HIT: To Ron Roffe, for 40 years of dedicated service to the Auburn Post Office. Neither rain, snow ... nor anything has kept Roffe from his appointed rounds and his loyalty to civil service is commendable.

MISS: The adjective tragic often gets overused in our society, but there is no other way to describe what happened in the town of Skaneateles last week, when a Jordan-Elbridge Middle School student was killed after being hit by a car while delivering Girl Scout cookies.

Brandi Woods' death was made even more senseless when police disclosed the driver of the car that struck her was charged with driving while intoxicated.

HIT: Positive employment news came this month for Cayuga County, and it must have shocked many.

This county is just about the only place in central New York to see its manufacturing base grow in the past year. The biggest reason, experts say, is the growth at small- and medium-sized companies.

Most importantly, manufacturing jobs are typically some of the better-paying positions in the workforce. And better-paid residents make for a stronger local economy.

It's good news for a region which is struggling to retain its young people. One way is to offer them jobs.

It's also good news for the city of Auburn, which is hoping to provide alternative energy sources for local businesses to further expand and grow.

HIT: Congratulations to the Gilbert family on the birth of their new daughter.

They may have briefly considered naming her Honda.

The couple could not make it from their Union Springs home to a Syracuse hospital Saturday night.

So Jonathan had to pull over the family car and help his wife Deanna deliver Payton Gilbert in the back seat. Mom, dad, Payton and the Honda are doing just fine.