Civil rights activist shares experience with students 8:57 a.m. PST January 12, 2016 Loud. Scary. Like being inside a beehive. These were the words Karen Trusty, 71, used to describe what it felt like being attacked by the Klu Klux Klan. As an activist in the 1960s, Trusty participated in countless efforts to promote civil rights, whichContinue reading "Civil rights activist shares experience with students"

50 refugees to come to Salem in February 1:05 a.m. PST January 9, 2016 Fifty refugees from various countries will be coming to Salem between February and September. Catholic Charities is leading the effort to find housing and services for the refugees. Jennifer Barischoff has helped resettle hundreds of refugees from around the world and wasContinue reading "50 refugees to come to Salem"

Village Home offers alternative for Salem students 8:36 a.m. PST January 11, 2016 Brysen Donily has a hard time in traditional schools. With his type 1 diabetes and attached insulin pump, the 7-year-old needs special care to make sure he is healthy and stable. As a solution, his mother Summer Donily has always home-schooled him.Continue reading "Village Home offers alternative for Salem students"

Local teacher honored with surprise award and $25,000 6:51 p.m. PST January 6, 2016 Ricardo Larios isn't just one in a million. He's one in more than 3 million; 3.6 million to be exact. Larios was honored Wednesday with the Milken Educator Award as one of America's top educators, out of the nearly 4 million privateContinue reading "Local teacher honored with surprise award and $25,000"

An education reporter's education 8:45 p.m. PST December 28, 2015 For me, this wasn't just another year -- 2015 was a year of changes, a year of learning. I began writing for the Statesman Journal in June and took on the education beat in August. Though still new to the beat,I've learned about the structure of education inContinue reading "An education reporter’s education"

2015 weather was unpredictable 5:13 p.m. PST December 28, 2015 We've endured some extreme weather this year, from balding snow packs in the Cascades in winter to a parched statewide drought in summer to muddy flooding at year's end. Here's a weather-wise look in the rear-view mirror as we finish 2015 with our windshield wipers set on high. 1. Hot weatherContinue reading "2015 weather was unpredictable"

Local graduate challenges stigmas, provides safe space 9:58 p.m. PST December 19, 2015 Growing up in Salem, Elisabeth Herrera was embarrassed to say where she went to school. Though she was proud to attend Stephens Middle School and McKay High School, she thought many people looked down on those schools. "McKay and North got a badContinue reading "Local graduate challenges stigmas, provides safe space"

Our exclusive interview with Santa Claus 7:15 p.m. PST December 19, 2015 As the Christmas holiday nears, we had a few questions to ask the big man in the red suit. We were able to catch Santa Claus just in time during his visit to the Willamette Heritage Center's Magic at the Mill opening onContinue reading "Our exclusive interview with Santa Claus"

Catch the Magic at the Mill before the lights go out 3:27 p.m. PST December 20, 2015 Thousands of people go to the Willamette Heritage Center in Salem each December to see more than 275,000 lights for the Magic at the Mill event. This year has been no different. Hundreds of families and individuals went this weekend, whileContinue reading "Catch the Magic at the Mill before the lights go out"

Mt. Angel firefighters rescue woman, grandson from river 6:59 p.m. PST December 19, 2015 A woman and her grandson were rescued on Saturday afternoon from Zollner Creek after clinging to a tree for as long as an hour after their car crashed. The Mt. Angel Fire Department received the call about 2:30 p.m. Brice Hauth wasContinue reading "Mt. Angel firefighters rescue woman, grandson from river"