Years Ago

Today is Friday, Dec. 17, the 351st day of 2010. There are 14 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1903: Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio, conduct the first successful manned powered-airplane flights, near Kitty Hawk, N.C..

1939: The German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by its crew, ending the World War II Battle of the River Plate off Uruguay.

1960: A London-bound Convair Samaritan operated by the U.S. Air Force crashes shortly after takeoff from Munich, West Germany, killing all 20 occupants of the plane, including 13 University of Maryland students, and 32 people on the ground.

1975: Lynette Fromme is sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald R. Ford. (She was paroled in August 2009.)

VINDICATOR FILES

1985: James Mooney, who was elected in November to serve the unexpired term of Lordstown Mayor Burnell Muth, surprises village officials by announcing his resignation for personal reasons.

U.S. Reps. Tom Ridge and Bill Clinger hold a hearing in Meadville to hear testimony regarding the level of preparedness that existed when tornadoes swept through the area in May.

1970: A shootout in the hallway between a distraught mother and police leaves the woman, Minnie Jewell Johnson, 39, dead, and patrolman Norbet Smith, 42, wounded. Judges are calling for the installation of airport-style metal detectors at the court.

Christopher W. Deibel, 96, former tailor, theater owner and ”golf wizard,” dies in St. Elizabeth Hospital, where he was taken after suffering a heart attack.

1960: Youngstown Postmaster Chester Bailey says mail carriers may deliver mail on Sunday to get through the Christmas rush, but post offices will not be open.

Four Poland cagers, Bill Zimmer, Tim Walters, Duncan Ingraham and Bob Fitzgerald, finish in double figures as the Bulldogs defeat Leetonia, 60-32.

1935:Five drivers from Youngstown, one from Girard and one from Warren are among the 17 people in Ohio who have lost their drivers license for driving while intoxicated under a new state law.

William B. Spagnola, unsuccessful candidate for Youngstown mayor, is appointed supervisor for the Census Bureau for the census of business and manufacturers in Ohio. He will work out of the Youngstown office.