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 all of the firefighters who rushed Wednesday and Thursday to snuff out what authorities are calling "serial grass fires" along Interstate 5.

Without water lines to supply them, they drove all the water onto the site and braved everything from falling trees to angry bees to knock back the fires before they flared into conflagrations.

It was a difficult, dangerous and expensive task that lasted more than six hours Wednesday and continued much of Thursday.

Both lanes of the freeway were closed at milepost 238 on Wednesday diverting traffic through Jefferson for hours, and other lanes had narrowed to slow drivers traveling through what was an eerie landscape of fire and smoke.

It's not over yet.

We're far from being done with this dangerous situation. Although the Jefferson Fire District - the lead agency involved - announced that mop-up operations had the fire contained as of Thursday afternoon, the threat of widespread wildfires continues with a 100-degree high forecast for today. And before the heat is off, we can expect thunderstorms and lightning.

• RASPBERRIES to the clueless, careless person or people who tossed burning matches, cigarettes and the like from vehicles on Wednesday and Thursday. The Oregon State Police are investigating just how it happened that a hay truck caught fire as the driver traveled north on Interstate 5 from Eugene. He drove three miles before noticing that the hay was blazing - trailing sparks all over the place.

The Oregon State Police are investigating how the serial fires started, and we wish them luck. We also remind people who like to flip matches and other debris out the window that more motorists have cell phone cameras now - and they aren't afraid to use them.

• ROSES to former Oregon State University rower-turned-Olympian Josh Inman, who advanced Tuesday to the finals in rowing at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Inman, a Hillsboro native, was an oarsman at OSU from 2000-02. We will be wishing him well on Sunday, when he and his teammates compete at 5:30 p.m. Interested persons can follow his Olympic experience online at http://tinyurl.com/5kf83j

• RASPBERRIES to heat-and-impatience-caused grumpiness. As police and firefighters were fighting fires along Interstate 5 near Jefferson on Wednesday, police had to settle a squabble at Scravel Hill Road in Linn County near Albany, which was a detour route around the I-5 closure at milepost 238. A high-centered truck had forced a back-up in the area, and one impatient driver pulled out in front of another at Highway 20 and Knox Butte Road, prompting the offended driver to offer the ubiquitous one-finger salute.

They then tailgated each other and drove in the oncoming lane of traffic, and both ended up driving on a field in the Crabtree area before stopping.

Linn County deputies issued each driver a ticket for reckless driving. A much cheaper way to handle rude and clueless drivers: an indifferent shrug and quiet gratitude for being better able to handle stress.

• ROSES to astronaut Bernard Harris. He has been propelled out of the Earth's atmosphere into space and walking in that vast vacuum of the unknown. But he may never know the full extent of the distance his good deeds will extend into the future because of the 25 science camps he's set up across the nation.

The two-week science camp recently concluded at Oregon State University was host to 48 lucky kids who had a chance to explore and expand their understanding of how science plays a role in their everyday lives. Kudos to an astronaut whose priorities are so down-to-earth.

• RASPBERRIES to a thief who has hit a new low and started digging:

On Aug. 5, after the family of Jean Kasten had mourned her July 29 passing at a 1 p.m. memorial mass and reception at St. Mary's Catholic Church, a thief stole the basket at the back of the church that friends and family had left donations and checks in.

The Kasten family has attempted to alert all of those who may have left checks so they could stop payment, and they have notified police. People with information about the person who took the basket are asked to notify Corvallis police at 766-6924.

• ROSE-BERRIES to the Oregon Legislature, which is trying to think of a way to convince voters to approve a pay raise for them in the upcoming session that convenes Jan. 15, 2009.

We'd have to give them a straight raspberry for their bad timing and general insensitivity to the economic plight of Oregonians.

But we're actually laughing so hard at their downright brashness that we have to thank them with a rose for such a good knee-slapper.