Edgewater Partnership

Thank you Caleb for this Summer Update---

Hi friends and partners,

It’s graduation week, and summer break is less than two weeks away. Here are a few updates as we approach the end of the school year and transition to summer programs.

Class of 2026 Graduation Ceremonies
Our high school graduation schedule is posted online. You can view dates and times for graduation ceremonies happening this week on our district website.

Summer Open Meal Sites
This summer, we will have open meal sites for youth and children ages 1-18, thanks to grant funding from ODE. We will serve FREE meals between June 22 and August 28 (closed July 3) at nine locations. Meals will be served Monday through Friday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. See important details on our website.

If you have summer activities and expect a large group of youth or children from your program to attend a meal site, you can help our meal team plan ahead by sending me a message with the day(s) and meal site location a few days in advance. Also, if you’d like a poster with information about our meal sites, let me know and we can share materials.

Promoting Summer Opportunities
We'll continue to share about the summer opportunities that are available to students in the community. If you have programs, camps and other activities that support learning and engagement during summer break, please send me the details or links to the information, so we can consider adding it to our community opportunities story.

Substitute Services Transitioning to Edustaff
On July 1, Edustaff, LLC will become the employer for substitute employees serving our district, meaning they will manage employment-related processes like onboarding, payroll and substitute support. Substitutes and community members can learn more about Edustaff, including how to get started, on our website.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow. We wish to hear our partner's plans for the summer. Come & Share. Until tomorrow . . .

Double Header this Thursday

Thursday Farmers Market 10:30am to 2:30pm
Peace Walk 7pm

Our Thursday Farmers Market is off to a great start. This Thursday expect warm weather and fun & games at the Edgewater Partners Booth. Cruse through the Market looking for the Heart of West Salem. Kids to enjoy sampling produce & fruit getting $2.00 in Market Bucks for their adventurous nature. Stop by and say hello to Roberto & myself. Salem Harvest our special guest.

Next, on Thursday evening is our neighborhood peace walk. Please join us for the West Salem Peace Walk at 7pm. Since the New Year our hope has been to bring light and hope this year to our community. We have seen more and more neighbors attending contributing much. We start in the green space across the street from Annette's Restaurant. Let us continue to illuminate the beauty in the neighborhood. Let us walk and speak of peace and hope. We are looking forward to a warm evening. See you Thursday night . . .

Thursday Farmers Market Today 10:30 to 2:30

Last week's opening was a great start to out 2026 Thursday Farmers Market. Two food vendors this year. Partners sharing their stories. Stop by. Remember Heart of West Salem is out there somewhere.

FARMERS MARKET STARTS THURSDAY

It's that time again. Our Thursday Farmers Market starts tomorrow, Thursday, May 7th from 10:30am to 2:30pm. Weather looks good. Come out and walk off the winter. Early Spring offerings a little different that summer, but worth exploring. Heart of West Salem hunt again this year. You find it--you keep it. Join Roberto & myself for this kickoff to another summer of surprises. Stop in . . .

What is that extra traffic light at the intersection of Edgewater & Eola Drive? There are now three traffic lights there. The extra light has been added to make turning left onto Eola Drive going up the hill less congested smoothing out traffic turning left or right going West up the hill at Eola Drive.

Join us for the Edgewater Partners Monthly Community Partnership Team Meeting

PEACE WALK THURSDAY NIGHT

Join us this Thursday, April 16th for the West Salem Peace Walk. We gather at 7pm on Edgewater Street across from Annette’s near the greenway. As we walk about a mile in the neighborhood, we bring our presence and note the beauty and life that happens here.

Rain or Shine we look forward to you taking part with us.

PIE PROJECT THANK YOU--IT's BACK

Volunteers Needed to assemble, load & deliver pies. Join our community in expressing thank you to our Salem Keizer School Staff & Employees. Willamette Valley Pies donating all regular sized pies. Roberto & I still hold the record for fastest, most pies delivered to a single location. Sign up now. THANK YOU

We had a great conversation today at our Edgewater Partners meeting, especially with Steve & Kim on TIP project plans. Below is information going along with that conversation on where & how to be engaged.

Openings on CATC and Tourism Board

The City of Salem has vacancies on several advisory committees. These handful of people can have a big impact on what goes before city council and what happens at the city! If you are interested serving on one of these boards or commissions, but would like to learn more about what this may entail, please email us at [email protected].

Community Advisory Transportation Commission (CATC): As evidenced by the success above, the CATC is becoming increasingly important in transportation design decisions. CATC has an upcoming vacancy and if you are interested in helping ensure safer road design across Salem we strongly encourage you to apply.

Cultural and Tourism Promotion Advisory Board: Here’s a unique opportunity. The Salem Cultural and Tourism Promotion Advisory Board has one opening. They advise the City Council on matters pertaining to the use of the transient occupancy tax, cultural activities, and convention and tourism business in Salem. Maybe making some investments in protected bike infrastructure could be something that Salem becomes known for!