The Salem-Keizer School District is going to court to force a Keizer church to sell its land. At issue are about six acres of bare land owned by St. Edward Catholic Church that district leaders say they need to expand the campus of the adjacent McNary High School. Church leaders[Read More…]
Latest News
New year in Oregon: Leaders reflect on 2018, talk aspirations for 2019
Senate President Peter Courtney (Salem Reporter files) In 2018, Oregonians were blanketed by dense smoke from wildfires burning hundreds of thousands of acres. They contributed to the most expensive political race in the state’s history, ultimately won by Gov. Kate Brown. Oregon experienced a strong economy and rising wages, while[Read More…]
Retired Salem couple fixes up homes for resettled refugees
Janet Neuberg, left, stands with friends Jim and Joan Stembridge outside the Stembridge home in south Salem. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Jim and Joan Stembridge didn’t set out to spend their retirement years as landlords. But after purchasing and remodeling their third rental home this year, they concede the label fits.[Read More…]
Officials say Oregon insulated from federal shutdown for now
The Oregon State Capitol in Salem. Federal dollars that flow to state agencies are frozen in the midst of a federal government shutdown. State officials say they are not yet impacted. (Salem Reporter files) Oregon is not yet expected to feel the impacts of a budgetary stalemate that shut down[Read More…]
Wildlife enthusiasts devote their time to saving injured animals
Jessy Gill shows the songbird habitat at the Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) Jessy Gill was raised taking in injured animals. She watched as people brought over birds and small mammals with broken bones and other ailments for her mother to mend. “When I had friends come over,[Read More…]
When the calendar requires the release of insanity defendants in Oregon, harms often follows
(Illustration special to the Enterprise by Katherine Lam) After Sean Rieschel punched a woman at a laundromat for refusing to give him $3.50, he was found “guilty except for insanity” in 2010 and sent to the Oregon State Hospital. There, he was treated for bipolar and substance-use disorders — help[Read More…]
Radio producer provides venue for community issues
Melanie Zermer at KMUZ studios last Friday morning. Zermer, 61, is one of the station’s founding board members and is working to make the station a hub for local news and music. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Melanie Zermer’s peers call her “tireless.” “Oh I’m feeling kind of tired this morning,” she[Read More…]
In 15 years, Salem Dream Center has grown to help hundreds of kids through its mentor program
Renee Oviatt helps a Salem Dream Center youth swing from a rope at The Rock Boxx Climbing Gym. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) Fifteen years ago, Craig Oviatt wanted to help children born into poverty escape things like food insecurity, a lack of education and criminal records. He chose West Salem’s Edgewater[Read More…]
Shifting political climate inspires local activist
When former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was fired in November, Pam McCollum quickly mobilized about 400 people to a rally in downtown Salem to show their concern for President Donald Trump’s use of executive power. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) Pam McCollum worked for years as a social worker, trying to make[Read More…]
Salemtowne man collects 18,000 cans and bottles a year for charity
Chuck Zobrist inspects a bag of bottles and cans dropped off by a neighbor. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Chuck Zobrist doesn’t drink much soda or beer. But the 80-year-old has become a fixture at the North Salem Bottle Drop, where he turned in more than 18,000 cans and bottles last year.[Read More…]