Today is Friday, Jan. 30, the 30th day of 2009. There are 335 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Friday, Jan. 30, the 30th day of 2009. There are 335 days left in the year. On this date in 1968, the Tet Offensive begins during the Vietnam War as Communist forces launch surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals; although the Communists are beaten back, the offensive is seen as a major setback for the U.S. and its allies.

In 1649, England’s King Charles I is beheaded. In 1882, the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is born in Hyde Park, N.Y. In 1909, community organizer and social activist Saul Alinsky is born in Chicago. In 1933, Adolf Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany. The first episode of the “Lone Ranger” radio program is broadcast on station WXYZ in Detroit. In 1939, the Supreme Court, in Tennessee Electric Power Co. v. Tennessee Valley Authority, upholds the right of the federally owned TVA to compete with private utilities.

January 30, 1984: Among the sports dignitaries expected at the VIP Entertainment Center in Niles to honor Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini are Joe Garagiola, NBC TV announcer, Joe Altobelli, Orioles manager, Tom Cousineau of the Cleveland Browns, and Cris Bando of the Cleveland Indians, Foge Fazio, Pitt football coach, and Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins quarterback.

The 1,100 members of the Youngstown Education Association approve a new contract with the board of education, providing 6.7 percent wage hike. About 500 service workers also approve a new contract with the same percentage increase.

January 30, 1969: R. Burton Kerr, retiring president of Strouss’, announces that the downtown department store will spend $1 million on renovations to the store and construction of a warehouse in West Austintown.

General Motors Corp.’s Lordstown Fisher Body-Chevrolet plant is closed by a wildcat strike, idling 5,000 workmen.

George D. Tablack, 67, former state legislator, resigns as Mahoning County administrator on the advice of his doctor for reasons of health.

January 30, 1959: An early morning explosion at the Plastics and Coal Chemical Division, Allied Chemical Corp., 2100 Poland Ave., is fought by four Youngstown fire companies. Damage is estimated at $10,000.

Rep. Michael J. Kirwan of Youngstown is the only “outsider” invited to a reception given by the Texas congressional delegation for Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn.

January 30, 1934: Funds totaling $231,613 collected by County Auditor John Arnold in 1933 for the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District and sent to the city for payment to the district were diverted to some other use in City Hall, it is revealed.

Sister Mary Alphonsus of the Ursuline Convent, one of the best known and most beloved nuns in Youngstown, dies in St. Elizabeth Hospital. She had been a teacher or principal in Catholic schools in Youngstown for 50 years and taught some of Youngstown’s most prominent men.

All officers of the Home Savings & Loan Co. are re-elected at a board of directors meeting, including James M. McKay, president.