ROSE (roz) n. One of the most beautiful of all flowers, a symbol of fragrance and loveliness. Often given as a sign of appreciation.

RASPBERRY (raz'ber'e) n. A sharp, scornful comment, criticism or rebuke; a derisive, splatting noise, often called the Bronx cheer.

We hereby deliver:

• ROSES to Benton County voters. As of this writing, we are poised to break the 2004 voter participation record of 88.89 percent - and we have thousands more new voters signed up since then.

As of late Thursday, Benton County Elections Supervisor Jill Van Buren said that 46,033 of the county's 51,921 registered voters cast their ballots for 88.66 percent participation. But she was confident that by the time all the ballots were counted, we'll have broken the 2004 record.

Only 27 of the ballots submitted turned out to be disallowed because some voters didn't place their ballot in the blue envelope or forgot to sign the envelope to make it legal.

We're likely to find out today whether we did break a record with this historic election.

• RASPBERRIES to whatever unknown incident(s) prompted the Oregon Department of Revenue to feel compelled on Wednesday to send out this rather troubling press release: "Even though current economic conditions may pose new challenges to businesses, the Department of Revenue reminds employers: Don't be tempted to change your payroll practices.

"Employers must continue to pay employee wages. They also must continue to send the business' quarterly tax withholding payments to the department."

Hoooh-kay. We really hope the agency is just being hyper-ready to dissuade someone from thinking withholding pay is a viable way to cut costs. But in case any employer is thinking along those lines, we'll refer them to the DOR Web site, www.oregon.gov/DOR/BUS/ and ask that they click on the "Payroll Tax Basics" link.

• ROSES to a terrific crowd at Oregon State University's homecoming game against Arizona State University. Not only did the Beavers' football team prevail 27 to 25 in a thrilling game, but nobody was arrested for drunken driving.

And it wasn't for lack of a strong police presence patrolling for drunken drivers. Sgt. Vonn Schleicher of the Oregon State Police said Wednesday that the Corvallis Police Department, Oregon State Police and Benton County Sheriff's Office all had patrols on the prowl.

Then, there was the huge DUII mobile lab parked at the corner of Fourth Street and Harrison Boulevard. It was equipped to do everything from checking blood-alcohol levels to providing a place to fill out arrest reports and a mobile drunk tank for the rowdiest of the nabbed.

The DUII RV did get some use. Borrowed from the OSP headquarters in Salem, it arrived Oct. 30, and four people were arrested that night. Five people were taken there a week ago on Halloween night DUII charges. Saturday? No one.

We often write of unruly crowds. Nice to see an orderly one, and to thank the officers who helped to keep it that way.

And speaking of helpful officers - or deputies:

• ROSES to Sheriff Diana Simpson and to the alert deputies whose actions will reunite 8-year-old Girl Scout "Brownie" Alia Korot with her prized badge-covered vest - even before the youngster really knew it was lost.

It all began Monday. Kammy Kern-Korot of Portland became nauseated while sewing badges onto her daughter's Brownie vest during a ride back from Newport.

While Kern-Korot was stopped along Highway 20 west of Philomath to get some air, she didn't notice the vest dropped out of the car.

Back home, Kern-Korot desperately called Sheriff Simpson to ask for help finding the vest, with no real expectations.

But Field Training Deputy Jim Hardison and Deputy Tom Harrison quickly found the vest based on Kern-Korot's information around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, just west of Philomath.

That wasn't all. Katie Cooper, an administrative assistant with the sheriff's office, noticed Kammy's unfinished sewing job and stitched the rest of the badges to the vest. Each badge represents a skill that the Brownie has mastered. The completed and recovered vest is on its way back to Alia.

Simpson said stories like this warm her heart. Ours, too.

And we've save our biggest bouquet for last:

• ROSES to Barack Obama, who is to be inaugurated Jan. 20 as the 44th president of the United States. We will not repeat our reasons for endorsing his presidency nor add at this time to the shower of accolades he's receiving. We'll let our readers continue their praise and voice their concerns in our letters forum.

Obama indicated in his moving victory speech that he knows he can't resolve the nation's problems without the help of both his supporters and those who did not vote for him.

We repeat our challenge all of those voters, as well as to the young people who helped make this historic event possible: Remain involved.

We hope those involved people include Sens. John McCain and Gordon Smith. They proved in defeat what makes them great leaders whose wisdom and experience we continue to value.