Today is Tuesday, Oct. 7, the 281st day of 2008. There are 85 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 7, the 281st day of 2008. There are 85 days left in the year. On this date in 1777, the second Battle of Saratoga begins during the American Revolution. (British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrender 10 days later.)

In 1858, the fifth debate between Illinois senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas takes place in Galesburg. In 1916, in the most lopsided victory in college football history, Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland University 222-0 in Atlanta. In 1954, Marian Anderson becomes the first black singer hired by the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York. In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy and Republican opponent Richard M. Nixon hold their second televised debate, in Washington, D.C. In 1985, Palestinian gunmen hijack the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean. (The hijackers, who kill an elderly Jewish American tourist, surrender two days after taking the ship.) In 1991, University of Oklahoma law professor Anita Hill publicly accuses Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of making sexually inappropriate comments when she worked for him; Thomas denies Hill’s allegations.

October 7, 1983: State Sen. Harry Meshel says that if two issues rolling back the state’s income tax pass on the November ballot, services will be cut, including those like a new senior citizen’s center at 1361 Fifth Avenue in Youngstown.

The mother of Joseph M. DeRose Jr., the reputed mob killer who disappeared during mob warfare in April 1981, petitions the court to have him declared dead so his estate can be settled.

October 7, 1968: Bishop James W. Malone of the Youngstown Diocese dedicates the new St. Joseph Church in Austintown.

Two North Side men, 19 and 20 years old, are sentenced by Municipal Judge Joseph Donofiro to 30 days in county jail after being found guilty of fighting at Rayen Stadium after a high school football game.

Nearly 50 Woodrow Wilson High School students are suspended after staying out of class and staging a demonstration against the school’s closed lunch period.

October 7, 1958: Youngstown police say they are cracking down on school children who jaywalk and who walk in the street when sidewalks are available.

Coming to Stambaugh Auditorium, the Show of Stars featuring Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Clyde McPhatter, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Darin, the Coasters, Little Anthony and the Imperials and others. Tickets from $1.50 to $3.

October 7, 1933: About 75 percent of the land in the Youngsown slum areas will be cleared and used for new parks and playgrounds under a $3 million Federal Public Works Administration proposal.

Youngstown coal dealers say that despite local shortages in better grades of coal due to strikes by miners in Pennsylvania and Ohio the dealers intend to hold prices and will not engage in gouging.

In high school football action, Warren beats Salem, 21-0; Franklin, Pa., beats Farrell, 6-0, and Howland and Mineral Ridge end in a 0-0 tie.