Category COMMUNITY
VIDEO: Hoopla draws thousands of players
A basketball game on Court Street during the annual Hoopla 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Thousands of teams hit the streets around the Capitol for Hoopla, the 3-on-3 basketball tournament that returned to Salem after a year off because…
Family says there’s no better resting place for Salem climber who fell on Mount Jefferson
Steve Van Pelt and his wife, Katelyn, at Yosemite National Park. (Photo courtesy of Van Pelt’s family) Steve Van Pelt’s family said there are many lessons to be learned from his apparent death but avoiding risks and staying off mountains aren’t among them. Last week,…
Furniture creates a foothold to a better life for Salem refugees
Boaz Twizere, a refugee from Uganda, works on spacing out wine staves to be made into furniture at Sparrow Furniture on Wednesday, July 14. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) In a bustling woodshop behind Sparrow Furniture off Broadway Street, people are sanding wine staves and other pieces…
‘Bicycles for all’ shop provides more than just a way to get around
Bicycle mechanic Tim Koinzan inspects a bicycle at Northwest Hub on Wednesday, July 14. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) When Kirk Seyfert operated a volunteer bike repair shop in a church basement, he remembers a man coming in to get his bike fixed. The man had a…
Hundreds flock to Northgate Park for family council’s first community event
Araya Garcia, right, of Marion County Health and Human Services, plays a game with attendees to promote the new Family Connects program during the Hallman Neighborhood Family Council’s inaugural “Fun Fridays at Northgate Park” event on Friday, July 9, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Italian sodas,…
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…
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…