Roses n' Raspberries

• ROSES to our nation, and its people. We who remember this day eight years ago.

We're still unsure how to find our way back to a whole and united country in this "post-9/11" reality. But we need to work harder to heal; to find a reality and set a national tone more courageous, open and cordial than demonizing and full of rage.

We will never forget the 2,975 innocents (not including the 19 suicide-bomber terrorists) who died that day. In their memory, we need to work harder to unite our nation and deny the terrorists the victory they most want - our downfall as a leader capable of bringing light the world.

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• ROSES to Corvallis School District administrative assistant Jennifer Schroeder. She still was working after 4 p.m., when a frantic phone call came in from Kay Guidry, who was reporting that her 12-year-old son hadn't come home from his first day at Linus Pauling Middle School.

Taylor Guidry and another boy had missed the bus by a few minutes and apparently were trying to find their way home.

The Guidry family is from Wyoming, and perhaps Taylor had that independent streak common to youngsters who are accustomed to the outdoors.

In any case, we're glad that quick action by the Corvallis Police Department, school personnel and even people in the neighborhood resulted in finding the two boys about three hours later, near the school and unharmed.

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• RASPBERRIES to an obvious problem: Being under the influence of alcohol and driving makes you liable to do additional, less-than-smart things.

For instance, there's the recent early morning incident reported by Corvallis police at 1:32 a.m. at Southeast Third Street and Southeast Rivergreen Avenue.

Police stopped a Ford Explorer for driving down the center line. The most charitable interpretation of what happened next was that the driver wanted to adjust his position in the lane and make it all OK. Alas, he ended up backing up straight into the patrol car that stopped him.

Police take a dim view of that. The man was arrested and cited for driving under the influence of alcohol, having no insurance, no driver's license, failure to maintain his vehicle in a traffic lane - and unsafe backing. No word on whether the patrol car was damaged much.

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• ROSES to a sliver of a silver lining to the economic downturn: Oregonians are generating less garbage. According to the state Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon's per-person generation of garbage dropped in 2008 by 9 percent - or about 300 pounds per person less. That's the biggest single drop over the year before since the state began following that statistic in 1992.

The DEQ estimates that when the 2009 statistics are in, they will show a continuation of that trend. Let's hope that when the economy picks up, our generation of garbage is not one of the indicators we see return to an upswing. Frugality is smart, even in good times.

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• RASPBERRIES to an unfortunate fashion choice. We know just how it is. You can be a bit upset or distracted when preparing for something like a trip to the courthouse. You easily could grab the wrong purse.

For instance: The officer at the Benton County Courthouse at 120 N.W. Fourth St. who routinely scanned items through the security portal at the courthouse's entry recently found that one woman's purse contained both a knife and a small amount of marijuana. She was cited for having less than an ounce of marijuana.

• • •

• ROSES to all of the familiar faces we will enjoy watching in the National Football League this season. In all, 17 former Oregon State University football players could be lighting up the big boards across NFL stadiums this season.

We suppose we could have issued a rose-berry, considering this is certain to add hours to our time in front of the TV on Sundays, but hey - it's worth it to see that great and winning grin of former OSU wide receiver T. J. Houshmandzadeh, who has moved on from his successful career with the Cincinnati Bengals to become a new Seattle Seahawk.

Other names among the 17: Steven Jackson, a running back with the St. Louis Rams; Cincinnati Bengals' wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (who we liked a mite better as Chad Johnson), linebacker Nick Barnett of the Green Bay Packers, Al Afalava of the Chicago Bears, Victor Butler of the Dallas Cowboys, Brandon Hughes of the San Diego Chargers, Andy Levitre of the Buffalo Bills, Keenan Lewis of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Sammie Stroughter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

We wish them all success. (And that "Ochocinco" might find his way back to a less career-limiting last name.)