CHEERS: to Cardinal Points, the student newspaper at Plattsburgh State, for being named by the Associated Collegiate Press as a 2007 Newspaper Pacemaker Finalist, which places it in a prestigious list of the top 40 college newspapers in North America. The Pacemaker, the highest award given to college media and considered the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism, will be awarded to the top 20 newspapers at the National College Media Convention in Washington, D.C., Oct. 24 to 28. This is the first time Cardinal Points has been named a Pacemaker Finalist, although it has consistently won high accolades from nationally based ratings services. Newspapers from the 2006-07 academic year were judged for this competition. The staff consisted of: Dan Shepard, editor in chief; Ryan Hutchins, managing editor; Ryan Hayner, news editor; Michelle Besaw and Sam Hollingsworth, associate news editors; Josh Cameron, fuse editor; Carolyn Strauss, associate fuse editor; Colleen Sheehy, sports editor; Mark Misiak, associate sports editor; Todd Costello, opinions editor; Holly Boname and Michael Pitts, photo editors; and Shawn W. Murphy, faculty adviser. You have seen or will see some of those names on the pages of the Press-Republican. Shepard, Hutchins, Besaw, Hollingsworth, Misiak and Boname have all interned with our newspaper, and some of them continue to write for us. Congratulations to our friends and co-workers at Cardinal Points.

CHEERS: to Price Chopper and one of its Plattsburgh employees, Rita, for refusing, in a very professional manner, to sell beer to a group of young men who couldn't seem to come up with proof that they were old enough to purchase it. Price Chopper lost the sale of two full shopping carts of beer, ice and other party supplies, but they sent a strong and valuable message to those young men and others who witnessed the action. Price Chopper doesn't sell alcohol -- or cigarettes -- to minors, so there's no use in trying to buy.

JEERS: to political-party enthusiasts who, in their zeal to get their message across, take unauthorized and unwelcome advantage of wooden power poles to nail their signs. On Hamilton Street in Plattsburgh, for example, a sign supporting Ron Paul for president has been affixed to a power pole. The Municipal Lighting Department has asked that this not be done because staples and small nails left behind can puncture protective rubber clothing and cause accidents for linemen working on the poles. Political cheerleaders ought to find other ways to vent their excitement.

JEERS: to roadwork crews that tempt fate and defy stereotyping by being seen leaning on shovels, figuratively and literally, during their work day. A responsible reader wrote us suggesting a Jeer for a particular crew that has consistently gotten under passersby's skin in this area by ganging up on what seemed like a rather insignificant road assignment during rush hour and slowed down traffic. When we ask a DOT about such criticisms, officials invariably have a reason for the work being done when and where it is. We won't pursue that line of questioning, but we'll remind all workers and their bosses: The work being done is highly visible to a great many people, many of whom are going to be inconvenienced. Don't give them ammunition by standing around smoking, laughing and being seemingly oblivious to the job at hand while so many people are watching ... and seething.