Bond is set at $1 million, for the Sandusky man accused of fatally stabbing his infant cousin.

19-year-old Denzel Castile is charged with aggravated murder, felonious assault and assault on a police officer. Those charges are connected to the May 16^th death of 11-week-old Athena Castile. Sandusky police said she was killed late Thursday night, at a home on Dewey Street.

Huron County deputies have arrested a third person, in connection with a recent, brutal assault.

18-year-old Brianna Boonie of Bellevue was picked up yesterday, on a secret indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, and obstructing justice. Those charges are tied to the April beating of 19-year-old Austin Thornton of St. Paris, Ohio. Deputies said he was beaten with a crowbar, at a home near Willard. Thornton remains in a rehab facility near Dayton. Boonie’s boyfriend, 19-year-old Connor Holbrook of Bellevue is facing multiple charges. Another Bellevue man, Tyler Smith, is facing charges as well.

A published report says an area coach has been suspended, for allegedly providing prescription-strength pain relief patches to students.

According to the Sandusky Register, longtime Perkins girls track and field coach Tracey Hiss is on paid leave, pending the outcome of the investigation. Hiss also teaches health at Briar Middle School. The patches in question contain the drug lidocaine, which is used to numb pain. Because of the ongoing investigation, school officials have released few other details.

More than two dozen new jobs are coming to the city of Bellevue.

Mitsubishi Chemical Performance Polymers will add 25 full-time jobs, and retain $5.2 million in existing payroll, as a result of the company’s expansion project. The state has approved for a six-year, 40 percent Job Creation Tax Credit for the project. Mitsubishi develops and manufactures unique resins.

Willard city officials have approved a tax break, for Pepperidge Farms.

If the company goes through with expansion and improvement plans, a new Goldfish cracker line would result in 50 new jobs at the Pepperidge plant on State Route 103.

This falls under the category of ‘when not to call 9-1-1.’

22-year-old Heather Russell of Bellevue called 9-1-1—-from the back of a deputy’s cruiser. According to reports, Russell was arrested last Friday, for speeding and driving under suspension. She was pulled over on Kalahari Drive, in Huron Township. The deputy had Russell sit in his cruiser, while he checked her driving record. That’s when she called 9-1-1, to request that ‘another cop’ be sent to her location. She’s facing traffic charges, along with a single count of misuse of 9-1-1.

A Sandusky infant is dead and a relative is in jail charged in connection with her death.

Athena Castile was just 11 weeks old.  Sandusky Police said she was stabbed late last night at a home on Dewey Street.  The alleged assailant, 19-year-old Denzel Castile was arrested a short time after the attack.  Sandusky Police continue to investigate.

The city of Norwalk’s Safety-Service Director is leaving.

Mark Schloemer’s resignation will take effect
June 19^th. He’s taken a private sector job with the Westfield Group,
in Westfield Center, Ohio. Mayor Rob Duncan appointed Schloemer as
Safety-Service Director in January of 2012.

A head-on crash in western Lorain County claimed one person, and injured
two others.

28-year-old Dale Welty of Vermilion was
killed at 5:30 yesterday, on Baumhart Road in Brownhelm Township. According to
the highway patrol, Welty’s car was hit by a pickup truck. The driver of the
pickup was flown to MetroHealth Medical Center. A passenger refused treatment.

New information from the Huron County Highway Department…

Some of Ferry Road in Clarksfield Township
will close Monday, for road reconstruction. It should re-open by late June. Peru
Olena Road, between New State and Ridge roads in Bronson Township will close
Tuesday, for a bridge deck replacement. The project should last three weeks.

Just eight more days, until the 5^th annual Great
American Treasure Hunt.

It’ll be held in downtown Norwalk, Saturday,
May 25^th, between 8am and 2pm. It’ll feature dozens of vendors, live
music and more. Vendor spaces are available…If interested, go to mainstreetnorwalk.org.

At this rate, it might become the largest-ever Powerball jackpot before tomorrow night’s drawing.

Because of brisk ticket sales, lottery
officials have increased the prize from $475 million, to $550 million. If
you’re wondering, the record jackpot was $587.5 million, last November.

The State’s unemployment rate was down slightly last month.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says it was 7 percent in April, compared to 7.1 percent in March.  Officials also said 400,000 Ohioans were out of work last month.

To Ottawa County where bail is set at $10 million for a man accused of killing his estranged wife.

Randall Ross is facing several charges, including aggravated murder, for allegedly shooting and killing Amy Ross at a family member’s home near Oak Harbor.  If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.  After shooting his wife, Ross turned the gun on himself, but survived two shots to the head.

The Perkins Board of Education has scheduled an early morning meeting to discuss personnel.

