Around the Miami Valley

It’s First Friday and all kind of things are happening in downtown Dayton. Lots of places have set their radio to right here, 91.3 so everyone will be hearing Rev Cool and his music.

A report says local Ohio governments pay out millions of dollars each year to retiring employees for accrued sick leave and vacation time that was never taken.

Elected officials say the payouts are troubling but likely can't be eliminated, while public employees say they've earned the money and saved taxpayers by not taking time off work.

The Middletown Journal reports local governments paid out more than $5 million to departing employees, including $1.7 million in Butler County and more than $1 million in Warren County.

A newspaper reports that a backlog at the Ohio State Highway Patrol crime lab has caused dozens of cases to be dismissed while investigators awaited evidence.

The patrol won't discuss individual cases but acknowledges the backlog and says it's trying to resolve it.

The Springfield News-Sun reports it found at least four cases in which drug charges were dismissed because of the time it took to process evidence -- after which the suspects allegedly committed other offenses.

The city of Springfield has rejected a proposal to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the city's non-discrimination codes for fair housing and job protection.

The 3-2 vote by the Springfield Mayor's Commission on Human Rights ended months of debate.

The Springfield News Sun reports the two yes votes came from Mayor Warren Copeland and Commissioner Karen Duncan.   Commissioners tabled the proposal in September while the city's volunteer Human Relations Board researched the issue.

As Black History month comes to a close, a new book about a 19th century African-American Daniel Rudd - a former slave who lived in Springfield, Ohio and helped change the face of the Catholic church. 

"A Cry for Justice," follows the life of Daniel Rudd a young slave from Bardstown, Kentucky. He was freed after the Civil War and traveled to Springfield to work at a newspaper. His beliefs also led him to challenge the Catholic Church to deliver equality and justice for black people.