Authorities say preliminary numbers show 10 people died in fatal traffic crashes in Ohio over the Labor Day weekend, the fewest number in five years.

The state Department of Public Safety says the number is one fewer than in 2010 and 14 fewer than 2007, when fatalities had reached a five-year high. The data measures traffic crashes over the four-day holiday period ending Monday night.

Data also shows that the number of fatalities that were alcohol-related - three of the 10 - is the fewest in five years.

The state says troopers arrested nearly 700 drivers on charges of driving while intoxicated, an increase of about 14 percent from 2010. Overall traffic enforcement increased about 12 percent, with troopers issuing citations in 27,000 traffic stops.

Poor Will’s Almanack for the fifth week of Late Summer

Ohio troopers warn that they hope Labor Day weekend brings a continuation of two trends: more arrests of impaired drivers and fewer crash deaths.

The State Highway Patrol says that officers will be out in full force over the long holiday period keeping roads safe from drivers who've had too much to drink. Col. John Born, the patrol's superintendent, says in a statement that motorists need to make smart decisions, including designating a sober driver.

The patrol says 11 people died in accidents over last year's Labor Day weekend; six of those crashes were alcohol-related. About 540 drivers were arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence.

Smoking in most public places in Ohio has been banned since May of 2007. That’s when a smokefree act approved by voters was put in place. Now, a new study by the Ohio Department of Health’s shows most people like the new statewide smoking ban in most public places. Seventy three percent of Ohio adults surveyed either approve or strongly approve of the new smokefree act. Only nineteen percent disapprove or strongly disapprove.

Poor Will’s Almanack for the fourth week of Late Summer

After a cool wave came through my yard last night, I walked outside into the breeze, and I suddenly became aware of the disconcerting power of Late Summer. I was disoriented and restless, filled with a sentimental confusion of sadness and excitement.

The morning wind was telling me stories, this cool wave predicting transformations, the unavoidable coming of fall, the inner changes I will undergo, the exterior, dramatic alterations destined in the trees and…my life.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The state has confirmed this year's first two human cases of West Nile virus in Ohio, amid a sharp increase in mosquitoes found carrying West Nile.

The Ohio Department of Health said Tuesday that a 19-year-old woman has been hospitalized in Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County with meningitis related to the potentially dangerous virus.

Officials also said a 14-year-old boy in northwest Ohio's Putnam County has been confirmed with a West Nile fever.

The department said in a statement that both teens are recovering.

Last year, the state recorded five cases of West Nile virus in humans.