Tomorrow’s special session will begin at 7am at the district’s Administrative Service Center.

In sports…

The Indians are set to open a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners.  Tonight’s game begins at 7:05.  Tomorrow and Sunday, it’s 1:05 and Monday’s it’s a noon start.  You can hear all four games on 95.3, WLKR.

It’s the second biggest Powerball jackpot ever.

Saturday’s prize is worth $475 million, and it could grow to $500 million or more, before the drawing. While no tickets had the correct numbers to win yesterday’s $360 million jackpot, at least one ticket sold in Ohio matched five numbers, but not the Powerball…It’s worth $1 million.

He’s been in prison since 1993 for allegedly killing his wife.

Now, 75-year-old James Parsons of Norwalk has a chance to get out.  He’ll speak at a parole hearing tomorrow.  His wife, Barbara Parsons was found bludgeoned to death in her Sycamore Hills home in 1981.  It was 12 years later when Parsons was charged and found guilty of murder…He was sentenced to 15 years to life.

The head of the Sandusky NAACP is stepping down.

Barbara Clark is resigning due to time constraints.

State Route 303, near Route 60 in Wakeman is now open.

It was closed for drainage improvements.

According to a national study, Ohio ranks 10^th, in boating accidents.

Last year, 11 people died on Ohio waterways, and out of those victims, none of them wore a life jacket.

Two former dealers at Ohio casinos have been banned indefinitely, for cheating.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission has banned Ryan Straker of Steubenville, and Cordero Young of Southfield, Michigan. The two also had their gaming licenses revoked by the commission. Straker was a dealer at the Horseshoe Casino in Cleveland last year, when he was caught stealing three $500 chips from a roulette table. He was fired, and later found guilty of theft. Young was a blackjack dealer at the Hollywood Casino in Toledo last year, when he was caught accepting fraudulent bets. He was eventually convicted of cheating at a casino.

A new study says Ohioans are number one, when it comes to swearing.

Ohio topped Maryland, New Jersey, Louisiana and Illinois. The study by the Marchex Institute also found the Buckeye State is the 5^th least courteous state in the country, behind Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Indiana and Tennessee.

In sports…

We’ll soon know if the majority of member schools approved the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s revised ‘competitive balance proposal.’  An announcement is expected this afternoon.

It’s an off-day for the Cleveland Indians.  The Tribe will begin a six-game homestand tomorrow—four against Seattle and then two against Detroit.

A Castalia resident was flown to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, after her car was hit by a dump truck.

Hospital officials did not provide a condition update, on 20-year-old Kaitlin Tuttle. She was injured early yesterday afternoon, when she pulled in front of the dump truck at Billings and Portland roads in Groton Township. Her mother, Rebecca Tuttle was taken to The Bellevue Hospital. The truck driver, Christopher Royster of Sandusky was taken to Firelands Regional Medical Center, for treatment of minor injuries.

A Norwalk woman injured in a Monday night rollover crash remains incritical condition.

Theresa Franz is a patient at Cleveland MetroHealth Medical Center. As we first told you yesterday, she was flown there, after the crash on Washington Road, near Halfway Road in Ridgefield Township. The State Highway Patrol’s Norwalk Post is investigating the crash.

A decision on possible charges could be made soon in the case of a Norwalk police officer accused of hitting his girlfriend.

The Mansfield Law Director’s Office is investigating the allegations and will decide within several days if charges should be filed.  The alleged April assault occurred in Richland County.  The victim is a corrections officer in Huron County.

Sandusky school officials have unveiled plans for a new school.

The Regional Center for Advanced Academic Studies will open in August, in the former Jackson Junior High building. The school will be open to younger, gifted students from Sandusky and surrounding districts.

Charges are pending, against a Western Reserve High School student accused of taking part in two burglaries in Wakeman.

According to reports, the 17-year-old boy told other students about the late April, and early May break-ins. When interviewed by deputies and Wakeman police, the boy admitted his role, and turned over stolen property from one of the burglaries. He also led to the recovery of items taken in the second break-in. He’s in juvenile lockup. Others will be charged in connection with the crimes.

With casinos and ‘racinos’ up and running in Ohio, sales of instant lottery tickets are down.

Ohio Lottery scratch-off ticket sales have fallen four percent since last May…That translates into nearly $57 million.

The Huron County Board of Elections will meet twice next week.

The Board will meet at 8:30 Monday morning to accept or reject provisional ballots from the May 7^th election. The board will meet again Wednesday at 8:30, to certify results from the election. Both meetings will be held in the Huron County Administration building.

The Edison school board meeting scheduled for later today has been pushed back to 7pm next Wednesday.

