Category State
Mike Nearman has been expelled from the Legislature. Here’s what comes next
Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, at his desk on March 30, 2021 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) The lights went out quickly in an office in the Oregon Legislature. After a historic Thursday night vote, state Rep, Mike Nearman, R-Independence, was expelled from the Legislature for his…
Oregon State Hospital Advisory Board says it was left out of loop on hospital staffing crisis
The Oregon State Hospital on Friday, May 28, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) An advisory panel to the Oregon State Hospital says it was blind-sided by the hospital’s move to request help from the National Guard to help relieve a severe staffing shortage. In a June…
With 30 National Guard members, help is on the way for Oregon State Hospital’s staffing crisis
Sgt. 1st Class Dugald Campbell, of the Oregon National Guard, poses for a photo in his mask. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Members of the Oregon National Guard are heading to the Oregon State Hospital next week, undergoing training before assuming hospital roles as the…
Demonstrators intentionally let into Capitol by state Rep. Mike Nearman, report finds
Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, at his desk on March 30, 2021 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) State Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, “more likely than not” intentionally breached security protocols by allowing a group of demonstrators into the Capitol, impeding the ability of staff to function. That’s the…
Oregon State Hospital makes it through Memorial Day weekend with enough staff
The Oregon State Hospital on Friday, May 28, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Oregon State Hospital had enough staff to care for more than 500 patients for the three-day Memorial Day weekend despite a dire ongoing labor shortage at the Salem psychiatric hospital. Rebekah Gipson-King,…
Memorial honoring Vietnam War veterans on Oregon Capitol grounds moves forward
Ron Morgan recalled how after serving in the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War he tried to stop in an American Legion post but was told he couldn’t enter. “You’re not a real veteran. That’s not a real war,” Morgan, a 75-year-old resident of Salem…
State hospital shifts managers to nursing work to get through holiday weekend
The Oregon State Hospital on Friday, May 28, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A staffing crisis at the Oregon State Hospital means 24 managers will spend Memorial Day weekend covering the jobs of nurses who normally care for the 500 patients on the Salem campus. Superintendent…
Here are the requests from Salem area lawmakers on how to spend federal stimulus dollars
A rendering of the YMCA’s new gym and headquarters in downtown Salem by CBTWO Architects(Courtesy/YMCA of Marion and Polk Counties) Rural Polk County will get broadband internet. The local YMCA will be able to offer childcare after upgrading its building. Towns outside of Salem will…
With thin staff and others working double shifts, state hospital calls for National Guard help
The Oregon State Hospital this week took the unprecedented step of calling for the National Guard to help care for hundreds of Oregon’s most severely mentally ill people. It’s the final step in a five-stage plan the hospital created to deal with a worsening staffing…