Category Community
Agribusiness executive Craig Smith chosen as new Union Gospel Mission leader
The Union Gospel Mission announced Monday that Craig Smith, a local volunteer and agriculture business leader, will become the organization’s new executive director May 1.
Salem residents meet to discuss DOGE at nonpartisan coffee talks
About 30 people discussed aggressive federal cost-cutting efforts and sweeping layoffs in a Friday Braver Angels event organized to promote respectful political discussion and disagreement.
Plans for YMCA-led downtown service hub fizzle out after financial troubles
A Salem project was slated to combine more than a dozen government and nonprofit service providers into one downtown hub. State officials recently declined to back the effort after funding challenges forced project leaders to stray from their original plans.
COLUMN: Being ready for disaster takes all of us
Mark Wardell, the leader of West Salem’s Community Emergency Response Team, explains what motivated him to start preparing for emergencies.
Salem-area pantries will have less meat, dairy following Trump administration food bank cuts
Recent Trump administration cuts mean about one million fewer pounds of food will come to the Marion Polk Food Share this year. It’s about 10% of the food the agency distributes and a large share of in-demand items like meat and eggs.
New Marion County court program aims to reunite Native families in child welfare system
Marion County has one of two courts in Oregon with a program dedicated to the Indian Child Welfare Act. The service is intended to return Native American children to their parents’ custody by shaping the court process around Native families’ unique needs.
Keizer vigil planned Friday for McNary junior who died in crash
A public vigil for Zolayha Johnson is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at the Southeast Keizer Community Center.
Two cousins canoe 1,300 miles on Columbia River in new documentary screening Saturday
“Columbia River Canoe Project” will screen Saturday, March 29, at Salem Cinema, taking the viewer on a 1,300-mile canoe journey down the Columbia River from Butte to the Pacific Ocean. The screening starts at 5:30 p.m. and is followed by a Q&A session with canoer and one of the film’s creators, Robert Lester.
COLUMN: The most common Medicare mistakes
Jim Sellers, former Oregon journalist and state agency employee, writes a regular column to help thousands in Salem deal with the confusing world of Medicare and federal benefits. He's available to answer your questions.