Chris Sarles, president and CEO of the Oregon Fruit Products LLC, shows labels for products sold by the company decades ago. Sarles says that the company has a long story that he hopes to carry on. (Jake Thomas/Salem Reporter) There’s a lot going on business. To help keep you up[Read More…]
Latest News
Pedestrian killed in apparent hit-and-run in Keizer
Police found a 70-year-old pedestrian dead after he was apparently struck by a vehicle outside Keizer Friday afternoon. Keizer police were called to the 6100 block of Windsor Island Road North around 12:30 p.m. Friday after receiving a report of a vehicle collision involving a pedestrian, the department said in[Read More…]
Wildfire victims face challenges finding housing in tight market
Smoke curls from fire still burning within view of the North Santiam River. The north side of the river was badly damaged by wildfires but large areas of the south side largely escaped. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Federal and local agencies are facing bureaucratic and logistical challenges as well as a[Read More…]
State reports show about 28,000 Oregon kids attending school in-person, with 32 student and staff Covid cases
James Gough, an incoming kindergartner at Kalapuya Elementary School, works on an assessment test to gauge his alphabet comprehension on Thursday, September 17. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) With tens of thousands of Oregon kids attending class in-person, the state has so far seen 32 cases of the virus tied to K-12[Read More…]
VOTE 2020: With ballots about to hit mailboxes, the U.S. Postal Service seeks to reassure Oregon voters
Connie Cruz, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, checks addresses while delivering mail in West Salem on Thursday, Oct. 8. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Covid pandemic is still ongoing, hundreds of Oregonians have been displaced by wildfires and concerns have been raised about mail slowdowns before the election. But[Read More…]
Oregon State Correctional Institution sees Covid outbreak
Oregon State Correctional Institution. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A medium-security prison located just outside of Salem has reported an outbreak of Covid a month after the prison was evacuated due to nearby wildfires. Fifty-nine inmates and six employees at Oregon State Correctional Institution, located at 3405 Deer Park Dr S.E.,[Read More…]
VOTE 2020: Al Davidson helped pioneer mail-in voting. But other states’ plans to vote by mail this election worry him
Al Davidson, former Marion County clerk, helped pioneer Oregon’s vote-by-mail system. With more states using vote-by-mail in the 2020 elections, Davidson said it’s been “like being rediscovered.” (Salem Reporter/Jake Thomas) Al Davidson hasn’t overseen a local election in Oregon since he retired as Marion County clerk in 2004. But with[Read More…]
Marion County health department recommends small groups, masks and staying outside to limit Halloween Covid spread
Tips from the Marion County Health Department for families choosing to trick-or-treat in 2020. Health officials in Oregon would rather that families skip trick-or-treating this year. But Katrina Rothenberger, Marion County’s public health division director, says she knows not everyone is going to listen. While the Oregon Health Authority is[Read More…]
Cherriots running nearly all routes following months of reduced service, but fewer than half of riders have returned
Caution tape closes off seats on a Cherriots bus to guide social distancing. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) More than six months after Salem’s transit service started implementing safety precautions because of Covid and several bus drivers tested positive, Cherriots has re-opened nearly all its routes. Service is back to 95% of[Read More…]
At St. Francis Shelter, an Internet upgrade helps bridge the digital divide
Kim Lemman, executive director of St. Francis Shelter, speaks in the shelter’s library room, where families got online before the Covid pandemic (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) In late 2019, staff at St. Francis Shelter had just finished renovating their library – a space for the 20 formerly homeless Salem families who[Read More…]