Western University of Health Sciences Lebanon Oregon

Your Thursday evening update on Salem news

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Good evening, Salem.

Leaders of the Salem-Keizer School District and the teacher union submitted final offers to a state mediator today.

Western University of Health Sciences Lebanon Oregon

Those offers cover the major issues unresolved after 10 months of bargaining for a new contract. The two sides aren’t far apart on pay raises, but key sticking points remain spelling out target class sizes and caseloads – something the district has opposed – and the definition of a full-time teacher.

Teachers last week declared an impasse following more than 10 months of bargaining for a new contract.

An impasse declaration is the first step toward a strike, though under timeline spelled out in state law, teachers could not go on strike until after spring break.

We’ll have a more detailed report tomorrow with specifics on the final offers, what’s at stake, and what it will mean for students in the district.

Here’s some of today’s news. Catch our latest reports anytime on our website.

www.salemreporter.com

Oregon Democratic lawmakers reach tentative deal to address drug addiction crisis

Democrats in the Legislature plan to create a new class of misdemeanor and add opportunities to avoid jail and enter treatment

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ATV likely sparked Liberty Fire last August, investigation finds

Smoke started rising from a south Salem field soon after ATVs drove through dry grass, according to witness interviews in a report from the Salem Fire Department. The blaze triggered…

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Cross-country bus trip means more accessible activities at Salem YMCA

Volunteer Rob Weathers drove 2,281 miles across the U.S. to deliver an accessible bus to the Salem Family YMCA.

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www.salemreporter.com

Salem man charged with fatally shooting man found on Cordon Road

Ismael E. Ventura-Arellano, 21, was charged Thursday with murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old found shot to death on Jan. 25 in the Southeast Mill Creek neighborhood.

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