CHEERS - To a bittersweet opportunity. Today in New York City, the USS New York - a 684-foot, 24,900-ton ship built with steel from the World Trade Center towers - is being commissioned. Among the relatives of the victims of the horrific Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy who will be attending the event is local resident Vince DeSantis. All of us join Vince in honoring his adopted son, Jemal Legesse DeSantis, and the 2,993 others whose lives were taken that day.

CHEERS and JEERS - To the morning after. All Gloversville mayoral candidates were invited by the Fulton County Regional Chamber of Commerce & Industry to attend an "Eggs and Issues" event the day after the election. One issue discussed was a renewed effort by several Gloversville groups, along with the chamber, to jump-start a united effort to improve the city. All four candidates had the betterment of the city as the main goal in their campaigns. One would hope that after the election, the candidates would continue to pursue that goal. The vote leader in the election, Dayton King, attended the event, as did candidate Dirk Meyers. They were still talking about and demonstrating the beliefs they had expressed during the campaign. It's not easy to lose an election or anything else, but candidates Jo-Ann Clear and Judy Marcoux should have made the effort to show up to the chamber event.

CHEERS - To Harold Smith. A mere cheer seems too little when honoring someone for 50 years of serving the public. We're confident there will be little objection to a very big cheer to Harold. He'll be stepping down after serving as Ephratah town justice for 50 years. We loved his recent comment, "It's just 50 years of aggravation and law breaking." The law-breaking part was surely a reference to those who've appeared before him. You don't find many people like Harold who start out giving back by serving, and just keep going. Thanks to the Energizer justice.

CHEERS - To public involvement. The trustees of the Gloversville Public Library are asking for input regarding future endeavors. Two workshops will be held next week, and anyone interested in discussing the plans for the physical facility and community- needs assessment is welcome. Don't sit back and judge later; become informed by contacting Director Barbara Madonna.

CHEERS - To the quote of the week.State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, in issuing a report on the state's finances Thursday, said, "The state has to stop treating New Yorkers like ATMs." We couldn't have said it better.