A 77-year-old Norwalk man was scheduled to appear in court today in connection with improperly touching a resident of an Erie County nursing home Sunday. Edward A. Estep, of 4 Second St., is accused of putting his hand down the pants of an 80-year-old woman while she was in the bathroom she shares with his wife, Erie County Sheriff's Capt. Paul Sigsworth said. The man told authorities he didn't know what happened and used poor judgment.

We all hope warm weather will be returning to our area soon. As soon as that happens producers will be eager to be in the fields preparing the soil and planting the crops for 2007. Safety has to become our first priority during this busy time for everyone's well being. According to the Ohio State Extension service, the odds that you could be involved in a farm machinery accident on public roads increases each year due to the following:

Frozen or homemade bread dough Mild Italian sausage

The United States Achievement Academy announced today that Jessica Hansen of Norwalk has been named a Collegiate All-American Scholar. The USAA has established the Collegiate All-American Scholar Award Program to offer deserved recognition to superior students who excel in the academic disciplines. The Collegiate All-American Scholars must earn a 3.3 or higher grade point average. Only scholars selected by a school official or other qualified sponsor are accepted. This award is a prestigious honor very few students can ever hope to attain. In fact, the Academy recognizes fewer than 10 percent of all college students.

Ten Norwalk firefighters responded to a field fire in the 4100 block of Ohio 601 Sunday afternoon. "The fire started when the occupant of the home ignited about 30 bales of straw that had been used for insulation in a burn pile at the back of the property abutting a field," Lt. Mike Alexander said in his report.

Toast the Norwalk school board for rejecting a proposal to start random drug testing at school. Instead, the board will pursue a much better alternative an educational strategy. The board did its due diligence and investigated the matter, but in the end came to the right conclusion that there is no evidence that the expensive drug testing process actually curbs drug use. Roast the state agencies that have no policies restricting public employees from using private e-mail accounts for official business. The governor and attorney general have warned public officials and employees that there is no difference between a public and private e-mail address if they're doing state business. However, Attorney General Marc Dann admits it is an "honor" system. Ohioans' right to public documents should not be subject to politicians' "honor."

I was thinking about the late Rose Leo again last week. The obituary I heard on the radio some time ago did not mention a cause of death, but I'm thinking it was probably old age. She was 108. And she did have one affliction that I am extremely familiar with: She was a newspaper columnist until the day she died.

Since recently joining the Norwalk Economic Development Corporation's Main Street Program, I've had the opportunity to meet many individuals and groups. These people and the Uptown businesses and property owners have been nothing but impressive as I continue to get acquainted. The energy behind Main Street Norwalk lies in its volunteer committee approach to strengthening Norwalk's central business district. These four committees design, promotion, organization and economic development have been re-energized for 2007. The design committee will be installing new address signs, the promotion committee has set up an advertising seminar for small businesses, the organization committee is working on volunteer development, and the economic development committee is preparing a consumer survey. This is a current snapshot of committee activity more projects are on tap for the rest of the year.

SANDUSKY Borders and Dick's Sporting Goods will join the Sandusky Mall complex. Dick's will join recently added retailers Target and Old Navy in a newly constructed 45,000 square foot store on the east end of Sandusky Pavilion.