The Salem Police Employees Union failed in an effort to unionize its sergeants after a state Employment Relations Board ruling in April. (Amanda Loman/ Salem Reporter) The Salem Police Employees Union lost a legal battle that would have allowed sergeants in the police department into the officer’s union. On April[Read More…]

Marion County Fire District 1 will ask voters for another levy in the May 2021 election. (Courtesy/Marion County Fire District 1) After facing a $2.4 million budget shortfall, Marion County Fire District 1 is asking voters in a few weeks to pass a property tax levy that would help pay[Read More…]

Investigators from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office process the scene of a shooting in the Four Corners area of southeast Salem on March 24, 2021. (Courtesy/Marion County Sheriff’s Office) One of the 17-year-olds shot during an apparent marijuana deal gone bad died Saturday, turning the episode into a homicide. The[Read More…]

Trees fell onto tents in Wallace Marine Park during an intense storm on Valentine’s Day weekend. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Tino Montero didn’t know unsheltered people lived in Wallace Marine Park when he signed up for a contract job cleaning up city parks almost two years ago.  But on Thursday, he[Read More…]

Police Chief Trevor Womack. (Courtesy/Salem Police Department) Salem’s new police chief said the department’s ability to analyze data will be a top goal of the department moving forward. But Trevor Womack cautioned that other changes recommended in a draft assessment of the department released last week will take months if[Read More…]

James Edmonds was appointed to the Marion County Circuit Court in February. (Courtesy/ James Edmonds) James Edmonds wanted to become more involved in public service and serve the community he’s lived in his entire life. That’s what he hopes to accomplish as he takes on the role as Marion County[Read More…]

A Salem police car. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Salem Police Department needs more collaboration with community groups, and a formal community-oriented policing plan to spend more time developing relationships with the community. It also needs to conduct a staffing study and better use its data to direct staffing.   Those[Read More…]

Polk County Courthouse (Courtesy of Jolene Guzman/Polk Itemizer-Observer) A specialty court in Polk County geared toward helping people with mental illness in the criminal justice system is ending next month. Now, the county is looking to shift resources toward a model that better serves people with more severe mental health[Read More…]

Church at the Park is running a managed camp at the Oregon State Fairgrounds that started Feb. 1. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) A Salem social service agency fired a shuttle driver following an off-duty crash last month that injured a pedestrian and lead police to accuse her of having meth at[Read More…]