Air Quality Alert issued July 17 at 12:43AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has issued a statewide Air Quality Advisory for the entire state of Ohio as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to adversely impact air quality.
Pollutants across the state are expected to range from the 'Unhealthy For Sensitive Groups' category in the southwest part of the state to the 'Unhealthy' category in the rest of the state. Hourly concentrations at times may reach the 'Very Unhealthy' to 'Hazardous' categories.
It is recommended, when possible, to avoid strenuous outdoor activities, especially those with heart disease and respiratory conditions like asthma. Watch for symptoms including wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, dizziness, or burning in the nose, throat, and eyes.
For additional information, please visit the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's website at epa.ohio.gov.
72° 72° chance Sat 88° Sat 88° chance 66° 66° Sun 80° Sun 80°
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey and Auditor Mark Giesige discuss election returns at the courthouse Tuesday night. County voters approved a 0.5 percent sales tax to build a new jail by a slim margin. About 43 percent of the county's 26,000 registered voters - 11,148 - turned out for Tuesday's election.

Related online story:
Mercer County voters approved a 0.5 percent sales tax to build a new jail by a razor-thin margin - with enough votes still left to be counted that the issue is still statistically a tossup. [More]
Additional pictures on this date