Jerry Kenney

Ohio coroners are raising new warnings following a spike in drug overdose deaths.

Cleanup continues again today after Monday’s massive tornado outbreak across Indiana and Ohio. The storms killed at least one person and injured dozens more across the Miami Valley. Gov. Mike DeWine has declared a state of emergency for three counties: Montgomery, Greene and Mercer.

Celina, in Mercer County, was particularly hard hit. Jakob Wenning lives there. He says he saw the roof of his apartment lift during the tornado.

The city of Dayton has filed a lawsuit against an out-of-state group that plans to hold a rally on Dayton’s Courthouse Square in May. City officials say the Honorable Sacred Knights is a paramilitary group and the rally they are planning is in violation of Ohio’s constitution.

Last month, Montgomery County, which oversees Courthouse Square, granted the Indiana group believed to be affiliated with the KKK permission to rally on May 25th.

Woodland Cemetery in Dayton is celebrated its 175^th anniversary Thursday. On February 18^th 1841, when the city had a population of about 6000, the Woodland Cemetery Association of Dayton was created to establish the rural cemetery and replace two others located too close to the growing city.

On today’s WYSO Weekend we’ve got Culture Couch – this week Lauren Shows looks at the Victoria Theatre as it celebrates 150 years. Community Voices Producer, Jason Reynolds, continues his report on Vietnam Veteran turned anti-war protester Barry Romo in Rediscovered Radio, and WYSO Music Director, Niki Dakota, talks TechFest with her special guest on Excursions.

The deadline to register to vote in the March 15^th Presidential Primary Election in Ohio is fast approaching.  That deadline is Tuesday, February 16th, just 30 days before the election.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted is reminding Ohioans that every vote counts.

Ohio Governor, John Kasich came in 2^nd in the New Hampshire Republican primary election on Tuesday. It was good news for his campaign but now the candidate, who’s established himself as a moderate in the GOP  field of presidential hopefuls, moves on to tougher territory – South Carolina and beyond.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley delivered the annual State of the City address Wednesday at City Hall.

In the 20 minute speech, the Mayor outlined the city’s progress in job growth, infrastructure improvements, and investments in revitalization projects like the Dayton Arcade, Welcome Dayton and residential housing in the downtown area.

A number of groups are collecting bottled water for residents in Flint, Michigan.

The City of Dayton and Jet Express, Inc., are working together to collect water for the city that’s been harshly affected by elevated lead levels in its drinking water. 

Ohio Governor John Kasich recently signed into law new statewide regulations ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft. The new laws trump regulations put in place by local governments.  

The legislation sets up new requirements for drivers, including background checks, insurance, and photo IDs. Drivers will also have to provide riders with upfront cost estimates for their trip.

The bill’s co-sponsor, State Representative Bob Hackett, says it clears up confusion for drivers.

In this edition of WYSO Weekend: The legacy of slain civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Today, you’ll hear WYSO listeners and supporters recite Dr. King’s famous I have a Dream speech. WYSO’s Lewis Wallace has some local reaction to President Barack Obama’s recent executive actions on gun control, and we’ll talk to Dayton Daily news reporter, Josh Sweigart about a state investigation of Wright State University. See full program details below.

Local county coroners are still pulling together totals for 2015 drug overdose fatalities, but most are already reporting higher numbers than the year before.

The Miami Valley's Military Veterans Resource Center (MVRC) is hosting its third annual job fair for active duty service members, veterans and their family members on Thursday.  More than 50 military-friendly employers are taking part in the event, according to Abby Reynolds with the MVRC.

The film Carol makes its debut at the Neon Movies in Dayton Thursday night. The film—much of which was shot in Cincinnati in the spring of 2014—features local residents who served as extras in the film and several Daytonians served on the film’s production crew.

Beginning Monday, January 11^th, the Webster Street Bridge in downtown Dayton will be shut down.

The city of Dayton says it’s tearing down the 100-year-old structure and will replace it with a new one at a cost of more than $10 million dollars.

The city issued a statement saying demolition and construction of the new bridge is expected to be complete by November 2017 and it will feature “wider sidewalks, enhanced lighting and observation plazas.”

Two Montgomery County Commissioner seats are being challenged in 2016. Four Republicans hope to unseat current democratic commissioners, Judy Dodge and Debbie Lieberman. But, they’ll have to make it through the March primaries first.

The four republican candidates for Montgomery County Commissioner include former Dayton mayor Gary Leitzell and former Englewood City councilman Don Birdsall.  Both men are running against Commissioner Debbie Lieberman.

Throughout the year on WYSO Weekend, we feature local non-profits who are providing services to our community.  This week we spoke to two of the people who operate Matthew’s Closet on Brown Street in Dayton, which provides clothing and other items - at no cost – to those people in need. In this interview excerpt from WYSO Weekend, you’ll hear from Director of Ministry Michael Tarzinski, and the Reverend Julia Roat-Abla with the Dayton Central Church of the Nazarene.  Roat-Abla starts by telling us how the charity is serving the communities of South Park and beyond.

In this edition of WYSO Weekend: We’ll introduce you to the folks operating Matthew’s Closet in Dayton. It’s a free clothing ministry serving those in need.  We’ve also got Veterans Voices and WYSO’s Lewis Wallace takes up to the rolling Appalachian foothills south of Chillicothe, in Pike County—it’s one of the poorest areas in the state. Lewis will report on how things could get worse for this community. See the full details below.

County boards of elections are processing many applications from candidates hoping to take over the 8th District congressional seat. That’s the one that was vacated in September by Former House Speaker John Boehner.  

As of Thursday, 20 people had filed applications with the Butler County Board of Elections to run in the 8th district special election - scheduled for March 15th of 2016. 

There will be no Christmas miracle for Dayton History and Carillon Park’s Tree of Light.  The 200 foot tall light display covering the historical bell tower was damaged by high winds early Monday morning.

Dayton History President, Brady Kress, says the tree will be back next year.

Jeffrey Testerman is a custom home builder and remodeler.  He designed and built a net-zero home that was featured in this year’s Homarama. A net-zero home is one that produces as much energy as it uses. In this excerpt from WYSO Weekend, Testerman says the Lewisburg, Ohio house you’ll hear about next should actually produce more energy than it uses.