- JAN. 15 - - Former "American Idol" finalist Scott Savol has been keeping himself busy since the end of the show working on recording his first album. He made his way back to the area, though, to begin working on a different project at Wood Shed Recording Studios. Savol, along with eight other local bands, are recording an album titled Ohio Zone. The album will feature everything from mellow music to metal music, said Keith Lipovich, of Tevis Entertainment Inc. Savol will record two songs that will be featured on the compilation album.

- JAN. 16 - - The Madison Board of Education is defending it's decision to cut transportation and is working to educate district resident about it's upcoming levy with a series of town meetings and an informational Web site. As students and parents fall into the routine of driving, walking and organizing rides to and from the high school every day, the board has updated the Web site www.madisonschools.net with a property tax calculator and levy information link.

- JAN. 17 - - Gasoline prices in Ohio have dropped more than 7 cents during the last week, giving consumers a small break at the pumps, AAA reports. This price break was expected after the holiday travel season, when demand declines and the market relaxes, AAA East Central director of communications Bevi Norris said. At $2.30, Ohio gas prices are just under the national average of $2.32 per gallon, though Ashtabula's average price is $2.39 per gallon at the pumps.

- JAN. 18 - - An investigation into a Madison village councilman that resulted in drug charges was initiated in Ashtabula County, where additional charges could be filed, investigators said after his first court appearance. Councilman Larry Buck's attorney accused narcotics agents of deliberately waiting to arrest Buck, forcing him to spend a long weekend in jail. Attorney Leo Talikka made the accusation before visiting Judge Michael Learner during Buck's video arraignment in Painesville Municipal Court on drug trafficking charges. Buck pleaded not guilty, but was released on a person $25,000 bond.

- JAN. 19 - - A power outage in Jefferson resulted in two basketball games being canceled at Jefferson Area High School and a boiler unit malfunctioning there. Power surges with a brown-out started about 6 p.m. Principal Thomas Harrison said maintenance personnel were evaluating the damage to the electric motor on the boiler from the electric power surges.

- JAN. 20 - - City officials began an aggressive plan to go after homeowners who are responsible for blighted properties and squalid living conditions. The first target was 3419 Lake Ave., a vacant gray house with white trim, owned by Salihu Hasan of Cleveland and filled with enough junk, trash and debris to load several city dump trucks. Under City Manager Anthony Cantagallo's ordinance enforcement program, property owners who refuse to fix or clean up their properties will be slapped with a bill, said Dom Iarocci, the head of the city's sanitation department.

- JAN. 21 - - A dozen or so uninvited "guests" busted up a party on West 37th Street, providing neighbors with an up-close version of "Cops." Two people were arrested around 11 p.m. after Ashtabula Police Department's Special Operations Group (SOG) and the county-wide Special Weapons And Tactic team, raided an apartment at 1002 W. 37th Street. Inside police found five women, one man, a BB gun, and what appeared to be an egg-sized bag of crack cocaine, a large one-gallon sized bag of marijuana, and several small sandwich bags filled with marijuana and crack cocaine.

- JAN. 22 - - The scuffed hardwood dance floor of Kelly's Jewels Dance Hall jumps underneath the hundreds of cowboy boots stomping across it every week. Line-dancers from all walks of life pile into the popular country-western watering hole each week to boot-scoot to the tunes of Trace Adkins, Keith Anderson and Brooks and Dunn. Whether they're doing the "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk," the "Watermelon Crawl" or the "Boot Scootin' Boogie," these folks line up week after week and execute the dances with precision.

- JAN. 23 - - A sharp increase in state-sponsored health care has an Ohio senator looking for the culprit, and he can say he found it at Wal-Mart. State Sen. Robert Hagan, D-Youngstown, introduced the Fair Share Health Care legislation last week that will require Ohio's largest companies to pay a higher percentage of workers' health-care costs in an effort to relieve an overburdened state health-care system, legislative aide Gregg Paul said.

- JAN. 24 - - Area officials are hopeful local manufacturers won't suffer from cuts in operations announced by Ford Motor Co. Monday. The automotive giant said it would cut as many as 30,000 jobs and shut down 14 facilities by 2012 to compensate for losses suffered in the U.S. market during the past several years. Several Ashtabula County manufacturers, especially those that specialize in plastics, create parts and components for the auto industry.

- JAN. 25 - - A typical winter day, with heavy white snowflakes falling from the gray skies outside of Manor Home Geneva. But inside, the residents were buzzing with excitement as they awaited the arrival of their favorite Cleveland Indians players. Tribe members, hitting coach Derek Shelton, catcher Victor Martinez, relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt and starting pitcher Cliff Lee visited the home after dining with more than 200 fans at the Indians Press Tour at the Geneva State Park Lodge and Conference Center.

- JAN. 26 - - A deadly driving trend begun last year threatens to continue unabated in 2006. So far this month, four men - - three from Ashtabula County and one from Geauga County - - have died in traffic accidents. The carnage has local Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers wondering whether a repeat of 2005, which saw 26 traffic deaths within the county's borders, is ahead. Raising fears is the fact Ashtabula County notched three traffic deaths in January 2005, as well.

- JAN. 27 - - After nearly four years of study and speculation, Dominion officials announced they will not build a coal-fired power generating plant in Conneaut. Lack of available capital - - not the Conneaut site - - was the reason the $1 billion project will not go forward, said Mark Lazenby, Dominion spokesman in Richmond, Va. When Dominion announced the start of a feasibility study in 2002, company officials warned, and continued to warn, that the project may not bear fruit. Still local and county officials were disheartened by the news.

- JAN. 28 - - The history of Ashtabula County's Underground Railroad Trail was the highlight at the Ashtabula Arts Center. Twelve 60-inch by 40-inch markers tell the history of the Underground Railroad and are displayed at the center. The markers are indoor duplicates of larger, clear fiberglass markers that will be installed along the Western Reserve Greenway Trail. Each marker will be located near road intersections, said Kevin Grippi, a volunteer for the project.

- JAN. 29 - - Two Ashtabula County men were transported by MedEvac helicopter to Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pa., following a high speed pursuit which resulted in a crash. Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers attempted to stop a 1998 Jeep Wrangler which was reported stolen from the Circle K in Ashtabula. The Jeep was followed for a short period of time on Stanhope-Kelloggsville Road.