By Salem Reporter
DMV temporarily closing Stayton office, 5 others
A closed Oregon DMV office. (Courtesy/Department of Transportation) Six Oregon DMV offices are temporarily closed due to staff shortages, including one in Marion County. The state Driver & Motor Vehicle Services department on May 31 closed its Stayton office, as…
Parents of children with severe disabilities press Legislature for change in caregiving system
(Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A group of parents with severely disabled children wants the state to continue to pay them as caregivers when the federal public health emergency ends. The emergency was declared at the beginning of the pandemic, allowing federal…
Since pandemic, Salem sees big uptick in asks for help with utility bills
A filter pond at the city of Salem’s water treatment facility (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) More Salem homeowners are seeking help from city programs to aid those who have trouble paying utility bills. The city in 2021 provided help to 1,701…
A second year of expanded summer programs ahead for Salem schools
Salvador Luna, 13, scrapes batter off of a mixer as Stella Pedersen, 12, washes her hands while the two work on a cast-iron dessert during the Farm to Fork enrichment camp at McNary High School in July 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem…
Salem’s Epilogue graffitied with swastikas, anti-Black Lives Matter messaging
“Mostly peaceful” spray painted on a window at Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails (Facebook/Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails) Editor’s note: This story contains images of graffitied swastikas. Jonathan Jones was having lunch on Memorial Day when he got a message from a…
Salem weekly Covid report for June 3: Local hospitalizations flat, cases falling
(Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) New Covid cases reported locally and statewide fell this week after climbing for the past several. Hospitalizations are holding about flat locally and are down regionally. HOSPITAL CAPACITY The average number of Covid patients at Salem Hospital…
13th Street Nursery celebrates 100th anniversary on Sunday
Scott and Dianna King took over 13th Street Nursery in 2018, 98 years after it first opened. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Generations of Salem area residents have counted on a small nursery off Southeast 13th Street for quality plants and service.…
LOCAL HISTORY: Oregon’s first state park, in Polk County, anchors centennial celebration
A sign at Sarah Helmick State Park details the family’s original donation to the state (Wikimedia Commons) This column was originally written for the Willamette Valley Genealogical Society’s publication in a slightly different form and is shared here with permission.…
State ‘back on track’ in creating network of addiction treatment, prevention services, audit says
A hallway leads to patient bedrooms for the medically managed withdrawal program at Bridgeway in Salem, where patients can detox from drugs and alcohol (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The state’s implementation of a new drug prevention and treatment network to help…
Salem businesses recognized for economic impact from travel
Participants in the Ironman event race past spectators in Riverfront Park during the 13.1-mile to Minto Brown Island and back on Sunday, July 25. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Salem’s tourism bureau is recognizing ten businesses and one person that helped bring…