Today is Sunday, Jan. 11, the 11th day of 2009. There are 354 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Sunday, Jan. 11, the 11th day of 2009. There are 354 days left in the year. On this date in 1908, the Grand Canyon National Monument is created with a proclamation by President Theodore Roosevelt. (It becomes a national park in 1919.)

In 1861, Alabama secedes from the Union. In 1913, the first sedan-type automobile, a Hudson, goes on display at the 13th National Automobile Show in New York. In 1935, aviator Amelia Earhart begins a trip from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Oakland, Calif., that makes her the first woman to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean. In 1942, Japan declares war against the Netherlands, the same day that Japanese forces invade the Dutch East Indies. In 1943, the United States and Britain sign treaties relinquishing extraterritorial rights in China. In 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issues the first government report saying smoking may be hazardous to one’s health. In 1977, France sets off an international uproar by releasing Abu Daoud, a PLO official behind the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

January 11, 1984: Larry Carwell, a star athlete at Campbell Memorial High School in the early 1960s and a former professional football player, is among five men missing from an Air Force helicopter that crashed in the Atlantic while trying to intercept a suspected shipment of drugs. Carwell was a special agent for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

As part of General Motors’ massive reorganization plan announced in Detroit, the Lordstown car assembly plan, which produces Pontiac J-2000s and Chevrolet Cavaliers, will become part of the new Chevrolet-Pontiac-GM of Canada group.

Youngstown-Warren residents attend a hearing in Youngstown City Hall to oppose a proposed 51 percent increase in Blue Cross policy charges for individual subscribers. One man says premiums for him and his wife will jump from $157 to $221 every two months.

January 11, 1969: The D.D. Davis Construction Co. of Youngstown is the developer-contractor for a new $8 million, 26-story office building to be erected by the Methodist Church Union at Smithfield Street and Seventh Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh.

Salem Police Chief Martin Lutsch Jr. says a 16-year-old Salem boy has admitted flooding the senior high school Dec. 13 by cutting loose fire hoses along the corridors. Damage was heavy, but an estimate hasn’t been released, pending the awarding of contracts for repairs.

January 11, 1959: Production workers in Youngstown industrial concerns — the men who operate the blast furnaces, open hearths or rolling mills or the machines in fabricating shops — draw the third highest wages for any city in the United States.

Youngstown city schools report an increase of 400 students during 1958, bringing enrollment to 26,802, and the opening of a new school, Harrison, and a six-room addition to Kirkmere.

January 11, 1934: A state auditor’s report concludes that the city of Youngstown made improper payments for salaries and purchases of more than $142,000, primarily for items over $500 that were purchased without competitive bidding and for employment of people in jobs for which city council had not set compensation.

Resumption of operations at the Ohio Works of the Carnegie Steel Co. is expected to bring steel operations in the Youngstown district to 30 percent of capacity.

Seven students at the Ohio State University who envision a “warless world” and refuse to participate in military training are suspended from the university by President George W. Rightmire.

Advertisement: Band and string instrument sale at the Wurlitzer store, 110 East Federal Street: Accordion’s from $49.50; violin, case and 10 lessons, $17.50; Martin alto saxophone in case, $69.50.