(&5:66 Postal Customer
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.” —Robert Louis Stevenson
Prst Std U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 1410 Salem, OR.
WEST SIDE THE
December 2025
Vol. 39, No. 12
West Salem’s Favorite Newspaper
SEE INSIDE FOR WEST SALEM COUPONS!
INDEX ÙŧǨǵхƎşŧх¢Ǡƺɭƥŧ ........................... 2 ¢ǽŗƥƎǨƉŧǠЯǨхhŧǵǵŧǠ ..........................4 TưǨƎşŧхļƥŧƮ ................................... 5 ļƥŧưşļǠ ..................................... 8–9 ÙƉƺƥŧхºƺƺǵƉ...................................12 GļƮŧǨ .......................................10, 14
www.westsidenewspaper.com
SERVING THE COMMUNITY OF WEST SALEM
Doaks Ferry Rd. NW Road Closure
SNAP Uncertainty Tip of the Iceberg for Marion Polk Food Share
By Jennifer Halley The West Side Newspaper
By Jennifer Halley
Marion Polk Food Share’s mission is to bring people together to end hunger &RQVWUXFWLRQ RQ 'RDNV )HUU\ 5G and its root causes. 1: EHWZHHQ %UXVK &ROOHJH DQG Especially when a crisis is on the 2UFKDUG +HLJKWV 5G 1: ZLOO UHGL- horizon, like the uncertainty that UHFW WUDIILF WR :DOODFH 5G 1: XQWLO 'HFHPEHU 7KLV VHFWLRQ RI 'RDNV )HUU\ 5G 1: is closed to traffic during construcWLRQ &RQVWUXFWLRQ FUHZV DUH DGGLQJ new utility infrastructure, including water, storm, and sewer, to support a QHZ SULYDWH KRXVLQJ GHYHORSPHQW RQ &RORUDGR 'U 1: ´7KH FORVXUH ZDV GHHPHG QHFHVVDU\ due to the location and depth of utilLW\ FRQQHFWLRQV LQ WKH URDGZD\ µ 5RQ $GNLQV D UHSUHVHQWDWLYH IURP WKH &LW\ of Salem Public Works Department, said. 7KH FORVXUH RQO\ LPSDFWV DERXW D PLOH RI 'RDNV )HUU\ 5G 1: VR WKH GHWRXU WR :DOODFH 5G 1: VKRXOG QRW VLJQLILFDQWO\ LPSDFW WUDYHO WLPHV Updated information on road FORVXUHV DQG XSFRPLQJ &LW\ RI Salem construction projects can be found online at cityofsalem.net/ community/neighborhoods/construction-in-your-neighborhood. The West Side Newspaper
that stressful time, particularly toward the end of October and into the beginning of this month. “Just in the weeks OHDGLQJ XS WR WKDW SRWHQWLDO HYHQW there were huge amounts of panic and confusion in the community about what’s going to happen to SNAP beneÀWV µ KH VDLG With no answers in sight, and a potentially unprecedented horizon, the organization went into emergency response mode. Once word got out about the looming crisis, the community responded too. “We saw a huge outpouring of support from the commuQLW\ µ 'L[RQ 0F'RQDOG VDLG ´7KHUH were huge amounts of food coming in, large amounts of people coming in to YROXQWHHU WKHLU WLPH DQG WKH IRRG WKDW WKH\ KDG µ 7KH &LW\ RI 6DOHP GRQDWHG surrounded the distribution of SNAP WR WKH IRRG VKDUH 7KH 0DULRQ &RXQW\ EHQHÀWV ZKHQ WKH JRYHUQPHQW VKXW &RPPLVVLRQHUV GRQDWHG down. specifically for food that was then Vice-President of Programs Ian distributed through schools, so that Dixon-McDonald said the food share families with young kids could eat. saw a 19 percent uptick in traffic ´0XOWLSOH RWKHU SULYDWH IRXQGDWLRQV See FOOD SHARE Page 16 coming through the food banks during
West Salem Artist Makes an Illustrated Point By Jennifer Halley The West Side Newspaper
When Mike Light noticed there ZHUHQ W DQ\ FRPLFV LQ 7KH :HVW 6LGH·V 1RYHPEHU HGLWLRQ KH VHQW RXW DQ email to the publication. “I said, ‘hey, ZDQQD VHH VRPH RI P\ ZRUN"·µ /LJKW said. “And the publisher said, ‘sure, VHQG RYHU ZKDW \RX·YH JRW ·µ 7KH FROG FDOO ² RU HPDLO UDWKHU ² ZRUNHG +LV FDUWRRQV ZLOO QRZ be featured in the paper’s future HGLWLRQV ´,·P H[FLWHG DERXW LW µ KH said. 1R VWUDQJHU WR VXEPLWWLQJ WR YDULous publications, his work has been IHDWXUHG LQ WKH &ODFNDPDV 5HYLHZ a website called Portland Metro, a couple of Indie magazines, as well as
the Oregonian. Art is Light’s biggest passion. He has been drawing since he was a little kid. His inspiration came from combing through comic books. He’d get home from school, turn on the radio and crack one open. ´,·YH EHHQ FROOHFWLQJ WKHP VLQFH , ZDV VHYHQ µ /LJKW VDLG ´$QG WKDW·V how I trained myself to draw, by looking at my heroes and copying the WKLQJV WKH\ GLG µ 6ZDPS 7KLQJ ZDV KLV IDYRULWH FRPLF ´7KDW DUWLVW LQ SDUWLFXODU ZDV RQH RI P\ KHURHV µ /LJKW VDLG ´7KH guy was just amazingly talented. I was just obsessed with his work. 7KHUH ZDV VRPHWKLQJ DERXW WKH LPDJSee MIKE LIGHT Page 19