Thank you for your interest in reading The Observer. Here are a few stories that you might have missed this week:

Reporter Isabella Crowley took a look at the push to replace the aging playground equipment at Riverside Park. La Grande Parks and Recreation announced on the city’s website and on Facebook that the time has come to replace the park’s playground equipment. Parks and Rec Director Stu Spence wants to get the community involved in the process because community volunteers were the driving force that brought the existing playground to Riverside Park.

Anthony Lakes Ski Resort is celebrating its 60th year this month. The first official day for Anthony Lakes Corporation was Jan. 12, 1963.

This week saw the start of the 82nd Legislative Assembly on Tuesday in Salem. Sen. Bill Hansell said he is “cautiously optimistic” about new Senate leadership. State senators on Monday, Jan. 9, selected a new president: Rob Wagner, a Democrat from Lake Oswego. Hansell said the two met for several hours recently and Wagner took the initiative to reach out to Republicans. “Proof is in the pudding, but I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll be able to get some bipartisan stuff done,” Hansell said. “Things that maybe aren’t so good for our part of the state, we might be able to either moderate them or they don’t move forward. So we’ll see.”

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