Our roundup of Salem news you might have missed
Good morning…
Once again, families in Salem mourn over a shooting death.
A 16-year-old sophomore from South Salem High School died in Bush’s Pasture Park on Thursday.
And a 16-year-old has now surrendered to police, the suspect in the killing and for wounding two other teens.
The gun fire happened in Salem’s most iconic park. People were out walking their dogs. Or meeting a friend for a chat. Or participating in a class.
Reporters Abbey McDonald and Ardeshir Tabrizian along with Managing Editor Rachel Alexander responded immediately to this tragedy.
They produced a riveting account of what happened. That was possible in part because witnesses trusted our team to share their stories.
In times like this, accurate information has a high premium.
The rumors that started swirling immediately on social media only added to the chaos.
The best antidote to speculation is fact.
In the hours and days after the shooting, our team continued to report, sorting out the false information, verifying every detail. You can find all the developing coverage on our website.
I want to note a key change in practice by the Salem Police Department, one we have asked for. In the past, the agency has not disclosed the names of juveniles who are victims. That changed with the park shooting. Our view is juvenile victims deserve the community to know who they are. Leaving them nameless diminishes their fate.
Last week’s shooting comes as Ardeshir continues working on an in-depth report about the shooting death of another 16-year-old in Salem. He’s examining the boy’s life and how he came to a place where he died by gunfire on a city street.
The park shooting occurred less than 24 hours after a city-sponsored community meeting on gun violence. At this session, Salem city officials formally kicked off their effort to do something about the public threat.
Earlier, the Town Hall on Gun Violence, produced by Salem Reporter, highlighted the numbers and trends in gun crimes. One panelist at that time noted the increasing number of juveniles involved.
We’ll continue to develop stories. We’ll tell you what public officials are doing. We’ll report if promised actions don’t happen.
You’re invited to help our reporting. Share your experiences. Send us your questions. Suggest stories to do or issues to examine. Tell us who YOU want to be held to account. Email your thoughts to Rachel Alexander ([email protected]). I assure you each and every submission will be read and considered.
In other news, Abbey McDonald chronicled the deployment of a new van to help social workers reach the unhoused. That story prompted a note from Jen, a self-described homeless person.
“That outreach team deserves recognition for everything that they do. Most of the time they don’t even realize the impact that they have. That team has helped me multiple times when I had injuries sustained while homeless and living in Wallace. They have also saved my life on 2 occasions,” she wrote. (Salem Reporter provided her a complimentary subscription when she explained she couldn’t afford to sign up.)
We introduced readers to two students from the Oregon School for the Deaf. They were preparing to compete in a state poetry event, and they explained how they were getting ready.
On the business front, there was big news downtown. Salem Center has new, local owners who explained their plans for the downtown mall. New information showed what’s happening with Salem’s housing market, where rents have increased by more than 20 percent in five years.
Oregon’s legislators went home last week, ending their 2024 session three days ahead of the deadline. Our colleagues at Oregon Capital Chronicle report it was a productive few weeks at the Capitol – and why that was. Legislators reformed Oregon’s drug laws and set aside more than $300 million to bolster housing across Oregon.
They didn’t leave town before handing out funding to local projects, from theater restoration to museum expansions. Salem got its share and we’ll be reporting soon the details of who is getting extra state cash.
Coming up, the Salem City Council this week is considering a dramatic change in ambulance services. Councilors will consider putting that service back under the roof of the Salem Fire Department.
In the days ahead, watch for interesting local political news – and a great change coming to Salem Reporter. We’re eager to share both developments with you soon.
Of course, you can see every story we publish anytime on our website.
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Salem Reporter is fortunate to have the resources to pour journalistic resources into a major event such as the Bush’s Pasture Park shooting. That’s because of the wonderful partnership between our team and the community.
We can provide such exclusive service because readers like you believe in us – and want credible local news.
To our subscribers, we are thankful for you every day.
And we can do even more. That takes more readers coming aboard as subscribers. Our fee is modest. The cost is $10 a month, $100 for the year.
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As always, thank you for reading and feel free to reach out to me anytime at [email protected] with ideas, questions or concerns.
–Les Zaitz, CEO and editor
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