Trading moon missions for Main Street stories
Editor’s note: The New Era welcomes a new staffer, Brandon Cominsky, who arrived earlier this month to give us some help in covering news. We’ve asked Brandon to…
LATEST NEWS
Former CenturyTel building could become apartments
A developer may be turning a long-vacated building in downtown Lebanon, often referred to as the “old CenturyTel building,” into residential space. The Lebanon Planning Commission held a…
ODF: Entire state now in fire season
As of June 15, all Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) districts are in fire season. This means that to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires, fire restrictions may be in place where you…
Caleb Gay takes helm as Sodaville’s new mayor
Sodaville Mayor Brian Lewis formally resigned during the City Council’s meeting on Thursday, June 19, marking his last day in office. Reading from a prepared statement, Lewis expressed his…
LFD, ODF respond to brush fire behind water plant
Lebanon Fire District responded early Saturday afternoon, June 20, to a report of a structure fire in the area 2500 River Drive. While responding, new dispatch information reported that the…
Small Woodlands group announces scholarship recipients
By Bonnie Marshal LCSWA scholarship co-chair Nearly $20,000 in educational funding was approved June 4 by the Linn County Small Woodlands Association. University scholarships relating to…
Final vote counts: Winners stay on top in local races
June 16 marked the date that counties must provide an abstract of votes for the May 19 election, which ends the election. Vote totals for nearly all candidates rose in the 30 days following…
COMMUNITY
From Our Files: July 1, 2026
July 5, 1951 No local holiday celebrations marked the Fourth of July in the past nine years in Sweet Home. In 1946, three grade school boys sold fireworks outside city limits, which is now…
Shop Hop trip a sticker experience for SH couple
By Janet Eastman The Oregonian/OregonLive Suzette and Eric Andersen of Oregon went on a journey as distinctive as the quilts they create. They drove a total of 7,000 miles from their home in…
Scene Around Town: June 24, 2026
Scene in Stitches A “Garden Vignettes Textile” class used Lebanon’s Japanese healing garden as inspiration for a creative moment in time using fabric layering and embroidery stitching to…
Sweet Home celebrates new downtown mural with ribbon-cutting ceremony
A project that was years in the making officially came to life June 17 as community members gathered at the corner of 13th Avenue and Long Street for the ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating…
Events: June 24, 2026
Upcoming City Meetings These are regularly-scheduled meetings. Sometimes the dates or times are changed due to schedule conflicts among members, work session additions, holidays, etc. Last…
SCHOOL NEWS
From boardroom to podium: Pickles and Weber leave legacy at Lebanon High School
When Addy Pickles and Cade Weber crossed the stage as members of Lebanon High School’s (LHS) Class of 2026 earlier this month, they left behind more than academic and athletic…
SH School Board finalizes bond election results
Sweet Home School Board members, in a special meeting Monday, June 22, declared the results of the May 19 election in which voters passed a $40 million general obligation bond to fund school…
SH Junior High Field Day
Sweet Home Junior High ended its school year June 11 with its annual Tiger Olympics, which was, well, pretty epic this year. The event pits homeroom classes against each other in various…
SH School Board approves principal’s resignation
The resignation of Oak Heights Elementary Principal Todd Barrett and questions surrounding the district’s personnel investigation process drew some major discussion during the Sweet Home…
Lebanon School Board reviews district’s plan to comply with new law
Oregon’s new education accountability law, Senate Bill 141, took center stage during the Lebanon Community School District Board of Directors meeting June 11 as district leaders reviewed how…
OPINION
Opinion: IP 28 would harm state
Editor’s note: Efforts to get Initiative Petition 28, also known as the “Peace Act, a proposed ballot initiative aimed at the November 2026 ballot that would effectively criminalize hunting,…
Remembering the Cost of Freedom: A Memorial Day poem
By Satina Tolman For many, Memorial Day now marks the start of summer days, Of crowded camps and barbecue smoke drifting through the haze. Storefront windows flash their signs in bold and…
A Memoir: Everyone has to Go
By Xander Eddings Everyone knows the pain of losing someone. The agonizing, harrowing, gut-wrenching pain as you watch a person drift away, leaving you feeling empty again. How your chest…
Dear Editor: Thoughts of love in the springtime
Editor: “’Tis spring, and a young man’s fancy turns to…” you know, luv. “Oh, my heart races every time I see her/him!” “If she/he would be mine, wouldn’t everyone envy me!” “We’d go to my…
Dear Editor: Urban renewal has pros, cons
Editor: I lived in suburban Clackamas County 32 years before moving to Linn County. For much of that time the county was a hotbed of population growth, planning fiascos, and speculation. As…