Editorial: Roses & thorns

Rose

Evergreen giving

Every year at about this time, Burl Ives warbles about silver and gold in the long-running TV special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

“How do you measure its worth? Just by the pleasure it gives here on Earth,” Ives intones in his purring baritone.

Silver and gold gave a little additional pleasure in town this year, thanks to shopping trips by Roseburg High School freshmen belonging to groups named for those colors.

Students from silver house, a small learning community at RHS that teaches high school survival skills, raised $2,400 to spend on gifts for children at the Family Development Center in Roseburg. And gold house freshmen took on a similar service project for children's presents to be handed out by the Salvation Army.

Reporter DD Bixby witnessed some of the students shopping recently and was able to observe teens absorbed in the process of budgeting, evaluating purchases and enjoying the chance to bring holiday joy to others. Here's a bouquet of poinsettias to the generous-hearted students, as well as the adults at RHS shepherding them toward the Christmas spirit.

We're sure Burl would have sung their praises as well.

Thorn

Crime doesn't pay

We often offer a thorn in this column to alleged criminals who are less than brilliant.

Add to that list the Philomath man who visited Roseburg recently to make an unauthorized withdrawal at PremierWest Bank in Roseburg.

Trouble was, the wannabe bank robber decided to do it at 3:53 a.m., prying open an exterior door and tripping a silent alarm. The police showed up in time to see a masked man trying to leave the bank with what was described as “a significant amount of change.” Needless to say, he was arrested.

A crime like this gets you to wondering — what was he thinking?

Did he not know that banks are equipped with alarms? Linked to police dispatchers? Did he think money would just be lying around and not locked in a vault? Did his own alarm did not go off in time and he thought it was mid-afternoon and there would be actual people to rob? Who might have money?

Our alleged criminal must have been sorely disappointed to find only a bunch of change.

Which leads us to this ultimate conclusion: Change is exactly what these guy needs. A significant amount of it.

Rose

Bravo, Bella

Bella has to be the envy of every dog in Douglas County.

Many canines look longingly at the occasional robin or crow hopping about in their yards.

Some get the chance to run off a bird or two now and then. But Bella, a blue heeler belonging to the head greenskeeper of the Stewart Park Golf Course, has hundreds of Canada geese landing each week in what she regards as her yard.

And Bella doesn't have to beg to be allowed to scatter the winged intruders. It's her job.

Rollo Ellis has been training Bella to keep the golf course clear of geese, although much of her work comes naturally to her.

Her gig came about after Stewart Park staff members tried various other methods of routing the honkers, which were leaving unwelcome droppings all over the course.

The geese were unruffled by noisemakers, trucks and cutouts resembling predators. Bella, however, they don't care to cross.

Thanks, Rollo Ellis, for harnessing your dog's energies to a worthy park project. And thank you, Bella for your can-do attitude. What's bad for the goose is good for the golfer.

Rose

Shot of prevention

Finally, you don't have to be in a high-risk group to be vaccinated against the swine flu. The state of Oregon has lifted restrictions on those who can receive the H1N1 vaccination, so now everyone can get a shot of prevention.

Plenty of the vaccines are still flowing into the state, so the county has set up several clinics, many of them in outlying areas to make it easier on residents who may not have a ride into Roseburg.

For those who do live in the city, the fairgrounds will host another clinic as well.

For the location nearest you, check GetAFluShot.com or the What's Up calendar that appears daily in The News-Review.

Roseburg pediatrician Robert Dannenhoffer says getting the H1N1 and seasonal flu shots are the best gift you can give yourself as you celebrate the holidays and embark on a new year. The alternative — missing work or school, feeling awful, and possibly passing it along to family, friends and co-workers — is definitely undesirable.

Remember there's no charge for the vaccine; there will be an administration charge, but many insurance companies will cover that cost. Here's a rose to everyone who's determined to start the new year off in a healthy way.