MOUNT VERNON -- On Tuesday, minutes before jury selection began in the trial of Jay W. Newland, prosecutors dismissed two charges of trafficking in drugs due to insufficient evidence. The 37-year-old Newland did, however, face a jury trial on two counts of using deception to obtain a dangerous drug.

FREDERICKTOWN -- When he woke in a panic Thursday to find it was past the time the tardy bell would have rung at the Fredericktown Intermediate School, 13-year-old Jesse Adkins thought his grandma let him oversleep.

MOUNT VERNON -- When entering a burning building, firefighters face the threat of injury and death. Firefighters in Knox County have developed a Mayday protocol for when a firefighter is injured, trapped or lost in a fire.

LUCERNE -- Guy Denny looked up into the sky, then bent over and picked up a leaf, letting it fall to the ground.

MOUNT VERNON -- After a long and much-anticipated wait, the old Pizza Hut restaurant on Coshocton Avenue opened on Monday as the city's second incarnation of the popular Fiesta Mexicana restaurant.

MOUNT VERNON -- Despite record fuel prices which are driving up the costs of flying and contributing to the demise of Columbus-based discount airline Skybus, the high prices are not affecting the local airport.

DANVILLE -- One inning does not win a ballgame, but oftentimes it goes a long way. The Loudonville Redbirds put up five runs in the top of the first inning, then rode that to a 5-1 win over the Danville Blue Devils on Tuesday afternoon. The fast start helped Loudonville move to 2-0 in the conference, while Danville fell to 1-1.

SPARTA -- A week into the season, both the Mount Vernon and Highland High School baseball teams are trying to get their 2008 seasons on track. Both have struggled to hit the ball and score runs. That trend continued on Tuesday afternoon in Sparta as they met for a nonconference game.