By JESSICA JAMES Special to the Register SANDUSKY

Last month, Ohio led the nation in creating new jobs. It's an encouraging sign. The job situation in the state is expected to continue improving, although economists warn that the job gains likely will be slow.

SANDUSKY Five months later, the smell of smoke and burnt wood lingers. Where the living room once existed, a pile of blackened rubble blankets the floor. Electrical wiring hangs loosely from the tattered rafters. Only a few feet away, the firemen found the body of John C. O'Reilly.