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 dispelling the stereotype about subsidized housing.

Too often, when we hear about "Section 8" subsidized housing, it's to learn of neglect, abuse or degraded conditions.

Not so for the 85 lower-to-middle-income residents older than 62 who live in the 82-apartment Samaritan Village complex in Corvallis. They can say that the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department named their retirement community the best among 900 subsidized living facilities across Oregon.

A Samaritan resident called us to say that the managers of Samaritan Village, June and Pat Curran, deserve much of the credit. Samaritan features gardens, greenery, fun and a respect for the needs of its tenants. Kudos to the Currans and the Samaritan's staff for showing how its done.

• RASPBERRIES to whoever gave Oregon voters a wrong number - a really wrong number - in the Oregon Voters' Pamphlet.

Sent to 1.7 million Oregon voters last week, the pamphlet included a letter from Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, which invited voters to call an 800 number if they had any questions regarding the May 20 primary.

Although the correct number to answer voter questions was published in a dozen places in the election guide, dialing the number in Bradbury's letter linked callers to a recording that directed them to another number, which offered "an exciting new way to go one on one with hot … girls."

Bradbury has apologized for the typo, and he has asked voters not to call that wrong number.

• ROSES to amazing grace - at a softball game. It happened like this:

Last Saturday, Western Oregon University softball player Sara Tucholsky came up to bat. She swung away. The resulting home run was her first. Two runners were on base. Tucholsky overran first, spun around to make the tag - and blew out her knee. Agonized, she crawled back to first base.

Her dilemma: unless she tagged all the bases, the homer wouldn't count. If her teammates helped her, she'd be out.

To the crowd's astonishment, several members from the opposing Central Washington team carried Tucholsky around all the bases - even though her three-run homer helped to eliminate them from the playoffs.

The umpire said there was no rule against this; it may never have happened before. (And if it has, we'd sure love to hear how, where and when.)

A bouquet of roses to the Central Washington team. Most games are quickly forgotten. But those who witnessed Central Washington's generosity will not soon forget it.

• RASPBERRIES to a deadly federal delay.

The Bush administration - specifically Vice President Dick Cheney - is calling for more study of the endangered North Atlantic right whale, even as the species plummets toward extinction.

Officially on the list of endangered species, only 350 right whales remain off the eastern seaboard. They are under threat primarily from death due to fatal collisions with ships, and at least 19 of them have died that way in recent years.

The Marine Fisheries Service, which enforces EPA-protected species, recommended to the Office of Management and Budget in February 2007 to require commercial ships to slow to 10 knots when in the right whale's habitat.

Doesn't sound like much to ask, but the OMB's response was "We can't comment." OK. Then just act; do as the fisheries scientists asked.

• ROSES to James Carrington, an Oregon State University professor of botany and plant pathology. His pioneering research in genetics earned him the honor of being elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Carrington will be inducted into the academy next April during its 146th annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

OSU's Jane Lubchenco, a distinguished professor of zoology, was inducted in the sciences academy in 1996.

G. Brent Dalrymple, emeritus professor of marine geology and geophysics, has been a member since 1993, and K.E. van Holde, distinguished professor emeritus of biochemistry and biophysics, was inducted in 1989.

• ROSES to Dave Frohnmayer, who this week announced that he will retire as president of the University of Oregon in June 2009. At the helm of UO since 1994, Frohnmayer was its 15th president and its third-longest-serving president, behind Prince Lucien Campbell (1902 to 1925) and UO's first president, John Wesley Johnson (1876 to 1893).

It's a tough job, and Frohnmayer has handled it well since he assumed the presidency after serving as head of the UO law school.

We hope Frohnmayer's retirement does not signal the end of his service to Oregon. He's a fine leader, and we have some jobs in mind for him!