HIT: To the Cayuga County Fair.

The fair opened Thursday and runs through Sunday with free admission and free parking.

The fair has gone through some tough times in the recent past but organizers worked hard to make the fair happen this year.

HIT: To Chris Mason, a former Auburn High School cross country runner who was named the winner of the 2009 NJCAA David Rowlands Award.

Mason, who competes at SUNY Delhi, is the first cross country runner to earn the award.

It goes to a male student athlete who displays hard work, discipline, ethics and excellence in community college athletics.

Mason plans to continue running and has signed a letter of intent to compete at Middle Tennessee State.

MISS: To the passing of two people that had a positive impact on this community.

Earl Lamphere, 87, served his country in World War II and later spent 17 years as a Cayuga County legislator, representing the town of Brutus.

Dr. Greg Mathew, 61, spent 22 years as an ear, nose and throat surgeon at Auburn Memorial Hospital. Mathew died during a trip to the Himalayan mountains to fulfill a dream of climbing Mt. Everest.

HIT: To the 150-year prison sentence given to financial swindler Bernard Madoff.

We realize that because Madoff is 71 that any substantial prison term would be a life sentence, but we hope the whopping number of years in this case will get the attention of younger people in the investment business.

People tempted to take advantage of others for their own profit should contemplate the harsh reality of life behind bars.