HIT: To area motorcyclists who combine their riding enjoyment with community service.

Riders this past weekend joined Ride for the Red, benefiting services provided by the Cayuga County chapter of the American Red Cross.

Another group of cyclists donated money and rode more than 100 miles in support of the Finger Lakes Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The money will help provide housing and medical care for animals.

Hit: To the quick work of volunteer firefighters during Monday's early morning fire at MacKenzie-Childs in Aurora.

A fire broke out in the kiln room at the home furnishings and dinnerware manufacturer and eventually crept up to the roof. Aurora firefighters - with help from several other departments - brought the blaze under control before it could spread too far.

The 200-plus people who count on MacKenzie-Childs for paychecks should be thanking their local volunteers.

MISS: To the recent vandalism spree in and around the city of Auburn. Two teenagers are accused of fire-bombing a police vehicle, breaking more than a dozen car windows and destroying a work of art that had adorned Meyer Bookbinding.

In addition to causing thousands of dollars in damage, the violence chipped away at the city's relative calm and the peace of mind of those who live here.

Meyer Bookbinding owner Jim Meyer said simply, "I don't get it." Neither do we.

HIT: To the homebuyers willing to take a chance in neighborhoods that might otherwise continue to slide into slums.

Marty Hahn and Cindy Bishop have been fighting urban blight one home at a time. Both have renovated dilapidated houses on Bellevue Place in Auburn. The neighborhood - and the city as a whole - are better off for their efforts.