Feature - 1st placeA pig squeals as a competitor in the Champaign County Fair Pig Scramble jumps on its back. The group of girls competing in the scramble run through the mud as they try to catch one of several juvenile pigs loose in a pin and drag the mud covered pig into a center ring. Those competitors who succeed, get to raise the pig and bring it to the fair next year to show and sell. (Bill Lackey / Springfield News-Sun)
Feature - 2nd placeDarcy Adams and her son Treyce, 8, enjoyed an oversized chair at the Pro Football Hallf of Fame Festival Ribs Burnoff at the Stark County Fairgrounds in Canton. (Scott Heckel / The Repository)
Feature - 3rd placeRachel Perotti, 14, of Berea, gives her six-week-old boiler chicken her first-ever blow dry after her first-ever bath as they get ready for competition at the Cuyahoga County Fair in Berea. Perotti gave her boiler chicken her first (and last) bath in a bucket and washed her with Ivory soap. Perotti is part of the 4-H group called Leashes, Bridles and Patterns in Berea. (Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer)
Feature - HMTwelve year old Haley Otto of Mentor gets into full Mary mode while entering the ring with her "little lamb," quarter-horse mare Glory. Haley, a member of of the Giddy-Up Whoa 4-H club in Perry, got some help from her mother, Jennifer, in glueing more than 3000 cotton balls to Glory's blanket and face muzzle. "We cleaned out Giant Eagle," said Jennifer.The 22 year old horse has probably been through a lot with these 4-Hers throughout the years, and she was very calm and cooperative throughout the process. Haley and 18 others competed in the walk-trot single costume class. Haley and Glory took first place, walking the ring to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" thanks to a portable player on her shoulder. (Lynn Ischay / The Plain Dealer)
Feature - HMA pig who goes by the name "Lindsey LoHam" takes the lead during the pig races at The Ohio State Fair in Columbus. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
General News - 1st placeMikayla Bodey, a senior at Graham High School, reacts as her name is announced as the winner 2012 Champaign County Fair Queen contest at the fair in Urbana. (Bill Lackey / Springfield News-Sun)
General News - 2nd placeSixteen year-olds Shelby Cook (left) and Kara Maddox console each other during a vigil for their dear friend and fellow Hilliard Bradley marching band member David Phillips III. Phillips died in a car accident. The speakers at the vigil spoke of Phillips' smile and how he made others smile. The band will wear armbands in his honor with the phrase "He lives smiling" and the football team will wear trumpet decals on their helmets. (Lorrie Cecil / ThisWeek Newspapers)
General News - 3rd placeA purple martin feeds its chicks who are inside one of the 156 gourd houses at the Portage Lakes purple martin sanctuary at the North Reservoir in Coventry Township. Three chicks could be seen in that nest. Larry Hunter founded the Portage Lakes Purple Martin Association in 2000 as a viable alternative to the spraying of chemicals to control the thriving insect population in the area. The program has been hugely successful; the martins in the area eat 30 pounds of bugs a day. (Lynn Ischay / The Plain Dealer)
General News - HMVernon Shaw walks with, Annie, the horse of David "El Dorado" Boggs, a police officer and cowboy, as they lead the funeral procession through town and to the burial service in Centerburg. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
General News - HM"Kindle" wore a sticker placed on him by his owner Sherry Waters from Lancaster outside the Fairfield County government building during a rally with Animal-welfare advocates protesting the Fairfield County Dog Shelter's gas chamber. (Tom Dodge / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 1st placeJessica Blaney, 23, with "Tiny" on her Scott Street porch after Columbus police dusted a near-by home for prints looking for the "creeper". Jessica said "Tiny and 3 of her other dogs started barking late last night. (Tom Dodge / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 2nd placeDebbie Channell lost her sons B.J., 9, and Brett Channell, 8, in a fire at a home they occupied in Richwood on Dec. 8, 2004. Their faces are tattooed on her right calf. She is posing at their grave in Plain City. (Jonathan Quilter / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 3rd placeMitchell Trubisky, 17, a senior and starting football quarterback for Mentor High School, is the area's top quarterback, our "superhero". (Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer)
Sports feature - 1st placeDublin Coffman student section throws baby power up in the air at the start of their game against Dublin Jerome. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports feature - 2nd placeTeam Niko is ready to push, pull and otherwise propell their team's namesake, seven year old Niko Lanzarotta, through the swim portion of the super sprint competition of the Cleveland Triathlon. Niko has cerebral palsy and he and his family have competed in the triathlon for the five years that United Cerebral Palsy has been a sponsor of the event. (Lynn Ischay / The Plain Dealer)
Sports feature - 3rd placeJackson's Stephanie Spencer (left) receives a kiss from teammate Paige Hill after the Polar Bears Beat Perry in the second game of their match at Jackson High School. (Scott Heckel / The Repository)
Spot News - 1st placeTwo of five suspects arrested in attempted theft of copper from a business at 2070 West 3rd Street await transport to Cuyahoga County Jail. Five men with guns drove a truck into the parking lot, intending to fill it with copper. An employee saw the men and called police at 9:55 am. The men were quickly apprehended. (Lynn Ischay / The Plain Dealer)
Spot News - 2nd placeA Columbus police helicopter made an emergency landing in a West Columbus neighborhood after experiencing mechanical problems closing Sullivant Avenue between Whitethorn and Lechner Avenues. No one was injured, but two officers aboard were taken to the hospital as a precaution. (Tom Dodge / The Columbus Dispatch)
Spot News - 3rd placeKelly Boyd leans against her boyfriends Thomas Ree's car at her Clintonville home. Her landlord has yet to remove the tree from the yard from previous storms. (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports - 1st placeColumbus School for Girls' goalie Olivia Feldman makes the save as Reynoldsburg's Alex Thorn collides with her during the first half of their game at Reynoldsburg. (Lorrie Cecil / ThisWeek Newspapers)
Sports - 2nd placeDublin Jerome's Justin Stroup (21) tackles Dublin Coffman's James Walsh (16) without a helmet during a two point conversion stop during the 1st half of their game at Dublin Jerome High School. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports - 3rd placeClipper's Juan Diaz can't quite get to this ground ball in the game against the Durham Bulls at Huntington Park. (Chris Russell / The Columbus Dispatch)
Dr. Gordon Gee walks through the Koehler Drug Store in Upper Sandusky. Dr. Gee was presented with a photo of himself. The store devotes a lot of space to OSU themed novelties. (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Story - 2nd placePresident Obama gets his picture taken by supporters after landing at Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus,. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Story - 3rd placeThe funeral service for David "El Dorado" Boggs, a police officer and cowboy, was held at the Centerburg Church of Christ in Centerburg. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Story - HMFirst year teacher Amanda Chapman talks to some of the boys before the start of school. (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Story - HMMembers of the Flying Caballinis wow the crowd during the Carson & Barnes Circus at Civic Park. The circus was brought to town by the Reynoldsburg Lions Club and was a fund raiser to help the club provide eye care for people in Reynoldsburg. (Lorrie Cecil / ThisWeek Newspapers)
