JEERS: to businesses or non-profits that use lighted construction-message signs to advertise their events. As you're driving along, you come to one of these signs, and you immediately think there is a traffic irregularity ahead that you should beware of. It can be very confusing and disconcerting. In Port Henry, advertising signs are intermingled with DOT warnings, which truly compounds the anxiety. There are enough real construction signs out there without confounding drivers with phony ones. To advertise an event, a banner or a regular sign would be far more appropriate.

CHEERS: to citizens who take all steps to avoid wasting fuel. This has become a near obsession in recent months, since the price of a gallon of gasoline is climbing relentlessly toward $4. Drivers now have to become resourceful. Even before it was costing $40 for a fill-up, though, some people were taking steps to help conserve fuel, for the sake of all Americans, as well as themselves. We especially applaud people who have tried to arrange car pooling. While this isn't always practical in a sparsely populated region such as ours, some people are doing it. We can recall during the so-called gas crisis of the 1970s, schools, businesses and other employers were actively trying to promote car pooling. The same sort of effort ought to be going into it now, even though, unlike the predicament 30 years ago, this one isn't prompted by gas shortages. One of our reporters recently was taking a cursory count of cars exiting the Northway at rush hour to see how many had more than one person in them, and the results weren't cheering -- three out of four had a solitary occupant. Cheers, also, to people who conscientiously try to avoid driving by walking or biking whenever possible. And there is the benefit of the exercise, too. A gallon of gas now costs about the same as a gallon of milk. Think about that the next time you decide to drive to a convenience store just for milk.

CHEERS: to the Plattsburgh State Music Department for giving one of its most venerable retirees his due: When Dr. Angelo La Mariana, now 93, retired in 1984, he'd had almost 30 years in the department. In fact, he was instrumental in starting the department. When he began working there, only two courses in music were offered. Thanks to him, it was turned into a major. During that time, he'd established the College Community Orchestra and the Junior Symphony. On Sunday, the department honored him with a surprise get-together in what was a long-overdue gesture of appreciation for all he'd done.