Today in history

Wednesday, August 16, 2006 Today is Wednesday, Aug. 16, the 228th day of 2006. There are 137 days left in the year. On this date in 1977, Elvis Presley dies at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tenn., at age 42. In 1777, American forces win the Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington. In 1812, Detroit falls to British and Indian forces in the War of 1812. In 1858, a telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to President Buchanan is transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable. In 1861, President Lincoln prohibits the states of the Union from trading with the seceding states of the Confederacy. In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth dies in New York at age 53. In 1954, Sports Illustrated is first published by Time Incorporated. In 1956, Adlai E. Stevenson is nominated for president at the Democratic national convention in Chicago. In 1960, Britain grants independence to the crown colony of Cyprus. In 1987, 156 people are killed when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes while trying to take off from Detroit. In 2000, delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles formally nominate Al Gore for president. August 16, 1981: McDonald school operations are being challenged by major funding problems as income from personal property taxes in recent years have decreased by $650,000. At least four Mahoning County officeholders will have to ask county commissioners for more money to supplement their salary funds to last the year. The offices facing shortages are the sheriff's department, the treasurer's office, the clerk of courts and the coroner. Jeff Pregi socks a three-run triple for the key hit as Boardman whips Westview Illinois, 11-3, for the Central States Regional Senior Little League Tournament championship at St. Mary's Ohio. August 16, 1966: Youngstown is feeling the teacher shortage with 27 vacancies in the 1,200 member staff, all in secondary education. Trumbull County, which has 1,100 teachers, still has 40 spots to fill. Some 2,000 pilgrims attend a mass celebrated by the Most Rev. Francis Zayek, Maronite Bishop of the United States, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon on Lipkey Road, North Jackson. The Youngstown Board of Education approves the purchase of 18 school buses at a total cost of $64,870. Aeroquip Corp.'s Republic Rubber Division will erect a new engineering and development building as part of an expansion program estimated to cost $500,000. August 16, 1956: Youngstown residents are given their first view of two units in the 304-family Kimmel Brook Homes public housing project, which is rapidly nearing completion on Youngstown's East Side. Mill Creek Park commissioners threaten legal action against Mahoning County officials unless steps are taken promptly to stop raw sewage that is polluting the parks waters. Carl V. Weygandt, chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, tells Youngstown Rotarians that the greatest responsibility of government is "the administration of even-handed justice for the troubled people it serves." August 16, 1931: "Daddy" Morris, 61, who made a living knocking coal off loaded railroad cars and then gathering it to sell, is killed when he falls from a moving Erie freight train passing through Youngstown enroute to Cleveland and suffers a fractured skull. The Vindicator will sponsor a performance by the U.S. Marine Band Sept. 27 at the Stambaugh Auditorium. Police Chief Paul Lyden issues orders that police officers report robberies immediately or face suspension. The order follows the failure of city policemen to report the robbery of Charles Sorrel, attendant in the Idora Park men's room, of $19.