The Ohio Emergency Management Agency said those with uninsured losses from the storm should contact their local emergency management agency for resources that can help them.

FirstEnergy reported about 1,500 homes and businesses in northeastern Ohio were still without power Tuesday, a week after the storm. Most of the outages were in Cleveland and its suburbs.

Around 250,000 Ohio electricity customers were left in the dark after high winds from Sandy’s outer bands uprooted trees and brought down power lines.

Structural engineers say the June 29 storm moved the wood-and-steel tower several inches off its base atop the Logan County Courthouse in Bellefontaine making the 142-year-old building unsafe.

Court employees are working out of back rooms and hallways around the city about 60 miles west of Columbus.

Officials hope the tower can be taken down, rebuilt and put back. But they say it’s too soon to estimate the cost or how long it would take.

County commissioners are trying to find a temporary location where at least some courthouse operations can be consolidated again while they determine what to do.

DeWine says residents may encounter traveling contractors that take payments without providing promised repairs or other services.

His office recommends researching contractors, checking for consumer complaints about them and getting written estimates and a sworn statement that materials and subcontractors are paid for.

DeWine says homeowners should refuse to work with a contractor that won’t provide proper identification or demands a large payment before starting work.

DeWine also says residents should never sign an insurance check to a contractor.

Licking County was hard hit by last week’s storm that knocked out the power to thousands of Central Ohio homes.

Mickey Lymon of the Licking County Coroner’s Office said the three, two women and one man, ranged in age from their late 60′s to early 80′s. Lymon said they had been without electricity since last weekend. All three had chronic health problems.

“Whenever somebody has problems like COPD or heart disease and they’re out in this intense heat then it exacerbates the problems they already have,” Lymon said.

Lymon said the three were discovered by friends doing welfare checks.

There’s been little relief for customers without power as temperatures this week have soared into the upper 90s. Much of the state in under extreme heat warnings as forecasters expect the high to reach 104 degrees on Saturday with a heat index of 110 degrees.

The company says about 143,000 AEP Ohio customers are still in the dark. That includes about 28,000 homes in Franklin county, 18,000 in Licking county, and 9,000 in Fairfield county.

Many of those people have been without power since Friday, when thunderstorms and high winds knocked out electricity for roughly a million Ohio homes and businesses.

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services officials say low-income families with children may be eligible for up to $1,500 in assistance per household, a category including pregnant women.

Elderly and disabled individuals may qualify for up to $750 per household, with the money available for various necessary expenses and purchases.

The assistance will be offered to families, elderly individuals and those with disabilities who earn 200 percent of the federal poverty level or less, or about $46,000 for a family of four.

Ohioans who think they may be eligible should contact their county Department of Job and Family Services office to apply.

Utilities reported outages Wednesday affecting almost 240,000 Ohio customers. American Electric Power brought in about 600 people from out of state to help repair lines pulled down by ice buildup from Tuesday’s freezing rain and sleet.

More than 100 thousand Ohioans woke up this morning without power. In Franklin County, more than 50,000 remain in the dark, along with close to 20,000 in Delaware County.

Northeast Ohio’s Stark County, including Canton, appeared to have the worst power problems, with nearly 52,000 customers out. Public schools in Canton, Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, Dayton and Akron canceled Wednesday’s classes.

Possible wind gusts exceeding 45 mph threatened to bring down tree limbs and more power lines on Wednesday.

In northwest Ohio, authorities are having a hard time keeping up with multiple accidents on Interstate 75 in northwest Ohio, which has been shut down in several spots since early Wednesday.

The State Highway Patrol says a truck pileup is blocking all of the southbound lanes of I-75 just south of Lima. Another big accident overnight closed the highway north of Lima for several hours, but that stretch is now open.

So far, no major injuries have been reported.

American Electric Power is gearing up to battle any storm damage on power lines. 470 line workers are scattered across the state to make repairs. 120 additional workers are coming in from other states to assist. AEP services 1.5 million customers in Ohio and West Virginia.

Currently AEP reports about 650 customers in Franklin County are without power. About 225 homes in Delaware County are still without electricity this afternoon.

FirstEnergy Corp. reports on its website that more than 2,000 Cleveland customers have no power.

The National Weather Service says sleet and freezing rain from a storm predicted to affect a third of the country may put Ohio under a half-inch of ice. Forecasters are warning about the potential for hazardous driving conditions.

Scores of school districts canceled today’s classes, including the public schools in Columbus, Toledo, Akron and Canton. Ohio State University has closed its Marion and Newark campuses.

Several airlines have canceled flights today out of Columbus International Airport due to freezing rain that fell overnight and could fall throughout the day.

The National Weather Service reports trees up to 10 inches in diameter were snapped in two by last night’s storms, while other trees were uprooted and crashed onto power lines. A roof was peeled off a building in Franklin in southwest Ohio and a grocery store in the Columbus area had its roof damaged.

American Electric Power said nearly 12,000 of its Central Ohio customers had no electricity Thursday morning. Duke Energy reported about 700 customers out in its southwest Ohio coverage area.