Today is Wednesday, Dec. 4, the 338th day of 2002. There are 27 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 4, the 338th day of 2002. There are 27 days left in the year. On this date in 1783, Gen. George Washington bids farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.
In 1816, James Monroe of Virginia is elected the fifth president of the United States. In 1839, the Whig Party opens a national convention in Harrisburg, Pa., during which delegates nominate William Henry Harrison for president. In 1875, William Marcy Tweed, the "Boss" of New York City's Tammany Hall political organization, escapes from jail and flees the country. In 1918, President Wilson sets sail for France to attend the Versailles Peace Conference. In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt orders the dismantling of the Works Progress Administration, which had been created to provide jobs during the Depression. In 1942, U.S. bombers strike the Italian mainland for the first time in World War II. In 1945, the Senate approves U.S. participation in the United Nations. In 1965, the United States launches Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Cmdr. James A. Lovell aboard. In 1977, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, ruler of the Central African Empire, crowns himself emperor in a ceremony believed to have cost more than $100 million. (Bokassa is deposed in 1979; he dies in November 1996 at age 75.) In 1991, Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson, the longest held of the Western hostages in Lebanon, is released after nearly seven years in captivity.
December 4, 1977: State approval of Ohio Edison's plan to route a 138,000-volt transmission line through nearly 10 miles of Trumbull County may rest on the testimony of the company's in-house forester. So far, the Ohio Power Siting Commission has found the environmental impact statements provided by the company to be inadequate.
Two truck drivers stopped on a road in North Beaver Township near New Castle are given hefty fines for driving overweight rigs. One trucker was fined $7,885, the other, $7,735. The combined cargoes were 103,580 pounds over the maximum allowed by law.
Since John Austin Logan capitalized Ajax Magnethermic with $500 in 1947, the company has never had a bad year. It now holds several hundred patents and recently sold more than $8 million worth of electric furnaces to the Soviet Union.
December 4, 1962: A special grand jury in Columbus investigating influence peddling in the Liquor Department is discharged after it was disclosed that the foreman has a prison record.
The Youngstown Board of Education adopts an austerity program to cut $500,000 out of the annual budget, a move made necessary by the failure of the 2.8-mill levy for operating expenses. Employees who retire or resign will not be replaced and textbook purchases will be put on hold.
The Mahoning County Board of Elections completes its recount of 51 precincts in the state senatorial race and James H. Grose, the Republican, is the winner over Michael J. McCullion, the Democrat, by 69 votes -- 71,941 to 71,872.
December 4, 1952: A family of seven is wiped out by a fire that destroyed a frame home at 2544 Homestead Road, off Hubbard Road in Liberty Township. Dead are Henry and Catherine Tochman and their children, Henry Jr., 13; Patricia, 10; Carol, 8; Mary Grace, 4, and Joan, 2.
If enemy planes attack Youngstown, the city's three radio stations would switch to emergency frequencies in accordance with "Operation Conelrad," and will remain on the air.
The recount of 331 Mahoning County election precincts in the close county commissioners race ends with no change in the election result, but with the unearthing of a serious vote fraud in one precinct and large counting errors in others. Edward J. Gilronan, Republican, with 51,882 votes, and Fred A. Wagner, Democrat, with 47,791, winning election. The other candidates were Edwin J. Anderson, 47,414, and Thomas R. Bees, 44,427.
December 4, 1927: Youngstown's entire police force is ordered by Chief Goodwin to join the hunt for the slayers of Patrolman Henry A. Clemens, who was shot and killed when he surprised three robbers looting the Lyden Oil Co. station on E. Front Street.
Mrs. A.K. Pike, 88, is probably fatally burned when her nightclothing caught fire at an open grate and her great-grandson, Bobby Pike, 5, is seriously wounded when a shotgun shell explodes in two unusual accidents in different parts of the county a few minutes apart.
Funny songs, dances and comical dialogues will be featured in East High's minstrel show, which will be presented in the school auditorium. A humorous take-off of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" has been prepared.