Rachel Alexander
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
Salem private school under investigation after education department finds it broke state rules to reopen
Holy Family Academy on Thursday, December 10. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A Salem private school is under state investigation after the Oregon Department of Education concluded it violated state Covid restrictions by fully opening for regular classes in the fall. Holy…
Working to survive 2020, Pentacle Theatre moves out of downtown office
Lisa Joyce, executive director of Pentacle Theatre, holds a set piece from the 2020 production of “Murder on the Orient Express” while cleaning out the downtown office on Nov. 24 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Lisa Joyce looked wistfully at a gold-painted…
Christy Perry named finalist for National Superintendent of the Year
Salem-Keizer’s Christy Perry was named one of the top superintendents in the U.S. Friday. Perry, who has led Oregon’s second-largest school district since 2014, is one of four finalists for National Superintendent of the Year, an award given annually by…
Health workers cheer – and cry – as Salem Hospital rolls out first Covid vaccines
Salem Health CEO and nurse Cheryl Nester Wolfe, right, delivers Salem’s first Covid vaccine to Dr. Katherine Landen on Dec. 17 at Salem Hospital (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Jeffrey Tolbert had finished his overnight shift at Salem Hospital when he got…
PHOTOS: Covid vaccination begins for Salem Hospital workers
Lane Hawkes, emergency room nurse, receives a Covid vaccine at Salem Hospital on Dec. 17 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) An emergency room nurse, hospital cleaner, doctor and patient transport worker were the first people to receive a Covid vaccine in Salem…
One in three Salem-Keizer high school students failed a class fall quarter
Salem-Keizer high schools cut in half the number of failing grades students earned in the final weeks of fall quarter. But schools still recorded hundreds more students failing classes than typical. Eighteen percent of all grades high school students received…
Free Covid tests available Wednesday afternoon at state fairgrounds
Davalee Meade, a paramedic with Woodburn Ambulance Service administers a COVID-19 test during a free drive-through testing clinic on Tuesday, August 25. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Free Covid tests are available Wednesday afternoon at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem. From…
West Salem band and orchestra ring in holidays with virtual “Sleigh Ride” performance
West Salem High School band and orchestra students perform “Sleigh Ride” (Screenshot) They may be playing from home, but West Salem High School’s band and orchestra still found a way to spread some holiday cheer. About sixty students in the…
The first doses of Covid vaccine have arrived in Oregon. Here’s what comes next.
Viviana Gourley, medical assistant at Salud Medical Center, waits between patients at the center’s COVID-19 testing area on Wednesday, April 29. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) People who have spent months treating Covid patients and cleaning their hospital rooms will begin receiving…
Fire at Salem Housing Authority complex leaves 14 seniors displaced
Fourteen people are temporarily without a home after a fire Sunday afternoon swept through Robert Lindsey Tower, Salem Housing Authority’s complex for low-income seniors. Salem fire responded to the complex just before 2 p.m. Sunday after a fire started on…