The New Era - All about Sweet Home since 1929

Ammon Knight knows how it feels to be intelligent and yet not have a language to communicate from within. It wasn't until he started painting that he was able to find his language, and now he wants...

By Sarah Brown Lebanon Local Despite the pandemic and the tenacity of the COVID-19 virus to linger and disrupt business, some new businesses still managed to pop up like stubborn flowers in rocky...

A bar manager at a tavern near Waterloo delivered a drink to a customer and listened to her story. The patron's pregnant 15-year-old sister was moving to Lebanon to live with her, and she didn't know...

By Sarah Brown Lebanon Local The Lebanon Chamber of Commerce just rolled out an app dedicated to promoting local businesses, events and entertainment. "Explore Lebanon" features links to helpful resou...

By Sarah Brown Lebanon Local Mayor Paul Aziz denied a request to proclaim June as Pride Month, following an April 13 City Council meeting where several members supporting the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay,...

The Lebanon Strawberry Festival Association, Inc. has changed its annual event's fee model this year as an approach to solving two problems: inflation and traffic to Cheadle Lake Park. Instead of...

An Albany man was sentenced to 30 days in prison after pleading no contest Wednesday, April 27, at Linn County Circuit Court to third-degree assault for his participation in a February attack on a...

It took Jake Sansing 10 days to make it to Sweet Home on foot after he began his "Jake Walks America" journey from Newport on Saturday, April 9. Sansing, who hails from a small town in Tennessee, is...

A Colorado man reported missing last week while visiting relatives in the Sweet Home area was found safe Thursday, April 21, in Cottage Grove.  William Tyrrell was initially reported missing Sunday,...

UPDATE: Linn County Sheriff reported on April 21 that William Tyrrell has been located and is home safe. The investigation revealed that Tyrrell wandered away from Marks Ridge Road and walked to...

Not all who wander are lost.  Some are just looking for rocks.  More than 3,000 wanderers did just that at the 72nd Sweet Home Gem & Mineral Show, held Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27, inside...

After a two-year COVID-19 hiatus, the Seniors and Law Enforcement Together council is back up and running, and one of its members, 77-year-old Leo Singler, was ready. In fact, he joined the Sweet...

After a decade as executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Santiam, Kris Latimer has stepped down. She will remain as a consultant with the nonprofit until a new director is...

Overcast skies blanketed West's Tree Farm on a weekend earlier this holiday season, and its parking lot off Berlin Road was full. Melissa Toquero stood near the entrance, pointing new arrivals to...

Walking through the coral-colored door at 1228 Main St., it's clear that Renita Sews proprietor Renita Cohen has a flair for vintage comfort. Freshly painted white and yellow walls blanket the room,...

Local business owners Jim and Paula Newman work together full-time in the food service industry, but, for them, their job involves more than just flipping pizzas. Over the last 38 years, they've...

Twins Kaydin and Xavier Pennington, 13, rolled away from the Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Santiam on their new bikes on Friday, Aug. 27. They had just spent the week learning how to fix a flat...

Dr. Amanda Emmert, the first local graduate of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific Northwest campus in Lebanon, has returned to Oregon to complete her residency through a fellowship at...

Residents in Sweet Home may be feeling the climate's heat this week, but at least there's less heat coming from the government after Gov. Kate Brown announced on Friday the end of the state's safety...

For Donna Short, taking a photograph helps her be present in the moment and really see what she's seeing. "It's a way to see more intently. Even if I never do anything with that picture ever again,...

If Dawn Mitchell, co-director at the Sweet Home Senior Center, could take time away from her busy schedule to participate in one of the center's activities, she would try the glass fusing workshop....

John and Jane Suh spent their entire lives in cities, but for the past year have been enjoying the relaxing benefits of rural, small-town life. The pair acquired Mr. Lucky's Deli, 1207 Long, and...

Jon West, owner of West's Tree Farm on Berlin Road, finds social media and the Internet can be a double-edged sword for his Christmas tree business. On one hand, he said, many of his customers find...

As a storyteller and eight-year volunteer on the South Willamette Valley Honor Flight, Leigh Matthews Bock has found "the perfect marriage" through her new project at the Majestic Theatre in...