Today is Saturday, Oct. 4, the 277th day of 2003. There are 88 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Saturday, Oct. 4, the 277th day of 2003. There are 88 days left in the year. On this date in 1957, the Space Age begins as the Soviet Union launches "Sputnik," the first man-made satellite, into orbit.
In 1777, George Washington's troops launch an assault on the British at Germantown, Pa., resulting in heavy American casualties. In 1822, the 19th president of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes, is born in Delaware, Ohio. In 1895, the first U.S. Open golf tournament is held, at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island. In 1931, the comic strip "Dick Tracy," created by Chester Gould, makes its debut. In 1940, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini confer at Brenner Pass in the Alps, where the Nazi leader seek Italy's help in fighting the British. In 1957, the television series "Leave It to Beaver" premieres on CBS. In 1958, the first trans-Atlantic passenger jetliner service is begun by British Overseas Airways Corp. with flights between London and New York. In 1970, rock singer Janis Joplin, 27, is found dead in her Hollywood hotel room. In 1976, agriculture secretary Earl Butz resigns in the wake of a controversy over a joke he'd made about blacks.
October 4, 1978: Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Clyde W. Osborne dismisses as moot a lawsuit filed by Youngstown to enjoin the city's three television stations from filming civil service hearings. Osborne said the issue became moot when the Civil Service Commission passed a rule barring the filming or videotaping of its sessions.
Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Donald R. Ford reduces contempt of court fines he ordered against striking Brookfield teachers from $96,000 to $31,000, provided that that amount is paid within three months.
Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church bid farewell to Pope John Paul I, who reigned only 34 days
October 4, 1963: Two bandits rob the Royal Supermarket at 618 Wilson Ave. of $195 at closing time. Facing the bandit's gun were a 15-year-old girl and her 14-year-old brother, along with a 22-year-old cousin who were left in charge when the children's mother became ill.
Miss Mary Ann Loncar, a junior at Youngstown University, is named 1963 homecoming queen for the university's 23rd annual festivities. Her attendants will be Madonna Grant and Karen Mint.
Death claims an eighth victim in a crash between a tractor-trailer rig carrying steel coils and two cars on Route 7 near East Liverpool.
October 4, 1953: Estimates of property damage caused in Farrell when a jet fighter plane from the U.S. Air Force base at the Youngstown Airport sprayed Farrell, Pa., with .50-caliber machine gun bullets are revised down to $10,000 by Air Force investigators. Forty-five buildings and 21 vehicles are known to have been hit, but Farrell Police Chief John Sposito says he suspects more homeowners will find damage when the first heavy rain sends water through bullet holes in roofs.
Charles Spatholt, 7, is in fair condition in South Side Hospital after falling 50 feet from Lookout Point in Mill Creek Park while playing with a friend near the Old Mill.
October 4, 1928: After visiting the county and city jails, Miss Helen Sargeant, representative of the Medical Service Bureau at Toledo and a prominent prison reformer, says that Youngstown's local jails "are among the worst I have seen in the country" and that both should be replaced. She says first offenders should be placed on parole.
Youngstown registers seven traffic deaths in September, four more than the same month a year earlier. Meanwhile, a delegation of Youngstowners is in New York City for the 17th annual safety congress, at which a new educational safety campaign is being unveiled.