The Board of Education will discuss the district’s new five-year forecast, and will eliminate pay-to-play fees.

Coming up this afternoon on 95.3, WLKR:

Interleague baseball between the Cleveland Indians and the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.  Indians Warm-Up begins at 12:37, with game time at 1:05.

A rollover crash has left a Norwalk woman in critical condition.

49-year-old Theresa Franz was injured shortly after 9:30 last night on Washington Road, near Halfway Road in Ridgefield Township. According to the highway patrol, Franz lost control, went off the road, and flipped over several times in a field. She was ejected from her car. Franz was flown from the scene to Cleveland MetroHealth Medical Center. Alcohol is considered a factor in the crash.

An Erie County dispatcher has been fired, for using a statewide police database to gather information about others.

In addition, Tracy Smith of Wakeman is facing a felony charge of unauthorized use of a computer. She’s accused of using the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway database to snoop on her ex-husband, her ex-boyfriend and various neighbors, along with several Erie County inmates, and Sandusky police officers. The program can only be used for criminal investigations.

Charges of inducing panic and obstructing official business have been filed against a Berlin Heights man, in connection with a brief standoff with deputies.

Cary Shupe was arrested early Sunday morning, after barricading himself inside his Burrows Road home, and threatening to kill himself. Deputies forcibly entered the home, and found several shotguns, and approximately 200 rounds of ammo. Shupe was taken to Firelands Regional Medical Center.

Sandusky School officials have unveiled plans for a new school.

The Regional Center for Advanced Academic Studies will be open to gifted students from Sandusky and surrounding districts.  The new full-time school will open in August in the former Jackson Junior High building.

The Huron County General Health District has a new name.

It’s now called ‘Huron County Public Health.’ Officials said the new name is easier to understand.

Area gas prices are back up.

Sunday, you could find self-serve regular for as low as $3.38 a gallon. But by early yesterday afternoon, pump prices jumped to as high as $3.79 a gallon.

Around the state…

Sales of instant lottery tickets are down.  According to a new analysis, Ohio Lottery scratch-off ticket sales have fallen 4 percent since May of last year…That translates into nearly $57 million.  Officials said competition from Ohio’s casinos and ‘racinos’ may be having an impact.

Red-light cameras have stopped running in a Toledo suburb.  Northwood officials have not renewed a contract with Redflex Traffic Systems.  The previous agreement expired in late April.  It’s not known if Northwood will re-up with Redflex.  Since red light cameras were installed in 2005, the city has made more than $1 million in traffic fines and fees.

A small school district in Knox County is doing away with its elementary building.  After a levy attempt last week, East Knox officials say they’ll close the elementary school and send kindergartners through fourth graders to the middle school. 

It’s called GateKeeper, and it’s Cedar Point’s newest ‘Thrill Ride.’

Park officials unveiled GateKeeper to the media and coaster enthusiasts this morning. The near 4,200-foot ride reaches speeds of 67 miles per hour, and lasts about two minutes and 40 seconds. It can handle more than 1,700 riders per hour.

A preschool in Norwalk was placed on a brief lockdown yesterday morning, while U.S. Marshals and deputies from Richland County searched a nearby home.

So far, there’s no information about what happened, at a residence near League and Baker. That’s also near the Norwalk Catholic School Early Childhood Center.

Troopers with the Milan Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol are investigating a fatal crash on the turnpike.

It occurred at 5:30 yesterday afternoon, near the Fremont toll gate. 33-year-old Douglas Rhoades of Fremont was killed, when his motorcycle crossed a concrete divider strip, and hit a semi-truck. Rhoades was pronounced dead at the scene.

Charges of felonious assault, abduction and domestic violence have been filed against a New London man accused of trying to stab his girlfriend.

18-year-old Christopher Stumpf was arrested Monday, at a gas station between Bellevue and Clyde. According to reports, the two had been arguing, before Stumpf pulled out a small knife.

Another meth lab discovery, this time in Plymouth.

Acting on a tip, police found the suspected meth lab Tuesday, at Plymouth Villa Apartments on Park Avenue. Charges are pending.

A financial consultant from Vermilion is facing up to 20 years in prison, for defrauding clients.

Richard Zakarian appeared in federal court this week, to plead guilty to mail and wire fraud charges. He’ll be sentenced in August. Prosecutors said Zakarian bilked dozens of clients out of more than $4 million dollars.

Governor John Kasich is touting a report that says Ohio has the nation’s most improved business climate.

According to a survey of CEO’s by Chief Executive Magazine, the Buckeye State has moved up 13 places this year, to number 22.

The head of the Erie County Republican Party has resigned.

Alex Jones is leaving to becoming full-time director of the Stark County GOP.