Today is Monday, Dec. 12, the 346th day of 2005. There are 19 days left in the year. On this date in 1787, Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Today is Monday, Dec. 12, the 346th day of 2005. There are 19 days left in the year. On this date in 1787, Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1870, Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black lawmaker sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1897, "The Katzenjammer Kids," the pioneering comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks, makes its debut in the New York Journal. In 1913, authorities in Florence, Italy, announce that the Mona Lisa, stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1911, has been recovered. In 1917, Father Edward Flanagan founds Boys Town outside Omaha, Neb. In 1937, a Japanese aircraft sinks the U.S. gunboat Panay on China's Yangtze River. (Japan apologizes, and pays $2.2 million in reparations.) In 1947, the United Mine Workers union withdraws from the American Federation of Labor. In 1963, Kenya gains its independence from Britain. In 1975, Sara Jane Moore pleads guilty to a charge of trying to kill President Ford in San Francisco the previous September. In 1985, 248 American soldiers and eight crew members are killed when an Arrow Air charter crashes after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland.
December 12, 1980: Mahoning County commissioners could face jail if they fail to increase allocations to meet the budget demands of Probate Court Judge Bruce Henderson and county Prosecutor Vincent Gilmartin. Gilmartin says he has laid off seven employees and will accept no more cuts in his budget.
Gasoline prices could rise 40 to 45 cents a gallon by summer because of the Iran-Iraq war, a congressional analysis predicts.
Trumbull County Prosecutor J. Walter Dragelevich is elected president of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association.
American League owners reject a bid by Youngstown's Edward J. DeBartolo to buy the Chicago White Sox for $20 million. The White Sox are expected to turn to a group of Chicago area investors that is expected to match DeBartolo's offer.
December 12, 1965: David R. Balcom, executive director of the Youngstown Area Development Foundation, says the Youngstown district's outlook for diversifying and attracting new industrial plants has perked up.
John M. Hlebovy, a graduate of Struthers High School and Youngstown University, has arrived in Malaysia as a volunteer in the Peace Corps.
J. Victor Carty, president of the Ohio Water Service Co., is honored at the company's Christmas Party for 35 years of service to the company.
December 12, 1955: Following a weekend of fistfights and rough tactics on the picket line at the Westinghouse Electric Corp. plant in Sharon, rowdyism continues with the stoning of four homes and the plant. The strike is in its 57th day.
The Los Angeles Rams beat the Green Bay Packers, 31-17, to win the Western Conference title and will face the Cleveland Browns for the National League title.
John Lee Kaufman, 26, is killed when he falls from a tree while decorating for Christmas at his home on Greenville-Mercer Highway, Greenville, Pa.
December 12, 1930: Youngstown spent a great deal less than comparable school districts in Ohio on maintenance in the 1929-30 school year, a report by the Ohio Department of Education shows. Youngtown spent just $39,717 on wages of employees and materials, while Akron spent $139,836; Dayton, $147,581; Columbus, $178,262 and Toledo, $203, 610.
A merger of Central Christian Church on Market St. and Hillman Street Christian Church is being considered. The combined church would have a congregation of 2,000.
The General Electric Co. announces a stabilization employment plan that will guarantee employees who have been in the company for two years or longer 50 weeks of work in 1931. The plan will affect 1,000 workers in Youngstown, Warren and Niles.
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