Longtime Montgomery County judge announces retirement
Montgomery County Juvenile Judge Anthony Capizzi, who had served on the bench for 18 years, announced in January that he would retire at the end of the year.
Capizzi was elected to the bench after serving as a Dayton City Commissioner for more than 10 years. He said his goals as an elected official have always been to bring honest common sense to governing and focusing on the needs of the citizens. But he said as judge, he wanted to bring special attention to the needs of children and families because he felt they were underrepresented by politicians who generally focus on their constituents who can vote.
Montgomery County voters elected Julie Bruns to replace Capizzi.
$65 million sewer project
Construction on a new multi-million-dollar pump station on Dryden Road in Moraine and a pretreatment facility at the Western Regional Water Reclamation Facility in West Carrollton broke ground in May.
It is the largest project Montgomery County has invested in.
The pump will help push millions of gallons of wastewater so it can be treated at the reclamation facility. An average of 20 million gallons of wastewater are handled by the county’s water reclamation facilities a day.
Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab closes DNA section
In July, the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab announced that it was closing the DNA section of its operation.
Hiring a qualified technical leader for the section proved to be a challenge over the last two years, Crime Lab Director Brooke Ehlers said, and without the position, the lab couldn’t meet its accreditation to enter its samples into a database used by law enforcement.
The move caused many departments to send DNA evidence to BCI in London.
The lab will continue to work with law enforcement on other priorities, including drug and property crime, and analyzing fingerprints.
U.S 40 expanded near airport
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
After 22 months of work, the county celebrated in September the completed construction of U.S. 40 near the Dayton Airport.
The $12.6 million project included widening U.S. 40 to five lanes from just west of Union Airpark Boulevard to Airport Access Road and upgrading the interchange at U.S. 40 and Airport Access Road. It also included water and sewer line improvements.
The area near the airport has been a growing logistics hub over the last decade, which led to a significant increase in traffic. The Ohio Department of Transportation paid for most of the project, and grants from other state agencies and commitments from local governments helped pay for the rest.
County prosecutor seeks death penalty
Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. announced in November that his office will seek the death penalty in the case against the man accused in a Butler Twp. shooting spree that killed four people.
Stephen Marlow was indicted of 22 charges, including 12 counts of aggravated murder, eight counts of aggravated burglary and one count each of tampering with evidence and having weapons while under disability, court records show. He is accused of the Aug. 5 shooting deaths of Clyde W. Knox, 82, his wife, Eva “Sally” Knox, 78, Sarah J. Anderson, 41, and her daughter Kayla E. Anderson, 15.
The last time the county sought the death penalty was in May 2017.
Clerk of Courts raided
The Ohio Auditor of State is investigating allegations that Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Mike Foley engaged in inappropriate campaign-related activity at the clerk’s office, according to a document obtained by the Dayton Daily News.
The auditor’s office served a search warrant at Foley’s office in November. The auditor’s office said it will not release any additional information on the ongoing investigation.
Foley is being represented by local attorney Jon Paul Rion. Rion has said Foley believes in the integrity of the Montgomery County Clerk’s Office and “has always acted to fulfill the expectations of the position and to benefit the citizens of Montgomery County.”
Rice retains seat after close election
Credit: HUE12, LLC
Credit: HUE12, LLC
A commission seat was up for grabs this year, and the race came down to the last votes being counted.
Incumbent Carolyn Rice was declared the winner in November after overcoming a 1,000-plus deficit thanks to provisional and late-arriving absentee ballots.
The final result saw Rice pull ahead of challenger Jordan Wortham 50.4% to 49.6%.
Rice has served on the commission since 2019 and was Montgomery County Treasurer before that. She said leading up to the election she ran again because she loves public service and the way Montgomery County Commissioners get to help thousands of people’s lives every day.
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