WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2022 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Salem-area lawmakers lay out 2022 proposals
Connor Radnovich
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Salem-area lawmakers are finalizing the bills they
will introduce during the 2022 session of the Oregon
Legislature, addressing issues from paying college
athletes to granting the Legislature the power to im-
peach a sitting governor.
Session begins Feb. 1 and will last no longer than 35
days per constitutional requirements.
All legislation will be available to read at
olis.oregonlegislature.gov in mid-to-late January.
Oregon's even year "short" legislative sessions offi-
cially began in 2012 after voters approved annual ses-
sions by referral. It was initially intended for emergen-
cy legislation and budget rebalancing, but has been
used for all manner of policy bills and proposals.
Supporters of utilizing session in this way argue
that it doesn't make sense to delay addressing prob-
lems when lawmakers are already in the building and
have the ability to pass legislation.
Those against using the short session for general
policy bills argue 35 days is not enough time for a com-
prehensive debate with public input, making legisla-
tive mistakes more likely.
Senators and representatives are only allowed to
introduce two bills each during the 2022 session,
though committees can also introduce bills.
The 2020 legislative session was widely considered
a failure after Republicans walked out over a green-
house gas emissions cap-and-trade bill, denying Dem-
ocrats a quorum in both chambers and halting the leg-
islative process.
See PROPOSALS, Page 3B
Bagby Hot Springs blooms with steam on a cool day
in November. ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Couple that met
at Bagby Hot
Springs to invest
$100,000 in
troubled spot
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Pandemic-canceled concerts led cellist Joe Harchanko to seek creative outlets, which led to the “Oregon
Outdoors Music Project.” PROVIDED BY JOE HARCHANKO
Being in harmony
with nature
Cellist combines 2 loves – music and the outdoors – in videos
Eddy Binford-Ross Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK
J
oe Harchanko sits, holding his cello. His bow touches the
strings and he begins a soothing Irish folk tune, Si Bheag Si
Mhor. As he plays, a waterfall cascades behind him and, to
his right, a stream tumbles over the rocks. h The video of Si
Bheag Si Mhor is one of 12 pieces that currently make up Harchan-
ko’s “Oregon Outdoors Music Project.” Each piece is a song played
by Harchanko and paired with visuals of the outdoors.
Mike and Tamarah Rysavy met at Bagby Hot
Springs in 2001. Two decades later, the husband-
and-wife duo have been selected as the new opera-
tors of the iconic springs nestled in Mount Hood Na-
tional Forest between Estacada and Detroit.
The Rysavys were picked from among a pool of ap-
plicants to manage the springs, unique bathhouses
and tubs that have fallen into disrepair over recent
years.
Bagby has been closed since 2020 due to wildfire
damage in the surrounding area and one of the main
bathhouses was condemned and closed in 2018 due
to “extensive rotting” in its floors.
The Rysavys, who will take over operations in
2023, plan to invest invest $100,000 upfront to reha-
bilitate the buildings and make improvements. They
also plan having employees on site 24 hours per day
to limit crime and partying, which has been a prob-
lem at the site for years.
They’ll keep the $5 per person soaking fee in place.
“We’re looking forward to making Bagby Hot
Springs a safe, family-friendly environment for the
public,” said Mike Rysavy, who started going to Bagby
as a teenager and helped maintain the original build-
ings in the 1990s. “My wife and I formed Bagby Pres-
ervation because of our love of Bagby Hot Springs.
“When it comes to rehabilitation, we want things
to stay as close to what’s been there historically as
possible. People have been soaking in hollowed out
trees at Bagby for over 100 years and we plan to keep
it that way.”
Bagby Hot Springs has been closed since the 2020
Riverside Fire burned the surrounding forest while
the 2021 Bull Complex added to the issues. Neither
wildfire burned the hot springs forest itself, but it’s
unclear when access will be restored.
See CELLIST, Page 4A
History at Bagby, other hot springs
Oregon law limits the release
of mugshots: What to know
Virginia Barreda
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A law limiting Oregon law enforcement agencies’
ability to release booking photos to the public went
into effect at the start of next year having passed in
the Oregon Legislature earlier this year.
Under the measure, booking photos won’t be re-
leased to the public — except in a few specific circum-
stances — to protect the identity of individuals who
haven’t been convicted of a crime in Oregon.
A booking photo, also known as a mugshot, is a
photograph of a person taken by a law enforcement
agency for identification purposes when the person is
taken into custody.
The new law will also require publish-for-pay pub-
lications to remove and destroy booking photos upon
request within 30 days and bans the publication from
charging more than $50 for their removal.
House Bill 3273, chief-sponsored by representa-
tives Janelle Bynum, D-Clackamas, and Brad Witt, D-
See MUGSHOTS, Page 4A
Vol. 141, No. 3
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The Rysavys will take over management in 2023
and operate Bagby on a 20-year agreement, the For-
est Service said.
Few have a longer or more intimate history with
the area.
Mike Rysavy worked with Friends of Bagby Hot
Springs in the 1990s before forming Northwest Forest
Conservancy to help keep Bagby in shape and keep
crime down through the 2010s.
In 2012, the Forest Service handed Bagby to a pri-
vate concessionaire to manage the site.
“They said, ‘Good job Mike, if it wasn’t for you we
wouldn’t be able to put this out for bid for a company
to take over,’ so that was a little bit frustrating,” Rysa-
vy said in a phone interview. “But I’d say that I have
an intimate knowledge about what it takes to run
that place well.”
The Rysavys have published two guidebooks on
hot springs and have visited more than 300 hot
springs nationwide. They currently own Grande Hot
Springs RV Resort southeast of La Grande, a large re-
sort with more than 30 employees.
Mount Hood National Forest officials said the
family’s history at Bagby, and demonstrated ability
to manage larger hot springs businesses, made it a
good fit.
The agency evaluated applications for an ability
“to provide effective operations, investment for pub-
See BAGBY, Page 4A