Years Ago

October 15, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Today is Friday, Oct. 15, the 288th day of 2010. There are 77 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1858: The seventh and final debate between senatorial candidates Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln is held in Alton, Ill.

1860: Eleven-year-old Grace Bedell of Westfield, N.Y., writes a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting he could improve his appearance by growing a beard.

1917: Dutch dancer Mata Hari, convicted of spying for the Germans, is executed by a French firing squad outside Paris.

1945: The former premier of Vichy France, Pierre Laval, is executed for treason.

1946: Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering fatally poisons himself hours before he was to have been executed.

1964: It is announced that Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev has been removed from office.

1990: Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev is named the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

VINDICATOR FILES

1985: The FBI reports overall crime in Youngstown fell 1.43 percent during the first half of the year, while the nation’s crime rate rose 3 percent.

A poll by the Columbus Dispatch shows that two-thirds of the 827 registered voters who responded to a questionnaire said that former Gov. James A Rhodes is too old, at 76, to run for a new term.

1970: Two Trumbull sheriff’s deputies respond to a call at Lordstown High School and escort state Sen. Charles P. Carney, a candidate for the 19th District congressional seat, from the school. Carney said he entered the building without signing in to investigate reports that school children were being used to further the campaign of his opponent, Republican Margaret Dennison.

Third Ward Councilman Emanuel Catsoules says he will oppose any further spending on downtown Civil Defense fallout shelters after conducting a tour of four shelters that were found to be poorly maintained.

1960:Almost 12,000 Youngstown district workers are maintaining minimal living standards for themselves and their families through unemployment compensation checks.

Large crowds turn out in Sharon and New Castle, Pa., to greet Sen. John F.; Kennedy as the Democratic presidential candidate begins a day long tour of Western Pennsylvania.

1935: The pastors of seven Negro Baptist Churches in Youngstown publicly endorse Harry Callan for mayor. Four other Negro pastors had earlier defended former Mayor Joseph L. Heffernan’s endorsement of Michael J. Kirwan.

Members of St. Patrick’s Parish, Hubbard, are leading the effort to build a new Catholic Church in Masury for the growing church population there.