Saphara Harrell - Salem Reporter
Salem Art Department hosts tiny art show full of miniatures
Miniatures at the Salem Art Department’s Tiny Art Show. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) If you walk to the back of the Salem Art Department downtown, you’ll see a row of dollhouses. And if you look closely, you’ll see a tiny, tiny…
Salem church hosts couple living in their RV to help them transition out of homelessness
Westminster Presbyterian Church in south Salem is hosting a couple that lives in their RV as part of the Safe Parking program. (Courtesy/ Ted Burney) When Ted Burney’s congregation decided to allow a couple living in their camper to stay…
In final address, Mayor Chuck Bennett urges residents to pass infrastructure bond, consider public safety needs
Salem Mayor Chuck Bennett films a video acceptance for a literacy award in April 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Mayor Chuck Bennett beseeched Salem residents to vote for an upcoming infrastructure bond, highlighted the Salem Fire Department’s record call volume and…
Capital FC offers new soccer program for kids, young adults with disabilities
Capital FC soccer fields. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) JoAnna Fields wants all kids to be able to play soccer in Salem, no matter their ability. “My goal to give everybody an opportunity to play on the field,” she said. Fields is…
Salem Elks Lodge wants the city’s help paying for a fence following camping in Cascades
Motor homes and trailers parked at the Salem Elks Lodge #336 RV park on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Blake Whitson has seen members at the Salem Elks Lodge #336 get threatened and screamed at since the city…
Santiam Canyon wildfire survivors face chronic stress, trauma amid uncertainty about future
Two burned homes on each side of the North Santiam River at Gates show the potential for household and agricultural pollutants to flow into the river, a major source of Salem’s drinking water. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Over a year after…
Ankeny Hill Nature Center offers opportunity to learn through guided walks, activities
The Ankeny Hill Nature Center opens to the public Feb. 5. (Courtesy/ Ankeny Hill Nature Center) Dusky Canadian geese flock to the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge just south of Salem for winter refuge each year. This winter, it will be easier…
A quiet force working behind the scenes, Steve Powers heads for retirement
City Manager Steve Powers. (Courtesy/ Tami Carpenter) Steve Powers sees himself as an orchestra conductor, guiding the flow of Salem’s work while keeping the spotlight on the music, not himself. It’s an apt metaphor for a city manager who’s often…
Local climate group says city is “slow walking” approval of Climate Action Plan
Solar panels on the Library roof will be generating energy in the renovated building. (Courtesy/City of Salem) An effort from city leaders to implement Salem’s Climate Action Plan in phases is causing consternation from climate activists on and off the…
Outreach workers head to tucked away corners of Salem for annual homeless count
Lindsay Dent, program manager at The ARCHES Project, speaks with Nona Gilgen, right, and Lori Zamora, left, during the annual point in time count to assess homelessness, in Salem on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The sun shone…