Today is Saturday, Sept. 2, the 245th day of 2006. There are 120 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Saturday, Sept. 2, the 245th day of 2006. There are 120 days left in the year. On this date in 1945, Japan formally surrenders in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri, ending World War II.
In 1666, the Great Fire of London breaks out, claiming thousands of homes, but only a few lives. In 1789, the United States Treasury Department is established. In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman's forces occupy Atlanta. In 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt offers the advice, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair. In 1930, the first nonstop airplane flight from Europe to the U.S. is completed in 37 hours as Capt. Dieudonne Costes and Maurice Bellonte of France arrive in Valley Stream, N.Y., aboard The Question Mark. In 1935, a hurricane slams into the Florida Keys, claiming 423 lives. In 1945, Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam an independent republic. In 1969, North Vietnamese president Ho Chi Minh dies. In 1986, a judge in Los Angeles sentences Cathy Evelyn Smith to three years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 1982 drug overdose death of comedian John Belushi. (She serves 18 months.) In 1998, a Swissair MD-11 jetliner crashes off Nova Scotia, killing all 229 people aboard.
September 2, 1981: The state of Pennsylvania orders the closing of Tri-County Industries landfill in Pine Township near Grove City, which would leave half of Mercer County without a site to dispose of solid waste.
Cortland City Council authorizes letters to be sent to residents of the city who have junk cars on their property informing them that they have 15 days to remove the vehicles.
Mahoning County Treasurer Michael Pope says he will have to lay off 12 employees and delay distribution of tax money to school districts and townships unless county commissioners approve a $27,000 budget supplement.
September 2, 1966: Ray Charles, the blind composer-musician-singer, who is rated by Life magazine as one of the greatest jazz artists in the country, brings his 21-piece orchestra and his backup singers, the Raelets, to Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown.
The 120th Canfield Fair sets an opening day record of 53,363.
Low bids total $237,434 for a new ice skating rink and shelter at the James L. Wick Jr. Recreation Area of Mill Creek Park.
September 2, 1956: The 110th Canfield Fair enters the Labor Day weekend with a grand beginning as 35,000 people jam the midway and exhibit halls on Saturday.
Business is looking up sharply in the booming Youngstown industrial district and all signs point to one of the busiest periods in history, writes Business Editor George R. Reiss.
A bronze plaque honoring Youngstown's Tom Pemberton for his "outstanding contribution to this nation in the field of amateur baseball and public parks and recreation" is presented by the city of Louisville, Ky., to the Youngstown Parks and Recreation Department.
September 2, 1931: Dr. John James Thomas, 79, one of the oldest doctors in Mahoning County and police surgeon for more than 50 years, dies after a lingering illness.
Two Warren men, Mike Manly, 43, and Peter Canati, 32, die in Warren City Hospital of mushroom poisoning. The men picked the mushrooms they ate in fields near Warren.
Frank E. Fuller Jr., 18, a Rayen School senior, is struck and killed by a hit-skip driver near Dunkirk, N.Y.