A view looking down over Silverton on Thursday, September 10. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Update, 11:15 a.m. The Portland office of the FBI on Friday addressed the persistence rumors and claims on social media that Oregon wildfires are the result of a coordinated arson ring: FBI Portland and local law enforcement agencies have[Read More…]
Rachel Alexander
Salem-Keizer delays start of school to Sept. 17 in response to wildfires
First grade teacher Jenna Miller hands a math workbook to Nikolas Buczynski at Kalapuya Elementary School on Thursday, September 3. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) All Salem-Keizer School District students will start classes next Thursday, Sept. 17 after multiple schools had to cancel events preparing for the new school year because of[Read More…]
Salem volunteers needed for air quality shelter, shower trailer for evacuees
Tina Wang, a volunteer with the American Red Cross, unloads supplies are the Oregon State Fairgrounds. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Update: United Way now also collecting donations at 1705 Silverton Road NE near the fairgrounds, in addition to their office. The sign up link below for Marion County fairgrounds volunteering is[Read More…]
Marion County opens sign-ups for volunteers to help wildfire evacuees, plus more ways to help
Nicole Vanleerdam, right, and Hecto Martinez, of Marion Estates Independent Living, set up cots for their residents to use overnight after evacuating from Sublimity at the Oregon State Fairgrounds on Tuesday, September 8. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Update, Sept. 14: The sign up link below is no longer current. Volunteers can[Read More…]
Uncategorized Fleeing wildfires, families wait for news at Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem
The Oregon State Fairgrounds around 9 a.m. Tuesday, as hundreds of families gathered after wildfire evacuations in the Santiam Canyon area. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Hundreds of families living up the Santiam Canyon have gathered at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem, waiting for news about their homes and relatives. Just[Read More…]
Uncategorized With the future of school uncertain, more Oregon families opt for online charters
Ainsleigh, Alexi and Amelia Pack work in the family’s Keizer home. The three girls have enrolled in Willamette Connections Academy for the 2020-21 school year after a mixed experience with online classes in the spring (Courtesy/Pack family) Ainsleigh Pack said her final months at Whitaker Middle School were a mixed[Read More…]
Uncategorized DATA: Salem area still far from coronavirus targets to reopen schools in-person
A Covid-19 test swab is packaged up to be tested during a free drive-through testing clinic at Woodburn Ambulance Service on Tuesday, August 25. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) [ NOTE: Salem Reporter is providing this information free as a community service. You can support dissemination by subscribing. ] Marion County will be[Read More…]
“It’s not pretty”: Salem high schools scramble to finish student schedules in a world with fewer options
Shari Dixon, student data specialist at McKay High School, works through the intricacies of class scheduling at her desk on Thursday, September 3. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Sam Mendez says building a high school schedule is like a game of Jenga: you move one block and hope it doesn’t bring the[Read More…]
Salem kindergarteners meet teachers face-to-face in preparation for online school
Incoming kindergartner Emory Truehitt stops by Kalapuya Elementary school to pick up materials for online classes on Thursday, September 3. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Emory Truehitt grinned, revealing a mouth of mostly missing front teeth, as he flipped through his math workbook. The kindergartener was sitting in the back seat of[Read More…]
With two weeks until Salem-Keizer schools start, teachers head back to class
Annie DePiero inspects the library in her new classroom at South Salem High School on Sept. 1, 2020 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) When teacher Annie DePiero walked into her classroom this week, she said it felt “like a time capsule.” She hadn’t set foot in South Salem High School since mid-March,[Read More…]
