Salem Oregon 2010

A few years ago Salem Oregon seemed to have taken great strides in shucking off its long-time image as a sleepy, rather backward, uncreative and unattractive town controlled by a conservative group of "old boys." Unlike many state capitals, Salem is also home to about six prisons. Thus, a large portion of the work force of the town was paid either not to be creative or to keep prisoners in check. Though it has one prestigious liberal arts college (Willamette University), the university is really, to use a biblical phrase, "in the town but not of the town."

Well, about a decade ago, things seemed to change. A new convention center downtown, supported by an attractive hotel, a new county services building and bus mall, several new condominium projects either downtown or near to downtown, some revitalized restaurants and retail venues, an award-winning sustainable development housing project on the former site of the state mental hospital--all of these betokened a freshness and energy that I had not witnesssed in Salem. But in the last year a number of things have happened that have not only stopped the city in its tracks but have convinced me that this city, at this point, is not a good place for young men to live (ages 18-30). In short, I see it as a place that stifles ambition, offers little training, and gives little hope for career advancement for the vast majority of young people in the town. The fact that a pair of horrendous aggravated murders were allegedly committed by Salemites in the past two years (two of the three accused of death-penalty-deserving crimes were men in their 20s) makes me think that a cancer of large proportions is eating out the heart of this city's young men.

Things Fall Apart

Blame it on the economy. Everyone else does. And, of course there is truth in the fact that the economic doldrums, which have hit Oregon harder than most states, are a major culprit here. But there is much more to it than that. The economy is to blame that the biggest historical eyesore in the city, the old Boise Cascade plant on the river and across the street from city hall, is still an eyesore. But now it is an bleb of even greater proportions because it was partially torn down 15 months ago in anticipation of massive multi-use facilities rising from the ashes. Since money dried up, however, things are now in their "torn-down" phase, with the shell of the old building looking like a bomb has cratered the property. I saw some activity within the fence today and, since there is nothing to rob on the property, perhaps that is a token that something positive will come by 2012.

But the economy isn't to blame for the fact that the city council has unwittingly been loaning money for another riverfront condo project to an attorney who now is under investigation by the Oregon State Bar for alleged irregularities in handling client funds as well as in conflicts of interest in a business deal. I worked with this lawyer (Kevin Lafky) after my first year of law school. I was in his office each day in the summer, trying to get an understanding of law and of him as a lawyer. I need make no comment here about his work or ethics; the Oregon State Bar is in a better position to evaluate things than I ever was....

In any case, this showcase riverfront condo project, "finished" now for two years, actually isn't finished at all. Lafky wanted $500,000 to get four units in "ready" condition so that someone might buy one of them. But who knows where things are now that these legal proceedings have begun. Again, one of the key buildings in the downtown renaissance of Salem in the late 1990s, the county building, is now empty because engineers have found massive cracks in the 10 year-old structure. Who knows what will happen, but a hulking empty building, looking healthy from the outside but eaten out by a cancerous inner growth, combined with a hulking empty building, looking ghostly from the outside, now flank the downtown of the capital city. The sustainable community, announced with great fanfare about six years ago, is languishing, as only about seven of its 160 or more lots have been built on to date; if I were an investor in the property/idea, I would be wondering when the pot of gold was that I was promised would materialize...

Losing Hope

I encouraged my children to leave town immediately after finishing high school. The higher education opportunities here are meager, unless one has the money for Willamette; the artistic community is constantly struggling; the venues for young people (18-30) to do things are few; and the expressions of young people's creativity, energy and verve aren't regularly evident in town. Perhaps as a sober, sad and heart-wrenching testimony to the inner desperation and rootlessness that this creates are a number of things that I have witnessed this summer, involving young men from Salem, that have led to destruction and death. In each case, the crimes or the acts of violence were spawned by desperation, fueled by self-hatred or confusion, leaving a trail of tears and a swath of destruction in their wake. Perhaps as a crowning testimony to this sense of desperation were the murders of a Polk County (about 20 miles West of Salem) farm couple, allegedly by their son (a 20 year old man who lives in Salem), in order to get enough money to survive and pay some bills. The parents were not only model citizens, but they were model farmers--developing a sustainable farm community that was the admiration of the entire area. The couple, 61 and 58 years old, had raised three boys, home-schooled them (I get the impression from what I could gather that the home-schooling had a religious basis to it, but I cannot be sure), and seemed to pour everything into their sons to get them started in life. Things will come to light in the future, of course, but for now it looks as if we had a desperate and naive son, egged on by a girlfriend 26 years his senior (with child problems of her own), to commit a horrendous crime to get a few dollars to pay her bills so that she might eventually get her kids back.... It is a sordid and not unfamiliar tale, but it is unfolding right here in river city.

Conclusion

So, what is a city to do? I get money by recommendng to corporate and non-profit entities how they can improve their performances at every level. You can understand, then, how I won't be liberal with "free" advice here. But suffice it to say that improved "performance" of this town is now a desideratum. For, the city seems to be rushing now to return to its justly deserved obscurity...

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