HIT: To the local men and women who are choosing to re-enlist for National Guard service, even though they understand there's a strong possibility they may be sent to a hostile environment such as Iraq.

Even the local soldiers who just returned from a year in that war-torn country are making the choice to continue their service when they have the option of stepping down. It takes a special person to commit to military service, and this country is blessed to have so many of them.

MISS: To the latest case of child sex abuse to come though the local judicial system.

A Cayuga County jury convicted a man last week of abusing a 5-year-old in the town of Niles. The victim had to testify at a trial.

The defendant faces up to seven years in prison when he's sentenced next month.

HIT: To all of the people who keep the world spinning when winter weather slams us, as it has a few times this month.

The list is long enough that we risk leaving someone out if we tried to single out every occupation, but just think about the jobs for which there are no snow days. Fortunately, most of us can afford to stay home and stay off the roads #- and we should #- but we should also make an effort to show gratitude for those who don't have that option.

MISS: To yet another devastating injury for the Syracuse University men's basketball team.

Starting guard Eric Devendorf, a junior, tore his knee up in the second half of the team's victory Saturday night at the Carrier Dome. Devendorf will be out for the rest of the season. His bad fortune follows an injury to fellow-junior Andy Rautins over the summer that wiped his season out, as well.

More than ever, Syracuse will have to rely heavily on underclassmen going forward, and with Big East play a couple of weeks away, they will have to grow up in a hurry.