Girls basketball: Huskies take No. 2 team to wire, then play first playoff game in 30 years
Benny Westcott The first playoff appearance for the Sweet Home girls basketball program since 1992 was a short-lived…
Rallying for Gavin
Benny Westcott Dozens of people from around the state arrived at Sankey Park on the afternoon of Tuesday,…
The proof is in the work
Benny Westcott The New Era’s fortunate to have a feature not many other newsrooms can brag about: a…
Homeless facility site moves again
Benny Westcott In what’s become a constantly evolving back-and-forth, years-long process, the Sweet Home City Council has once…
Principal: Grad rate worrisome
Benny Westcott Sweet Home High School Principal Ralph Brown told School Board members, at their monthly meeting Monday,…
Towry resigns as Sweet Home city manager
Benny Westcott Ray Towry resigned as Sweet Home’s city manager Friday, Feb. 18, during a special meeting of…
Shelter: Homeless no more
Benny Westcott Duck Hollow neighborhood residents who expressed opposition to a proposed homeless facility near their properties during…
‘Sleep center’ discussion continues
Benny Westcott After more than a year of discussion and, more recently, two back-to-back meetings held Jan. 25…
City issues letter to County Commission detailing mill property concerns
Benny Westcott A letter signed by Sweet Home Mayor Greg Mahler, with the unanimous backing of the City…
Sweet Home sees building increase in 2021
Benny Westcott When discussing construction in Sweet Home, words like “growth” and “demand” come up often. According to…
Fire calls up in 2021, chief reports
Benny Westcott The Sweet Home Fire District made 3,385 runs in 2021 — 865 were fire-related — a…
ODE: Sweet Home grad rate above state average
Benny Westcott According to Oregon Department of Education data from the 2020-2021 school year, Sweet Home School District’s…
Gleaners ask residents to stop dumping at site
Benny Westcott The Sweet Home Gleaners, Inc. relies on donations to run its thrift store. But its staff…
Council supports homeless facility location
Benny Westcott The Sweet Home City Council voiced unanimous support on Jan. 11 for a “temporary managed homeless…
Parent addresses sparsely attended school district listening session
Benny Westcott A “listening session” was held Tuesday, Jan. 4, at Sweet Home Junior High, allowing parents to…
School board reviews state COVID-19 advisory
Benny Westcott Sweet Home School District School Board members reviewed the Jan. 3 Oregon Department of Education’s school…
Committee talks options for the homeless
Benny Westcott Community Services Officer Sean Morgan delivered numbers regarding Sweet Home’s homeless population and discussed a proposed…
Downtown streetscape unveiled to council
Benny Westcott The Eugene-based Dougherty Landscape Architects firm presented a recap of its proposal for preliminary “Downtown Streetscape”…
Mom brings kids to U.S. after 18-year effort
Benny Westcott On the early afternoon of Dec. 5, two young Filipinos, 22-year-old Veronica Howser and 19-year-old Jacob…
Turnovers plague boys basketball as Sweet Home falls to 1-4
Benny Westcott Sweet Home boys basketball (1-4) was unable to find the win column last week. On Tuesday…
School board discusses staffing woes
Benny Westcott At the Sweet Home School District’s Dec. 13 board meeting, certified employees union leader Steve Thorpe…
Girls basketball wins two games on road, falls to No. 3 Junction City
Benny Westcott Sweet Home girls basketball (3-2) won two games and lost one – to a top-ranked team…
Train ride for heroes
Benny Westcott Sunday evening’s Santiam Excursion Train ride on the Albany and Eastern Railroad wasn’t just an everyday…
Plan explores natural threats to Sweet Home
Benny Westcott Severe storms and wildland-urban interface fires, where neighborhoods and nature meet, pose the two greatest threats…
Young wordsmiths participate in NaNoWriMo
Benny Westcott For the last five years, students in Lana Holden’s seventh-grade language arts classes at Sweet Home…