Category COMMUNITY
Meet the guitar shop owner who got Salem millions to help with housing and homelessness
Justin Martin. (Courtesy/Justin Martin) In the back room of a downtown Salem guitar shop, Justin Martin makes calls to secure millions of dollars for Salem. Martin, who’s going into his fifth year lobbying for the city, is also a part owner of Guitar Castle and…
Woman rescued after getting caught in Santiam River current
(Courtesy of Marion County Sheriff’s Office) First responders in Marion and Linn counties rescued a woman stuck in a Santiam River current Thursday afternoon. Workers at a Knife River facility called 911 at 1:30 p.m. after they heard a woman calling for help who was…
Saffron Supply Co. moves business after century downtown
Saffron Supply Co. is moving from its downtown location after nearly a century in the same spot. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) After spending a career in banking, Adam Stout wanted to be part of conversations about where the Salem community should go in the future. For…
Nonprofit providing Christmas gifts to Salem families in need gets $1,500 donation from local union
Volunteers wrapping gifts to deliver to Oregon families ahead of Christmas. (Courtesy of Christmas Family Adoption Foundation) Mike Burright was a Portland-area real estate agent in 2002 when a family he’d previously sold a house to told him they were going to lose everything. The…
UPDATED: City council votes to accept body-worn camera funding for Salem police
This story was updated following the city council vote Monday night. Salem police could be wearing body cameras as soon as next year. The Salem City Council voted unanimously Monday night on accepting a grant from the state legislature to fund a body-worn camera program…
With new ag complex, Chemeketa sets sights recruiting high school agriculture students
The Agriculture Complex at Chemeketa Community College on Nov. 3, 2021 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Every summer, Jared Hibbard-Swanson helps a few dozen middle and high schoolers farm a 6-acre plot in northeast Salem. The Marion Polk Food Share’s youth farm provides free boxes of local…
The Yard hosts ghouls and more in Halloween event
Nichole and Levi Liebelt dressed just right for the JFK Ghoulish Halloween Ball held in Salem on Saturday, Oct. 30. (Mary Louise VanNatta/Special to Salem Reporter) The Yard held the JFK Ghoulish Halloween Ball Saturday night with a great night to celebrate with a costume…
A place to buy a guitar since 1964, ABC Music Company closes
David Chassman, left, and son-in-law Dan Miles, right, posing in ABC Music Company, which closed earlier this month. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) After nearly 60 years in business, the remnants of ABC Music Company were gone in a single phone call. The music store has been…
Despite spending increase, survey finds Salem residents less satisfied with city street, sidewalk maintenance
Previous sidewalk damage on Pearl Street Northeast on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Salem residents’ satisfaction with the city’s maintenance of streets, sidewalks and bridges reached an all-time low since it began surveying residents in 2016. This year, fewer than half of residents…