HIT: After hitting a funding snag that could have jeopardized the trip, Auburn High School juniors Candice Elliott and Reagan Cuddy are packing their bags for the annual Civil Rights Connection tour.

The tour, covering key Southern sites in the civil rights movement, begins in Memphis, Tenn., Saturday.

A last-minute pullout by a major sponsor of the program meant some quick fundraising by the students was going to be necessary to allow Elliott to go along. So many people from the Auburn area have donated money that Elliott's trip is now secured.

We hope both students learn a lot about an important part of America's past. They have already learned how generous people in their hometown can be.

MISS: Not a day goes by when we don't hear about another theft.

Just this week, an Auburn man was convicted of charges related to passing counterfeit money; a Port Byron man was charged with stealing computer equipment and cash from a neighbor's apartment; and a masked man robbed a city convenience store by threatening the clerk with a knife.

If the prospect of prison time doesn't deter people from stealing, we wonder whether anything can.

HIT: This week's Conservation Field Days at Emerson Park gave area students some important lessons that just wouldn't be possible in a classroom.

Hosted by the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District and Cornell Cooperative Extension, the two-day event gave about 800 sixth-graders hands-on lessons in fire prevention, the natural food chain, the water cycle and wildlife.

By acting out scenes, running, splashing water and participating in other physical activities, the students are likely to have fond memories of the experience and - whether they realize it or not - they also learned some important lessons.