Three school districts in the Reflector readership area were rated "excellent" by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) in its preliminary report card results.

Norwalk City Schools, Plymouth-Shiloh Local Schools and Berlin-Milan Local Schools have claimed the next to highest ranking for their district report cards from the state. The preliminary results were released Tuesday.

If everything goes according to plan, Norwalk area residents might be playing soccer at Sofios Park in fall 2011.

Ken Leber, parks and recreation superintendent, said 14 1/2 of the 22 park acres will be seeded in September if city council approves pending legislation.

The legislation, if passed, would move $5,333 from the park and recreation land acquisition and physical improvement fund and $2,666 from the general capital improvement fund for grass seed, fertilizer and straw for seeding the soccer field at Sofios Park.

Charges are pending in the ongoing investigation of an Ohio 61 motorcycle crash Friday with serious injuries.

Board of elections officials said Wednesday the current electronic voting machines in Huron County are working fine.

Erie County sheriff's detectives seized about 600 marijuana plants during a recent eradication effort with the Ohio Bureau of Identification and Investigation (BCI&I).

Authorities worked with a BCI&I helicopter to find the plants in various agricultural parts of Erie County.

A fully grown marijuana plant has an estimated street value of $1,200 worth of dope on it. It's unknown how many of the plants discovered during last week's effort were fully matured.

A whopping 9,107 people paid to attend the Huron County Fair on Wednesday, significantly up from 7,342.

Last year on Wednesday, the fair's third day, was veterans' and kids' day, meaning people were admitted at no cost before 3 p.m. This year, kids' day fell on Tuesday and veterans' day on Wednesday.

The fair's third day saw 6,955 pay to attend in 2008 and 6,890 in 2007.

As Norwalk braces itself for the closure of U.S. 250 at Rattlesnake bridge, the city has received a bit of good news.

Mayor Sue Lesch, along with Josh Snyder, public works director, and officials from the Ohio Department of Transportation and Mosser Construction from Fremont, met to hammer out some details on the project Wednesday.

Rattlesnake bridge is located between Norwalk and Milan, almost right on the Huron-Erie county line.

The Huron County grand jury indicted 17 people Wednesday, including a pair for trafficking in heroin.

Here is a list of those indicted and their charges:

Joseph J. Fusko III, one count of possession of heroin and two counts of trafficking in heroin.

Melissa M. Hall, one count of possession of cocaine.

Terry L. Trushel, one count of burglary.

Jerry W. Gibson, one count of theft.

Larry C. Tipple, one count of theft.

Rebecca A. Hale, one count of forgery and one count of receiving stolen property.

Norwalk will welcome a new automobile parts store in the upcoming months.

AutoZone has submitted plans to build a 7,381-foot building at 196 Milan Ave., the former site of Casa Fiesta and a number of restaurants before that, according to the city zoning office.

As part of the permit, AutoZone had 30 days to demolish the restaurant, which most recently housed the short-lived Taco Loco. That demolition took place Tuesday.

There has been much talk around Norwalk for some time about the 2011 mayoral race.

Democrat Sue Lesch has held the job since January 2004.

She defeated Republican incumbent Brooks Hartmann in November 2003 and ran unopposed in 2007.

Though the filing deadline isn't until early 2011, talk about who is running and who isn't is swirling around the Maple City.

Lesch hasn't come right out and said she will run, but she has said she's "made promises" about running next year.