Senator Chuck Riley, left, and Senator James I. Manning Jr. greet each other with an elbow bump at the first session of the Oregon Senate the morning of Jan. 22. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, gavels the Oregon Senate into session Jan. 22. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland, on Jan. 22 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
A sign advises visitors that the Oregon Capitol Building is closed to the public. A quiet, low-key session of the Oregon Legislature started limited in-person work last week amid tight security. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Newly elected Oregon Senator Deb Patterson, D-Salem, tapped away at her computer on Jan. 22 following a brief floor session of the Oregon Senate (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Photographer Ron Cooper and his wife Penny moved to Salem in 1969 to take a job as photographer at the Oregon Statesman (later the Statesman Journal). Their three children, Monica, Kimberly, and Christopher, attended and graduated from Salem public schools. Cooper retired from the Statesman Journal in 2001 but, has continued his passion for photography in many ways, including as a photographer for the Salem Reporter.
