Melissa Pola (Ardeshir Tabrizian/Salem Reporter) When Melissa Pola first walked into Her Place in Salem on Nov. 23, 2011, she dropped to her knees and started crying. After spending seven months in jail and enduring two decades of addiction, she’d found a place where she…

Carol Adelman. (Courtesy/Carol Adelman) When Carol Adelman was a preschooler, her father would take her across the street to visit Reverend Hartwig’s garden in Salem, where he had 300 varieties of peonies. Those early trips spawned a lifelong love of the flower for Adelman. Years…

A mural on the side of the building where Valley Roofing and Exteriors is located. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Following an indignant Facebook post and a petition that garnered thousands of signatures, city of Salem officials this week went on the offensive saying they haven’t leveraged…

A Pallet shelter with the door decorated. (Courtesy/Hazel Patton) When Hazel Patton and fellow volunteers Ron Steiner and Emil Graziani set out to raise money for micro shelters, they thought they’d be lucky to sponsor 25. “We almost had that many the first week,” she…

Jenny Meisel, native and invasive plant specialist with the Marion Soil and Water Conservation District, in eastern Washington among balsamroot and phlox. (Courtesy/ Jenny Meisel) Sometimes when Jenny Meisel drives down the highway, she’ll do a double take if she sees a plant she thinks…

(Courtesy/Dakota Tangredi) For Dakota Tangredi, a day at work as a waste reduction coordinator for Marion County often means showing up at apartment buildings with a safety vest, clipboard and gloves to examine their garbage.  Starting with the recycling bins, Tangredi makes a rough estimate…

Students at Howard Street Charter School. (Courtesy/Robert Salberg) Students at Howard Street Charter School are embarking on an art project to make life brighter for people living in micro shelter villages in Salem that are intended to serve as a transition out of homelessness. In…