Chelsea Flora and Cali attended the Joys of Living Assistance Dog Graduation (Mary Louise VanNatta/Special to Salem Reporter) The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs graduated thirty-two service dogs on Saturday, March 19, at the Keizer Civic Center. The Salem nonprofit has raised and trained service dogs since 2004. The organization trains[Read More…]

Marlene Arellano, Family Link Referral Coordinator for FBB, works at Family Building Blocks Sustainer Happy Hour. (Mary Louise VanNatta/Special to Salem Reporter) In the nonprofit world, sustainers are those generous donors who pledge monthly.  Even a small, regular contribution helps organizations plan for the future. Family Building Blocks (FBB) held[Read More…]

Cynthia Patterson and Bobby Gonzales speak at the Salem YMCA’s Signature Event on Friday, March 4, at the Salem Convention Center. (Mary Louise VanNatta/Special to Salem Reporter) After postponing the event due to Covid concerns, the Salem Family YMCA held its first Signature Event on March 4.  Over 425 attendees[Read More…]

Retired Willamette Professor Xijuan Zhou helped with the exhibit (Mary Louise VanNatta/Special to Salem Reporter) The Salem Multicultural Institute opened the “Impressions of China” exhibition at the World Beat Gallery. Wei Anderson curated the exhibit, which gives a broad overview of Chinese arts, crafts, and traditions. Of particular interest is a[Read More…]

A vendor sells flowers at Salem’s Saturday Market in 2020. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) The past two years have been good to Salem’s farmers market. The pandemic left many people searching for alternatives to crowded grocery stores or seeking to get out of the house in a relatively safe setting –[Read More…]

Dr. Sheldon Nord interviews Obiomachi Abonyi, Jeremy Hale, Evan Olson, Hope White, and Asia Sage Jackson about their college experience at the Corban University Scholarship Luncheon. (Mary Louise VanNatta/Special to Salem Reporter) Corban University is a private university located in South Salem.  It first started as Phoenix Bible Institute in[Read More…]

Salem Fire Chief Mike Niblock accepts gifts for the 911 dispatchers from South Salem High School LINK students on Feb. 11, 2022. (Mary Louise VanNatta/Special to Salem Reporter) On Feb. 11, four students from the LINK program at South Salem High School delivered valentines to Salem’s dispatchers. The students made[Read More…]

Oregon State FFA student Jonwyn Ayres sings the national anthem at the SAIF Agri-Business Banquet (Mary Louise VanNatta/Special to Salem Reporter) The Agri-Business Banquet, sponsored by SAIF, was held Jan. 21 at the Salem Convention Center. The Salem Area Chamber of Commerce encouraged cowboy boots and masks at this popular[Read More…]

Volunteers hustle to fill wheelbarrows at Orchard Heights Park on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022 (Helen Caswell/Special to Salem Reporter) Early Saturday morning, West Salem’s Orchard Heights Park was 36 degrees and shrouded in fog. It was also teeming with 20 volunteers loading wheelbarrows full of wood chips and hauling them[Read More…]

Nikki Paxton and Erica Puopolo at the Wheel of Wine (Mary Louise VanNatta/Special to Salem Reporter) Family Building Blocks ventured out beyond its annual Gala of Trees event and spread the joy of Christmas around Salem. Its nineteen elaborately decorated trees were on display in various locations around town so[Read More…]