Today in history

Today is Saturday, May 30, the 150th day of 2009. There are 215 days left in the year. On this date in 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, is burned at the stake in Rouen, France.

In 1854, the territories of Nebraska and Kansas are established. In 1883, 12 people are trampled to death when a rumor that the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge in New York was in imminent danger of collapsing triggers a stampede. In 1909, the “king of swing,” Benny Goodman, is born in Chicago. In 1911, Indianapolis sees its first long-distance auto race; Ray Harroun is the winner. In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington in a ceremony attended by President Warren G. Harding, Chief Justice William Howard Taft and lawyer Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd. In 1937, 10 people are killed when police fire on steelworkers demonstrating near the Republic Steel plant in South Chicago. In 1943, American forces secure the Aleutian island of Attu from the Japanese during World War II. In 1958, unidentified American service members killed in World War II and the Korean War are interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. In 1959, Louisiana Gov. Earl K. Long is committed to a psychiatric center in Galveston, Texas, after apparently suffering a mental breakdown. In 1971, the American space probe Mariner 9 blasts off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., on a journey to Mars.

May 30, 1984: The Ohio Department of Development approves a $2.5 million loan to Ronneburg Partnership, a major step toward the construction of a brewery at Youngstown Commerce Park in North Jackson.

Veterans groups that are pushing for a traditional Memorial Day observance on May 30 weakened their case by participating in holiday activities on May 28, says Ohio Senate President Harry Meshel.

Nearly 400 acres of industrial-zoned land on what was Camp Reynolds four miles south of Greenville remain available for development. The camp, opened in December 1942, processed more than a million men who were on their way to the European Theater of Operations during World War II.

May 30, 1969: Trumbull County commissioners give formal recognition to the separation of Liberty Township from the city of Girard.

Dominic Ranelli, head of Ranelli & Borda Builders, announces plans for six three-story apartment buildings for 72 luxury units on Market Street near Lake Forest in Boardman. The estimated value is $1.2 million.

Some 85,000 to 90,000 Youngstown district workers are getting a day off with pay for Memorial Day while another 15,000 or so are collecting extra pay for working on the holiday. It is estimated that paid holidays cost district employers $18 million to $20 million annually.

May 30, 1959: Youngstown’s children will have an extra week of playground activity, as the Park and Recreation Department adds an extra week to enjoy parks and swimming pools, which will open June 16 and close Aug. 28.

Improvements to meet the changing role of settlements and neighborhood centers in the Youngstown area are recommended to the Health and Welfare Council. Among the recommendations, a new building and increased facilities at the McGuffey Center and the relocation of the Christ Mission Settlement.

May 30, 1934: A committee of city firemen meets with city council’s finance committee to request an end of half-pay that was instituted two months ago and to ask that salaries be restored to within 10 percent of their 1931 levels.

Memorial Day is marked at Mineral Ridge by a mile-long parade led by the Mineral Ridge High School band. More than 2,500 people attend.

A 14-year-old boy admits to Youngstown detectives that he shot Juanita Yett, 7, who is in the South Unit of Youngstown Hospital with a wound of the neck. He said he was playing with his father’s rifle when it discharged, the bullet striking the girl who was outside.