Today is Tuesday, June 17, the 169th day of 2008. There are 197 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Tuesday, June 17, the 169th day of 2008. There are 197 days left in the year. On this date in 1775, the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill takes place near Boston. The battle, which actually occurred on Breed’s Hill, is a costly victory for the British, who suffer heavy losses while dislodging the rebels.

In 1856, the Republican Party, meeting in Philadelphia, nominates John Charles Fremont to be its presidential candidate. Fremont ends up losing to James Buchanan. In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor aboard the French ship Isere. In 1928, Amelia Earhart embarks on a trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland to Wales with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, becoming the first woman to make the trip as a passenger. In 1948, a United Air Lines DC-6 crashes near Mount Carmel, Pa., killing all 43 people on board. In 1957, mob underboss Frank Scalice is shot to death at a produce market in New York. In 1961, Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defects to the West while his troupe is in Paris. In 1963, the Supreme Court, in Abington School District v. Schempp, strikes down rules requiring the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer or reading of biblical verses in public schools. In 1971, the United States and Japan sign a treaty under which Okinawa would revert to Japanese control following America’s postwar occupation.

June 17, 1983: Sheriff James A. Traficant Jr. celebrates his acquittal of bribery and tax evasion charges by issuing a warning to area racketeers: “Move out of Youngstown.” Traficant says he intends to continue his investigation of organized crime in the Mahoning Valley.

Church Hill Park in Liberty is open, but township trustees are warning residents to stay out of Squaw Creek, which is polluted with brine dumped by oil and gas well-drillers.

Boardman police charge James Lee Hall, 30, of Cleveland with aggravated murder in the July 1982 shooting of Douglas Skica during a robbery in his parents’ Boardman home.

June 17, 1968: Armed bandits strike five times in Youngstown, robbing a Western Union employee, an East Side car dealer, two motorists and a filling station operator.

Youngstown Council President John Hudzik, main speaker at the 46th annual Slovak Day at Idora Park, urges Youngstowners of Slovak descent to take a leadership role in helping reshape America.

The National Rifle Association begins a counter attack against calls for gun control in the wake of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. The campaign was announced after three major gun manufacturers said they were dropping their opposition to restricting mail-order sales of rifles and shotguns.

June 17, 1958: Petition circulators for Ohioans for Right to Work Inc. are meeting increased resistance from organized labor in the Youngstown area. The unions are attempting to block the right-to-work effort from getting the 354,210 petition signatures needed to put an issue on the ballot.

The Campbell Board of Education approves $200-per-year pay raises for teachers, bringing the starting pay for a teacher without a bachelor’s degree to $3,252. Starting pay with a bachelor’s degree is $3,820; $100 more for a master’s degree. Top pay is $5,500, $6,400 and $6,800 respectively.

Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge David Jenkins is elected president of the Youngstown Torch Club during a meeting at Ravers Restaurant.

June 17, 1933: W. Keith McAfee, president of the Universal Sanitary Manufacturing Co., announces a 10 percent increase in wages for all piece-workers and day-wage employees of the plant. About 160 men are employed at the plant.

The Denman Tire and Rubber Co. in Warren announces raises of 10 percent in employee wages and salaries.

Christ Mission Settlement will open its 10th season of summer camp with 90 boys and girls leaving the city to spend the summer at the 275-acre William Swanston farm near Canfield.