HIT: To Blue Devil band director Nick Farrell.

In an age when so many college graduates pack up their skills and head out of state, the 26-year-old Auburn High School graduate returned home after his schooling to share his love of music with Moravia's youth.

His hip, innovative repertoire is sure to fire the imagination of creative teens, and it certainly adds to the atmosphere at football games. Our public schools need bold, creative educators who can balance the needs of teaching with the task of demonstrating to administrators how arts-related programs enrich students' education and their lives.

Mr. Farrell, as the students call him, seems uniquely suited to those tasks.

MISS: Auburn has become a lucrative market for out-of-town drug dealers, according to statistics released this month by the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force. From Jan. 1 to Oct. 18, $25,000 worth of crack cocaine was seized in the county, with 93 percent originating outside of Auburn. More than $21,000 of powdered cocaine was seized, with 86 percent coming from Syracuse and Onondaga County.

But all is not well at home.

Assistant Chief District Attorney Jon Budelman noted that pushers from outside the area typically connect with local residents, or "facilitator dealers" who give the outsiders a place to stay while helping to solicit customers and elude local police.

And while the narcotics are mostly made elsewhere, 91 percent of the $187,000 worth of marijuana seized in the county this year was grown here.

The numbers are no surprise, and serve to illustrate that the plague of illicit drugs continues to expand here, as in small towns all across America. Budelman hit the nail on the head when he noted that targeting dealers alone is not enough: we need to address the reasons why people get involved with drugs to begin with.