Articles written by Scott Swanson
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Keep writing those letters!
This opinion page is often devoid of thoughts other than those of our staff, usually yours truly. That’s certainly not by design or preference. Thus, I’m truly delighted to see local readers and residents expressing thoughts about some of the eve... Full story
Rush to judgment could be dangerous as crime
Regardless of which end of the political spectrum one represents, the storming of the U.S. Capitol by protesters was reprehensible, in particular the cost of human lives. The tragic episode is being condemned, rightly, from all sides. It’s one of...
New year brings new laws, and some that continue through COVID
The year 2020 produced some unusual laws, as Oregon grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, which materialized shortly after legislators convened in February for their biannual short session. Legislators’ attention rapidly focused on the new threat,...
Senator, wife experience first-hand loss, recovery from wildfire
It was 1 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 8 when state Sen. Fred Girod awoke in his bedroom overlooking the North Santiam River. He still doesn't know why. "It was just one of those flukes," said Girod,...
Husky wrestlers have put Sweet Home on the map
Eight state team titles. Thirty-eight conference championships. Forty-four individual state champions. Three hundred and forty-two state placewinners. There's no question that wrestling has put Sweet...
Local teens win award in forestry video contest
Aiden Shamek said he first got interested in the Thru the Trees video contest earlier this fall when his natural resources teacher, Blake Manley, offered extra credit to students who would participate...
COVID has produced 'strange and surreal' year for SHEM
Sweet Home Emergency Ministries has had a "strange and surreal" year, one of its directors told the Sweet Home Rotary Club Tuesday, Dec. 1. Cindy Rice, who as pantry manager oversees the distribution...
Three Sweet Home volleyball players sign with LBCC
Three Sweet Home volleyball players signed letters of intent last week to play next season for Linn-Benton Community College. Savannah Hutchins, Shelbey Nichol and Graci Zanona bring the total number...
OSAA announces new sports schedule in response to COVID
The Oregon School Activities Association Executive Board has revised its calendar to start sports and other interscholastic activities in February, the organization announced Monday, Dec. 7. OSAA Executive Board members indicated they were hopeful...
Online auction nets some $15,000 for scholarships
Organizers of the Sweet Home Alumni Foundation's annual Trees for Scholars Christmas tree auction were wondering this year if they should go forward with plans this year. "We were going to cancel...
Downtown owner restores old building that will be store
Scott Snedeker is, by his own admission, a "do-it-yourselfer." So when he moved to Sweet Home in 2015 with his wife Helen, from Arizona, he saw opportunities to invest and apply his skills in the...
When Husky fans return, Main Gym will offer a little sparkle
If OSAA-sanctioned sports begin on Dec. 28 as planned, and if fans are allowed to attend indoor events in the Main Gym, they will get an eyeful, a sparkling, polished auditorium that looks brand new....
Got lights? Organizers envision show that draws crowd
Picture a downtown lighted to the nines, so spectacular that people from throughout the Mid-Valley region make a point to drive through Sweet Home to see it. Picture neighborhoods similarly decorated, so people want to drive through them to see and...
Local students don't let COVID stop their volunteerism
It was the chimneys, most of all, that left an impact. "The number of chimneys – that's all that's left of the houses right now, chimneys lining the riverside," said Sweet Home High School senior...
Local player Abbott is first signee for new Bushnell beach volleyball program
Teja Abbott plans to play beach volleyball for Bushnell University next year after signing a letter of intent in a quiet ceremony last summer. Abbott was the first of what may be a succession of...
Elks' remodeled facility needs more usage, lodge leader says
Sweet Home Elks have spent the last decade remodeling their facility, but now that they have it about finished, they find themselves in a bit of a jam. "It's the whole COVID thing," said Randy...
Huskies' Bailee Hartsook signs letter of intent to Western Oregon
Though her senior volleyball season has been, at the very least, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and has been full of questions, Sweet Home senior Bailey Hartsook got one answer last week when...
Election: City Council gets 2 new members
Angelita Sanchez, Dave Trask, Lisa Gourley and Dylan Richards were the winners in the nine-candidate race for four Sweet Home City Council seats in the Nov. 3 election. Sanchez, who was seeking a...
No charges filed against watercraft operator in fatal accident at Foster
No charges will be filed against the operator of a personal watercraft that struck and killed a young boy at Foster Lake last summer, the county District Attorney's Office has decided. In the July 20...
Fall sports 'mini-season' under way, with contests this week
After 10 days' hiatus, Sweet Home High School athletes were back on the fields and in the gym last week, as the fall sports "mini season" got under way. The unscheduled break came after a COVID scare...
Service truly what brought family together for local couple
This is the story of two military veterans who start their adult lives without much of a real plan, but who took opportunities that led them together, and for whom it's worked out pretty well. It's a...
Life is delivering music for Veteran of the Year, local bugler
Peter Butler enjoys surprises – most of the time. There was that draft notice he got back in 1961, the year he graduated from Lewis & Clark College, which wasn't exactly what he was hoping for....
Unsuspecting SHHS student gets surprise gift from alum: a truck
When Jake Fanning got a text from his wrestling coach, Steve Thorpe, last week, he thought it was going to be about work. "He said he had job details for me," Fanning said. Instead, Thorpe handed him...
1976-77 Huskies turned basketball fortunes for SHHS
Felix Wilkerson flips through the old album, full of newspaper clippings and photos. "That's the season, right there," he says. That would be the season of 1976-77, when Wilkerson, Sweet Home's...
New pastor brings varied experience to Cornerstone
Kurt Schnabel has been involved in church pretty much all his life. He was born in Guatemala to parents who were missionaries, grew up in Panama and in Southern California, and has assisted in pastora...
