Walking a crooked highway

Here's a story you don't see too often: a prosecution for corruption among state employees in Salem.

Three former Oregon Department of Transportation employees at a Clackamas County maintenance shop pleaded guilty Tuesday to bilking the state out of more than $6 million by furtively reselling the agency’s equipment.

Now, you Oregonians in the audience, I want you to go back and read my lead sentence carefully. I did not say that the corruption is unusual. I said the story is unusual. The story is unusual because the prosecution is unusual. That's an important distinction that a lot of Oregonians seem to miss.

There is no exception to human nature for government employees. In Salem, in fact, human foibles are a specialty. I'm surprised they didn't prosecute Frank Gable for stealing the stuff.

While we're on the subject of the Oregon Department of Transportation, I might as well throw in a complaint I've been meaning to make. Last Wednesday evening at about 9:20 p.m., a big, white ODOT truck darn nearly ran me over the rail on the top of the Marquam Bridge, northbound on I-5. The ODOT person behind the wheel engaged in some extremely dangerous driving, changing lanes abruptly and forcing me to hit my brakes hard. The license number of the truck was E262483. Maybe they were in a hurry to deliver some hot goods.