Posted: Friday, February 8, 2008 12:00 am
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 volunteers who helped our neighbors in the North Santiam Canyon cope with the snowiest winter in more than 50 years. Although our local 2.25 inches of snowfall for January seemed like a lot to us, it was nothing compared to the more than 100 inches that fell in the past few weeks in Idanha and Marion Forks.
It hasn't snowed that much in the mountains since the early 1950s. There to help the residents keep warm, fed and safe and dig out were scores of volunteers.
The Oregon National Guard's 1249th Engineer Battalion and the 142nd Civil Engineering Squadron sent, according to their own press release, "nearly three dozen citizen-soldiers and airmen with heavy equipment to the cities in eastern Marion County along U.S. Highway 22." The heavy snowfalls buried homes, businesses, vehicles and roads.
Inmate work crews, under supervision of the state Corrections Department, shoveled snow off roofs. Crews from the Oregon Department of Transportation worked tirelessly to reopen mountain passes.
What's more, this was the Guard's second major relief effort in recent months. In December, the Oregon National Guard went to storm-ravaged Astoria and Vernonia to help residents who had to cope with a hurricane-velocity storm and flooding rains.
Roses (and hot cocoa) all around to our "citizen soldiers" and state agency employees, local law enforcement, citizens - and even the inmate work crews - who pitched in to offer service that went above and beyond.
• RASPBERRIES to the first notes of the history-making first annual month-long session of the Oregon Legislature, which turned out to be the usual bog of disjointed partisan cackling and complaining.
The lawmakers responsible should realize that the public has just about had it with this kind of white noise. We're very much like parents who no longer care what the fighting is about; we just want a little peace and statesmanship out of Salem. With Oregonians keeping a close eye on this short session to see if they want to sanction annual sessions, this doesn't seem as if it should be too much to ask.
• ROSES to Kevin Boss, the Philomath boy who grew up to become a Super Bowl champion.
Boss, a first-year NFL player out of Western Oregon University, earned a job this past fall as a backup tight end for the New York Giants. An injury to Jeremy Shockey, a Pro Bowl player, propelled Boss into the starting lineup with just two games remaining in the regular season.
Boss made the most of his rookie opportunity, starting every playoff game up to and including the Super Bowl. In New York's win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC championship game, Boss made a key fumble recovery near the goal line. And last Sunday in the Super Bowl victory over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots - a game that had the biggest TV audience of any sporting event ever played - Boss hauled in a pass from Giants quarterback Eli Manning and rumbled downfield for a 45-yard gain to keep a crucial second-half drive alive.
Last year, his celebrity as a small-college football star at Western Oregon was enough to prompt organizers of the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo to invite Boss to serve as grand marshal of the Fourth of July parade. Boss said he turned down the honor "because I didn't feel like I'd really done anything to deserve it." We hope the Frolic parade committee will ask again this year - and that Boss will take them up on an opportunity to show off his Super Bowl ring to the folks back home.
• ROSES to the Year of the Rat, which began at midnight Thursday. People born this year or on 1996, 1984, 1972, 1960, 1948, 1936, 1924 or 1912 - are reportedly "charming, honest, ambitious, and have a tremendous capacity for pursing a course to its end."
We're not sure just how accurate that is, but in any case, we echo the popular lunar New Year greeting in China, "Gung hay fat choy," which translates to "May you become prosperous."
• • •n the gloomy economic forecasts of late, we enthusiastically echo that sentiment.
• RASPBERRIES to the distressing news that a 2-year-old Monroe boy tested positive last week for methamphetamine. The boy and his three siblings are in protective state custody; his mother and another man are facing a long list of criminal charges in connection with the incident.
The news is a sobering reminder of how far we have yet to go in our battle against meth, which has an unparalleled ability to shatter families. If there's a hero in this story, it's the relative who noticed odd behavior from the boy and suspected exposure to meth; a trip to a Eugene hospital confirmed the diagnosis. That level of vigilance and awareness will be required to make progress against this drug.
• • •n the gloomy economic forecasts of late, we enthusiastically echo that sentiment.
• CONFIDENTIAL to the Corvallis City Council: Cost of not heeding your counsel's legal advice: $15,000.
Not having them publicly say "I told you so": Priceless.