the Chemawa Pow Wow and the first-ever Tianguis de Salem.

• A Salem businesswoman explains her motivation to participate in a women’s pageant.

As always, thank you for reading and feel free to reach out to me anytime at [email protected] with ideas, questions or concerns.

–Les Zaitz, CEO and editor, Salem Reporter

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Salem Reporter’s new team includes, from left, Les Zaitz, Rachel Alexander, Abbey McDonald, Ardeshir Tabrizian and Joe Siess. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)


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