Today is Tuesday, Dec. 23, the 357th day of 2003. There are eight days left in the year. On this

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 23, the 357th day of 2003. There are eight days left in the year. On this date in 1823, the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore is published in the Troy (New York) Sentinel.
In 1783, George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Army and retires to his home at Mount Vernon, Va. In 1893, the Engelbert Humperdinck opera "Haensel und Gretel" is first performed, in Weimar, Germany. In 1928, the National Broadcasting Company sets up a permanent, coast-to-coast network. In 1941, during World War II, American forces on Wake Island surrenders to the Japanese. In 1948, former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders is executed in Tokyo. In 1968, 82 crew members of the U.S. intelligence ship Pueblo are released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured. In 1980, a state funeral is held in Moscow for former Premier Alexei N. Kosygin, who had died Dec. 18 at age 76. In 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completes the first non-stop, non-refueled, round-the-world flight as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1987, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, serving a life sentence for the attempted assassination of President Ford in 1975, escapes from the Alderson Federal Prison for Women in West Virginia. (She is recaptured two days later.) In 1997, a jury in Denver convicts Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing, declining to find him guilty of murder.
December 23, 1978: Ohio Edison Co. plans to spend $6 million for new construction in the Youngstown service district in 1979, says David R. Gundry, division manager.
General Motors retains its place as the Mahoning Valley's largest and most bountiful employer, with a payroll of 23,026 workers and pouring a record $650 million into the Youngstown area economy.
John Kesseg, 24, of Damascus is killed during the collapse of an 80-foot gas drilling rig in Green Township near Canfield. Four other workers on gas drilling rigs have been killed in accidents in two years in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. A federal safety specialist will investigate the latest death.
December 23, 1963: A handful of shivering people participate in a ceremony on Youngstown's Central Square to mark the end of the 30-day mourning period for President John F. Kennedy.
Pat Appulese, former Youngstown East gridder, was a standout tackle for 13th-ranked Arizona State University, and is expected to move into the starting right tackles spot. The Sun Devils won eight of nine games.
The flag in Youngstown's Central Square is lowered to half-mast in memory of Patrolman Frank Cichon, killed while investigating a traffic accident in Glenwood Avenue
December 23, 1953: In a move sparked by the fourth reported assault on women in Youngstown in a week, Police Chief Edward J. Allen orders all policemen to intensify patrols in darker sections of the city.
A Girard mother whose son was arrested on a charge of entering a place where intoxicating liquor is sold urges Youngstown City Council to repeal its ordinance barring minors from taverns. The woman said her son and two other Girard youths were arrested while drinking soft drinks in the Tropics, a Market Street night club.
Directors of the Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube Co. approve a donation of $10,000 to the Youngstown campaign for the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges. So far, 16 local firms have made pledges to the fund.
December 23, 1928: Youngstown compares favorably with cities of its size in tax rates and per capita taxes, but shows a high per capita tax valuation, which is attributed to the high investment in steel plants in the area.
Campbell police pick up 15 men in a week on vagrancy charges as part of a general clean up of suspicious and undesirable characters.
Anyone contemplating an official visit to Youngstown's city jail on Christmas Day is forewarned that there will be no holiday fare. Dinner will consist of soup, bread and coffee; supper will be bologna sandwiches and coffee.