Years ago...

Today is Sunday, Dec. 17, the 351st day of 2006. There are 14 days left in the year. On this date in 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio, conduct the first successful manned powered-airplane flights, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, using their experimental craft, the Wright Flyer.
In 1777, France recognizes American independence. In 1830, South American patriot Simon Bolivar dies in Colombia. In 1925, Col. William "Billy" Mitchell is convicted at his court-martial of insubordination for accusing senior military officials of incompetence and criminal negligence; he is suspended from active duty. In 1939, the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by its crew, ending the World War II Battle of the River Plate off Uruguay. In 1944, the U.S. Army announces it is ending its policy of excluding Japanese-Americans from the West Coast. In 1957, the United States successfully test-fires the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. In 1969, an estimated 50 million TV viewers watch singer Tiny Tim marry his fiancee, Miss Vicky, on NBC's "Tonight Show." In 1975, Lynette Fromme is sentenced in Sacramento, Calif., to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Ford. In 1981, members of the Red Brigades kidnap Brig. Gen. James L. Dozier, the highest-ranking U.S. Army official in southern Europe, from his home in Verona, Italy. (Dozier is rescued 42 days later.) In 1986, Eugene Hasenfus, the American convicted by Nicaragua for his part in running guns to the Contras, is pardoned, then released.
December 17, 1981: Youngstown City Council says the amount Trumbull County pays the city for sewage treatment should be doubled and the amount Mahoning County pays tripled because the city is losing money on the treatment of outside wastewater.
Youngstown Mayor George Voinovich presents a trophy to Youngstown State basketball coach Dom Rosselli marking the coach's 1,000 win for the university. Rosselli has coached both basketball and baseball at YSU.
December 17, 1966: Henry W. Mann, a six-year-member of the Warren Fire Department, is killed when struck by a beam while fighting a fire at the Warren Rescue Mission warehouse. Mann, 32, was the first Warren firemen killed in the line of duty in 25 years.
Common Pleas Judge Erskine Maiden Jr., Mahoning County's senior judge in length of service, is sworn in for his seventh term in a quiet ceremony in the office of Clerk of Courts Anthony Vivo.
Dr. Albert E. Kravec, president of the Austintown Board of Education, warns that the board will invoke the Ferguson Act and fire any employee who honors a strike against the school district.
December 17, 1956: Atty. Don L. Hanni, a leader of the Democratic rebel faction, writes a letter to Mayor Frank X. Kryzan demanding an apology by Kryzan to the voters of the 2nd and 7th wards after the mayor announced that those two wards, represented by Hanni allies, will receive no city improvements.
Youngstown University's red hot Penguins roll to their fourth straight victory, beating John Carroll, 84-73, behind the scoring of Mickey Yugovich, a freshman from Wilson who tallied 30 points.
The New York Times predicts that a trial scheduled to take place in 1957 to determine the legality of a proposed merger of Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube Co. and Bethlehem Steel Corp. will result in a Supreme Court decision that will make new industrial history.
December 17, 1931: Three Geauga Lake men in their 30s are found shot to death in a cottage owned by William & quot;Bugs & quot; Spaney. Police believe Spaney shot his friends, Pat Murphy and Anton Kornet, then himself. Police found a note that hinted that the deaths could be linked to the suicide of Jennie Fields, 26, who died after taking poison at the cottage a week earlier.
The Homer Laughlin China Co. in Newell, W. Va., is awarded an order worth nearly 1 million for tableware that will used as premiums by the Octagon soap company in New York City. In the past, the company has purchased its ceramic ware from Germany. The order calls for 12 million pieces: cups, saucers, plates and soup bowls.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.