Articles written by Scott Swanson
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Voters OK bond to build LBCC ag training center
A $16 million measure to fund construction of an agricultural training center and other improvements for Linn-Benton Community College won approval in the May 17 primary election, though mostly through Benton County votes, which outweighed a loss in...
Kami Hart commits to wrestle for fledgling Linfield program
Kami Hart became the latest Husky to sign a letter of intent to compete at the college level, signing a commitment to wrestle at Linfield University during a ceremony at Sweet Home High School's...
Will decades-old plant get new treatment at last?
City officials are watching costs skyrocket as they plan for a new wastewater treatment plant that, they say, is decades overdue. But how needful, really, is a new plant in the first place? Essentiall...
Sweet Home boys qualify for state track in three events
Sweet Home qualified six athletes in three events – with a few more close misses – at the Oregon West Conference district championships Friday and Saturday at Husky Field. Although the boys were...
National Day of Prayer
Sweet Home pastors and residents, above, gather at City Hall at noon Thursday, May 5, for National Day of Prayer. Other gatherings were held during the day at the School District Administration...
Wet month improves conditions at mid-valley reservoirs
A wet April has definitely brightened the outlook for Linn County’s two reservoirs, Erik Petersen, Willamette Valley Project operations project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said last week in a virtual presentation on the area’s...
State appeals court overturns jury's verdict in 'Timber Case'
The Oregon Court of Appeals last week overturned a $1.1 billion verdict in the “Timber Case” lawsuit brought by Linn County and 12 other counties and 151 local taxing districts over how the state manages timber harvests on some 700,000 acres of...
Local doctors find monoclonal antibodies effective against COVID
When Ridgeway Health opened a walk-in medical clinic late last September, founder Dr. Sam Milstein and his staff soon found themselves facing a challenge: a rush of COVID patients looking for...
Building huts for the homeless
As rain fell steadily outside on a gray April morning, Casey Valloni and Lewis Conn, students in Will Coltrin's advanced construction class at Sweet Home High School, assembled and nailed together...
Commentary: Good steps forward for the homeless (April 27, 2022)
It sure was good to see city workers clearing away the blackberries and leveling the nearly three acres of land the county has donated to the Family Assistance and Resource Center for use as a center for Sweet Home’s homeless population. It...
As Corps follows court ruling, lake levels worry county parks
How high will the water be in the local lakes this summer? That's a question that county parks officials are pondering as they watch water that normally would be stored in Green Peter Reservoir at...
Chamber hands out awards in true Roaring Twenties style Saturday night
Brenda Simmonds was honored with Sweet Home's Distinguished Service Award Saturday night, April 2, at the Chamber of Commerce's annual Community Awards Banquet, held at the Elks Lodge. Shari Melcher...
Former Sweet Home athlete victim in crash
A former Sweet Home resident, Rochelle Zamacona, was killed early Sunday morning, March 27, when a suspected drunk driver plowed a vehicle into a homeless camp in downtown Salem. The driver, Enrique...
City outlines water project plans for 2022
Greg Springman holds a 4-inch water main that's, well, in rough shape. Rust pocks the inside, in large deposits in places. Any coating on the surface is long gone. He picks up a 2-inch pipe, the k...
City to get $30M from feds for plant
Sweet Home city staffers showed up to work Monday morning, March 28, to a big surprise: $30,057,061. That’s the amount the city will receive from the federal government to help its wastewater treatment plant become compliant with the federal Clean...
Local team finding success in little-known high school sport – bass fishing
Gabriel Thomas and Bode Nichols have the level gaze and physical stature of successful high school athletes. But their sport isn't played on a field, a course, a pitch, a track. They compete on water...
Getting down to earth
Samantha Franks carefully and deftly sliced into the stem of a cider apple as Miranda Justus and her son Sawyer, of Lebanon, watched closely. Franks, of Elmira, was one of more than a dozen...
RAIN-ing at the Rio
Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network on Friday unveiled a series of videos the organization has created to promote local communities, including Sweet Home, to potential business start-ups....
Russ Holly named Husky boys basketball Most Valuable Player
Russ Holly was named Most Valuable Player for the boys basketball team at an awards dessert Tuesday, March 8, at River of Life Fellowship. Coach Drew Emmert noted that the Sweet Home had only two...
Huskies blessed with biggest turnout in years for track season
If numbers are any indication, Sweet Home track and field could be off to a good start. Head Coach Nathan Whitfield boasted 62 teens on his roster as of Friday, March 11, which is a lot more than he...
Husky golfers looking to improve on last year's district finish
Sweet Home's golfers enter the 2022 season with more experience than last year's team, which played only a six-week schedule. "We have four seniors returning this year," Coach Ron Moore said. Nine...
Dave Martin back to coach Huskies in XC, distance
Dave Martin has had success as a coach at pretty much every stop in his professional journey, starting when he was a student at Lane Community College, out of eligibility and asked by his coach if he'...
Health clinic plans revealed at town hall
Samaritan Health unveiled plans Thursday, March 3, for its new urgent care and family health clinic, to be built next to Wiley Creek Community off 49th Avenue. In a virtual "town hall"...
Patterns, stories woven through history
Ever hear of the Chinquapin Ladies Quilt Club? If you haven't, you're not alone. Local historians at the East Linn Museum, some of whom have lived in the area for eight or more decades, hadn't eithe...
Five state champs named most valuable wrestlers for Huskies
Sweet Home wrestling coaches couldn't decide on a worthy recipient of the Pat and Ernie Baxter Outstanding Wrestler Award for the team's awards banquet Saturday night, March 6, at Community Chapel. So...