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 progress on a much-needed project: A proposed multi-use pathway between Albany and Corvallis alongside the Toledo Branch rail line. It is gaining money and support.

Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell and the county's public works director were among 150 bicyclists who participated in a mass ride that paralleled the route of the 10-mile path that could take 10 years to complete. About $1.8 million in federal funds soon could be available - money already is being spent to acquire right-of-way and start the project.

• RASPBERRIES to a communications breakdown we're calling phone wars.

We were concerned phone company spokespeople for Qwest, Comcast and AT&T would sprain their fingers Thursday what with all that cross-pointing they were doing over whose fault it was that callers who had one service couldn't talk to customers of another.

It wasn't the kind of problem that immediately was obvious: Phones just rang busy more often than usual. But it turns out that when a person who had Qwest tried to call Comcast customers, as one frequent example, the call just didn't go through, hence the busy signal.

Late Thursday, there remained a dispute over what caused it and which companies were effective and just about everything else.

We're still pursuing specifics, but the reason for this raspberry is that the phone company didn't call us. Mistakes happen. But just letting people be inconvenienced by bad service rather than telling them of a problem is unacceptable.

• RASPBERRIES to a rash we don't want to see spreading: gang-related graffiti.

More of it is showing up, but police and school officials aren't sure whether it's a sign of youthful wanna-be-ism or a sign of gangs trying to gain a toe-hold in Corvallis.

Although there's no need for alarm, a reasoned and aware approach could be tracking what other cities have done to successfully quash embryonic gang organization.

For now, the advice of city officials - remove it as soon as you see it - is prudent. But so is speaking and engaging with the young people who may be looking for friendship, support and identity in all the wrong places.

• ROSES to the men whose names were added this week to a solemn list: The 167 Oregon law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty since the 1880s.

Oregon State Police bomb technician William Hakim and Woodburn police Capt. Tom Tennant were killed Dec. 12, 2008, by a bomb detonated at a Woodburn bank. A father and son are standing trial in connection with their deaths.

Scott Russell, Woodburn's police chief, who lost his legs in the blast, was present at the ceremony in Salem at the Oregon Public Safety Academy, seated in a wheelchair.

The names of Robert Riley and Samuel S. Young also were added.

Riley was a reserve deputy for the Lane County Sheriff's Office who died Aug. 17, 1958, from injuries he suffered in a traffic crash. Samuel S. Young is a Portland police officer who died Sept. 23, 1908, after being shot by an unknown attacker.

In addition to being memorialized in their home state, the officers will be honored during National Police Week when their names are added May 13 to the walls of the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C.

We thank them for their service, past and long past.

• ROSES to the quiet, proper death of HB 2960 in the Oregon House Transportation Committee. It proposed to allow bicycle riders to roll through stop signs without stopping, as they legally can do in Idaho.

We'll keep that in mind the next time we're cycling through Idaho, but it was the right thing to do here.

• ROSES to some more good common sense legislation, this time from the top.

President Barack Obama has proposed eliminating more than $100 million in spending on abstinence-only education and redirecting the money instead to teen pregnancy-reduction programs that deal more realistically with the whole issue.

It's about time.

It makes more sense to inform teens candidly about the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases and early pregnancy - in addition to advocating abstinence -than to simply say "Don't do it," and hope for the best. The downside is too steep.