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 the local revival - or at least the start of a revival - of the Start Making a Reader Today volunteer reading program. Known more commonly as SMART, it has a proven track record of sparking a lasting love of reading in young students.

Right now, only Mountain View and Lincoln K-8 schools have SMART programs, thanks in large part to the dedication of Bob Bernhard and to support from principals Rosemary O'Neil and Oscar Moreno-Gilson, respectively.

What is needed are more volunteers willing to set aside an hour a week to read with two children in grades kindergarten through third grade. Anyone interested can call 754-4965 or sign up online at getsmartoregon.org.

• • •

• RASPBERRIES to the explosion of scams targeting grandparents who are willing to spring to the aid of their relatives and friends. The "grandparents" scam typically begins with a frantic phone call from someone saying "Hi, grandpa (or grandma), I am in trouble in (some faraway place) and I need (several thousand dollars) to pay for bail money, a fine, or whatever."

More focused on the tone and urgency rather than the voice on the other end, some grandparents have jumped into action and wired money without double-checking with their own grandchildren.

Now the scam is evolving.

A local man reported that he received an e-mail from an old friend who said he was in trouble in Malaysia and needed $3,100. The victim wired the money. Later, he got another e-mail asking for $2,000 to get out of the country, which he also sent. He then found out his friend was not in Malaysia and had not sent the e-mails.

The troubling thing is that the scammer apparently knew enough about the victim to obtain the name of a friend.

Anyone who thinks they have been a victim of the "grandparent scam" should call the Oregon Attorney General Consumer Hotline at 877-877-9392 (www.doj.state.or.us) and the Federal Trade Commission at 800-FTC-HELP (www.ftc.gov).

• • •

• ROSES to the cross country teams of Philomath High School. The girls team has made it to the state finals for the 29th time. It will be the boys team's 26th trip.

We admire the purity and personal character it takes to compete in this rain-or-shine, hot-or-cold, rough terrain (i.e. ankle-threatening) sport and to follow through with the early-morning training runs that determine an athlete's success.

We salute the young athletes in Philomath, and wish them the best of luck when they compete in the 2009 OSAA Cross Country championship, which starts at 10 a.m. Saturday at Lane Community College in Eugene.

• • •

• RASPBERRIES to a mystifying event: On Oct. 28, an officer walking past the Law Enforcement Center at 180 N.W. Fifth St. shortly before 3 p.m. found something intriguing: A $1 bill containing a marijuana bud was stuck in a tree outside of the building that houses the offices of the police and Benton County sheriff's office.

Of course, this is just the kind of thing that gets us wondering. Who did it, and why?

If you know, give us a call at 758-9527. We'd love to follow up.

• • •

• ROSES to the 638 dancers of varying skill levels who showed up a week ago at Reser Stadium to give Oregon State University the world college record for the most dancers to simultaneously perform the zombies' dance from the Michael Jackson video "Thriller." Their participation shattered the record of 242 dancers previously held by the College of William & Mary in Virginia.

This was just a whole lot of pre-Halloween fun that would be great as an annual event. Roses also to the OSU marching band for providing the music and to all of the dancers - on the beat and not - who gave us a thrill. If you want to watch the action, check out the video of the event at gazettetimes.com. (It's easy to find as one of the "most watched" on the right side of our home page.)

• • •

• RASPBERRIES to a mean-spirited or negligent act that could have cost a young woman her life.

On Monday, Oct. 26, an 18-year-old woman reported that while she was driving from Oregon State University to Portland, the left rear wheel of her car came off.

Les Schwab came out to tow the car, and a mechanic later said there were only two studs on the wheel - both of which were stripped.

All of the lug nuts were missing from the wheel, and all lug nuts on the other wheels had been loosened.

This sounds like part of a bad TV crime movie, but we hope it will be resolved when the person responsible is made to face the consequences.