Journal-News.com

It's that time of year for a holiday "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" selections:

It was great to see the Butler County Sheriff's Office continue its "Shop with a Cop" program for students in the New Miami and Madison school districts. Numerous students benefited from the generosity this week at the Fairfield Meijer store.

Middletown's Joseph Cristo, co-owner of Cristo Homes in Middletown, recently was named president of the Home Builders Association of Cincinnati. When interviewed this week, Cristo was frank about the housing market, saying builders must be "more connected to our buyers if we are going to become successful."

We applaud Cristo for his appointment and wish him well as he leads the 1,110 members during his one-year term.

We realize these are tough times, and crime is increasing, but shouldn't charities be off limits? Apparently not.

Earlier this week, someone broke into the Middletown Community Foundation offices and stole more than $150, said Duane Gordon, its director.

He said petty cash was stolen, and the thieves took the bills and left behind the change.

Campus employees at Miami University Middletown are doing their part to soften the blow of the $1 million in cuts from the state.

Kelly Cowan, dean at MUM, admitted the pay reductions "won't make the budget crisis go away, but it sure helps."

MUM is planning for 2.5 percent in state-funding cuts for mid-January and an additional 10 percent reduction in state subsidy for the academic year beginning in July, she said.

The Cradle of Coaches just became more diverse.

On Tuesday, Miami University announced that Mike Haywood, offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Notre Dame, would become the first black head football coach in the school's history.

The 44-year-old replaces Shane Montgomery, who resigned last month after the RedHawks posted a 2-10 record for the second time in three years.

Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches Association, called Haywood a "well-known candidate" for several years. He said Brad Bates, athletic director at Miami, "couldn't have hired a better candidate."

Miami becomes one of the few Division I schools in the country with black basketball (Charlie Coles) and football coaches.

We applaud the university for its hire.