Category Community
With solar installation, Salem’s Jewish temple wants to be a community hub during natural disasters
Temple Beth Sholom on Saturday, June 26, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) As Millie Estrin lay on her deathbed in her Salem home, she extracted a promise from her rabbi: Salem’s Temple Beth Sholom would complete the solar project she had long pushed for. Two years…
Marion County Fair gearing up for (mostly) normal year
Equestrians with Marion County 4-H compete at the Oregon State Fairgrounds on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, ahead of the county fair. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Fair coordinators have to have a bit more than a barn to put on a show. About 30 days after the…
PHOTOS: Historic photo contest winners showcase Salem history
Rebekah Whillhite’s photo “Blue Ribbon” which won in the Salem Historic Landmarks Commission annual photo contest. (Courtesy/ Salem Historic Landmarks Commission) Rebekah Whillhite was getting her vaccine at the Oregon State Fairgrounds when inspiration struck. She was trying to figure out to beat the photo…
After decades of service, Salem park’s garden leader heads for retirement
Gretchen Carnaby works with “rose detectives” trying to identify rare 19th Century species in Bush’s Pasture Park’s oldest rose garden. (Helen Caswell/Special to Salem Reporter) After more than 30 years of citizen leadership in Bush’s Pasture Park, Gretchen Carnaby is stepping down from her garden…
As owners prepare to sell beloved Willamette riverboat, they say it was all about making memories
Barbara and Richard Chesbrough pose for a photo inside the Willamette Queen on June 15, 2021. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Richard Chesbrough likes to tell people he’s the only person you’ve ever met who’s married 350 women. And he’s got the paperwork to prove it. After…
PHOTOS: Make Music Day Salem marks a return to normalcy and the start of summer
RiverCity Rebels perform at the Wooly Bully Stage at the Willamette Heritage Center during Make Music Day in Salem. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) It’s been a rare sight to see huddles of people gathered maskless since the pandemic upended lives last spring. But on Monday, the…
By next spring, Salem’s own minor league basketball team will take to the court
Jason Conrad, co-owner of the new minor league basketball team coming to Salem, the Salem Capitals. (Courtesy/Jason Conrad) Salem sports fans will soon have a new team to root for. By next spring, a minor league basketball team called the Salem Capitals is slated join…
Fuerza Campesina forms to help underhoused farmworkers
The sign at The ARCHES Project. (Anthony McGuire/Special to Salem Reporter) In the past year, the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency handed out millions to those struggling to pay rent during the pandemic. More than half of those who received help through that program were…
Salem’s Awesome 3000 race won’t happen this summer, but organizers have their sights on a 2022 return
LaTishia Crosen ran her first Awesome 3000 in 1987, just a few years after the annual Salem fun run began. Her daughter Cailinn, 16, has raced every year since 2010, including in 2020 when the event was held virtually. “I told her about how me…