Years Ago

Today is Thursday, Sept. 15, the 258th day of 2011. There are 107 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1857: William Howard Taft, who served as President of the United States and as U.S. chief justice, is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

1950: During the Korean conflict, United Nations forces land at Incheon in the south and begin their drive toward Seoul.

1961: The United States begins Operation Nougat, a series of underground nuclear explosions in the Nevada Test Site, two weeks after the Soviet Union resumed testing its nuclear weapons.

1963: Four black girls are killed when a bomb goes off during Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen are eventually convicted for their roles in the blast.)

1981: The Senate Judiciary Committee votes unanimously to approve the Supreme Court nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: Youngstown State University Penguins fall in the final seconds to Eastern Michigan, losing 18-17 before 8,507 hometown fans.

LTV Steel Corp. informs Trumbull County Treasurer David A. Hines that it will not pay nearly $2 million in local property taxes.

An outline of the school boys in Winslow Homer’s “Snap the Whip” come to life in a fireworks display in front of the Butler Institute of Art designed by Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks of Loveland, Ohio.

1971: The Mahoning Valley Sanitary District should have sufficient water to supply its service area until the end of the century, but will need additional treatment facilities with in the next decade, the sanitary district says in its 44th annual report.

The General Motors Assembly division will take over the Vega and truck and van assembly operations that are being performed by Fisher Body Division at Lordstown. A.B. Anderson will be the new plant manager.

The Youngstown Board of Control approves a contract with the Youngstown Board of Education to provide nutritional breakfasts for some 600 pupils at Thorn Hill and Grant schools.

1961: Youngstown University opens fall classes with 7,332 students enrolled, the largest in university history and 632 more than a year earlier.

A 16-year-old Franklin Avenue boy is sent to the Juvenile Diagnostic Center in Columbus by Judge Harold S. Rickert Sr. for the accidental shooting in June of his best friend, David Clinkscale, 14.

The Mahoning County Welfare Department and Soldiers Relief Commission expect to run out of funds by the end of the month as caseloads continue to mount.

1936: Genera Fireproofing Co. stock holders will split $76,125 in dividends, the largest payment in years, as a result of the company’s excellent business in the spring and summer.

The “bug” war breaks out anew in Niles when a terrific explosion blows off the front porch of the home of Andrew Colobraro, 612 Mason St.