Maya: Good morning, Xenia! It's Sunday, October fourth, twenty twenty-six, and this is the Xenia Morning Briefing.
Devon: I'm Devon, and with me as always is Maya. We've got your week ahead in weather, tonight's sky, things to do around town, and the biggest local headlines. Let's get into it.
Maya: Let's start with the weather, because fall is officially making itself at home. Today, Sunday, looks mostly overcast with a high of sixty-nine and a low tonight of forty-seven. Winds stay light, around six miles an hour.
Devon: Monday dips a bit cooler — a high of only sixty-four, overnight low of forty-six. Heads up for Monday morning: patchy fog is possible, and it'll be a touch breezy with winds around twelve miles an hour.
Maya: Tuesday turns beautiful — sunny and clear, high of seventy, low of forty-six. And Wednesday is the warmest day of the week: seventy-eight degrees, overnight low of fifty.
Devon: Then it settles back a little: Thursday, a high of seventy-one; Friday, seventy-four; and next Saturday, seventy-six. Overnight lows stay in the forties and fifties all week long.
Maya: And the rain chances? Basically nonexistent. Zero percent today through Wednesday, and only about four percent next Saturday. So a dry, crisp fall week — perfect for anything outdoors.
Devon: If you love fall evenings, this is your week.
Maya: Speaking of evenings, let's look up. The sun sets tonight at seven thirteen, and true astronomical darkness falls around eight forty-three.
Devon: The moon is in its last quarter, only about forty percent lit, and it won't rise until after midnight. So the evening sky is moonless. If the clouds stay away, it's a genuinely great night for stargazing.
Maya: And there's a real highlight: Saturn. Look toward the southeast after dark, and you'll spot the ringed planet sitting about thirty degrees above the horizon.
Devon: No International Space Station passes over Xenia tonight, but Saturn alone is worth the trip outside. One tip: dress warm — it'll be in the forties after dark.
Maya: Now to what's happening around town. If you love the sound of engines, this is your weekend: Boo Banger Eight is at Darana Raceway on Dayton Xenia Road, wrapping up today.
Devon: It's a drag racing weekend with a Halloween twist — a trailer decorating contest, trick or treating, costumes, dragsters and junior dragsters. Spectators are fifteen dollars a day, thirty dollars for the weekend, and kids twelve and under get in free.
Maya: Now mark your calendar for Saturday, October seventeenth: the twenty-third annual Dayton Chocolate Festival at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center, right here in Xenia.
Devon: That's ten in the morning to six in the evening — crafts, fine art, thirty food booths, and a free kids' zone with games and a bounce house. Chocolate and crafts — hard to beat.
Maya: And one more for your calendar: Christian artists Colton Dixon and Micah Tyler perform on Thursday, October twenty-second at the Schindler Banquet Center in Xenia.
Devon: Check the venue listings for ticket details — that's a big night of music right here in town.
Maya: Now to the headlines. First up, the Xenia Community Schools boardroom is bracing for a major vote.
Devon: After a two-hour executive session this past Monday, the school board voted three to two to put the question of firing three educators on the agenda for its October thirteenth meeting.
Maya: This follows a social media firestorm over personal posts by longtime teachers Kevin Keefe and Jenn Davis about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Both have taught in Xenia for over twenty years. A third educator, an elementary school librarian, is also involved.
Devon: The posts went viral after being picked up by conservative social media pages, and the district received thirty-six messages about the two teachers — the vast majority calling for them to be fired. But the superintendent had previously determined the teachers would keep their jobs, and the board majority disagreed.
Maya: Two of the teachers were briefly placed on paid administrative leave while the district investigated. At Monday's meeting, community members packed the board room and waited through the closed session. Board member Mary Grech, who voted against moving forward, wrote that she wants to follow the long, slow, legal process.
Devon: Amanda Jackson, a mother of Xenia students, said putting it two weeks out would just get people fired up instead of resolving it. Both the Dayton Daily News and Dayton Twenty-Four Seven Now have been following this story closely — all eyes are on October thirteenth.
Maya: Second story — a tribute more than fifty years in the making. A bill to rename the Xenia post office after legendary WHIO weatherman Gil Whitney has passed the House.
Devon: Congressman Mike Turner introduced the bill alongside the entire Ohio delegation. Whitney was the trusted voice on the air during the nineteen seventy-four tornado that devastated Xenia — his warnings are credited with saving lives.
Maya: Turner said renaming the post office is a fitting tribute to a man whose service to the region will never be forgotten. More than five decades later, Gil Whitney's legacy is still woven into this town's story.
Devon: And finally, a deal that could mean big money for the city: Xenia has authorized a pre-annexation agreement with Central State University.
Maya: The agreement creates a long-term framework for city services — water, sewer, fire, and EMS — plus closer public safety coordination between the city and campus police, and a path toward formally annexing the campus into Xenia.
Devon: Here's the money part: once annexation is complete, the city's two-point-two-five percent income tax would apply to campus employees and residents — projected at seven hundred twenty thousand dollars a year in new revenue.
Maya: City officials estimate a net fiscal benefit of about two hundred sixteen thousand dollars annually, with the city's key operating fund growing by roughly four hundred forty-five thousand a year. The Greene County Commissioners would still need to approve the annexation before it's official.
Devon: Big numbers for Xenia's future. WHIO is tracking this one too.
Maya: That's it for this Sunday morning, Xenia. A dry fall week ahead, Saturn in the southeast sky tonight, and a busy month of events around town.
Devon: Thanks for waking up with us. If you enjoy the show, share it with a neighbor.
Maya: We'll be back tomorrow morning at five. Have a wonderful Sunday.
Devon: Goodbye, Xenia!