Today is Saturday, Dec. 21, the 355th day of 2002. There are 10 days left in the year. Winter

Today is Saturday, Dec. 21, the 355th day of 2002. There are 10 days left in the year. Winter arrives at 8:14 p.m. EST. On this date in 1620, Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower go ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Mass.
In 1948, the state of Eire (formerly the Irish Free State) declares its independence. In 1968, Apollo VIII is launched on a mission to orbit the moon. In 1971, the U.N. Security Council chooses Kurt Waldheim to succeed U Thant as secretary-general. In 1976, the Liberian-registered tanker Argo Merchant runs aground near Nantucket Island, spilling millions of gallons of oil into the North Atlantic. In 1988, 270 people are killed when a terrorist bomb explodes aboard a Pam Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, sending wreckage crashing to the ground. In 1995, the city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.
December 21, 1977: In a major policy change, the Army is opening missile units and other combat support assignments to women soldiers.
Hubbard's electric customers will not be charged for service in December, says Mayor Arthur Magee. The free electricity is a result of a $115,000 refund granted the city by its wholesale power supplier, Ohio Edison.
Strong sales of General Motors Corp. products in 1977 directly benefited the Mahoning Valley economy. GM operations in Lordstown and Warren paid out a record $500 million in employee wages and local supplier purchases.
December 21, 1962: Ursuline sisters, including those who teach at Ursuline High School in Youngstown, begin wearing modernized and simplified garb. The veil and cape are shorter and a small stand-up collar replaces the large white starched guimpe.
A federal district judge in Iowa rules that Amish children may attend their own schools without fear of interference by the state of Iowa. States have no power to close religious schools, the judge rules.
Myron E. Roberts, president of the Mahoning National Bank, is elected president of the Youngstown Area Chamber of Commerce by directors meeting at the Youngstown Club. He succeeds John A. Coakley Jr., president of "Automatic" Sprinkler Corp.
December 21, 1952: An Air Force Globemaster carrying soldiers home for Christmas crashes near Moses Lake, Wash., killing 83 and injuring 32. It is the worst toll in the history of aviation.
More than 9,000 Youngstown students in public high schools and Ursuline High School add their voices to the crusade for a free Europe and Asia by signing Freedom-Grams pleading for understanding between free and enslaved states.
A photograph taken by Vindicator photographer Edward Shuba at a Red Feather campaign kickoff dinner is featured in a manual on school programs published by Community Chests and Councils of America. The picture shows seven high school speech students in a skit interpreting the work of the 32 Red Feather services.
December 21, 1927: Youngstown is going ahead with plans to build a 33-foot long bridge across the Erie Railroad tracks at Watt Street. The city had wanted to build a 6-foot wide bridge, but property owners could not agree on the right of way.
Judge David G. Jenkins issues a temporary restraining order blocking the Youngstown Municipal Railway Co. from increasing its fare from 8 cents to 9 cents.
Rescue ships continue to work in the Atlantic to raise the U.S.S. Submarine S-4 from 100 feet of water, but hope has been abandoned for the crew, six of whom were known to have survived for at least two days in the boat's torpedo room.