YEARS AGO

Today is Thursday, Nov. 13, the 317th day of 2014. There are 48 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1789: Benjamin Franklin writes in a letter to a friend, Jean-Baptiste Leroy: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

1849: Voters in California ratify the state’s original constitution.

1909: Two hundred and fifty-nine men and boys are killed when fire erupts inside a coal mine in Cherry, Ill.

1927: The Holland Tunnel opens to the public, providing access between lower Manhattan and New Jersey beneath the Hudson River.

1937: The NBC Symphony Orchestra, formed exclusively for radio broadcasting, makes its debut.

1942: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a measure lowering the minimum draft age from 21 to 18.

VINDICATOR FILES

1989: Youngstown Police Department reports submitted to the FBI for its annual reports drastically understate the number of arsons in the city. The police department reported 271 fewer arsons than the fire department recorded in 1987 and 296 fewer than in 1988.

Two women are killed when their car crashes into a building on Youngstown’s South Side and burns. Dead are Pauline Moyer, 27, and Susan Dellimuti, 21.

Merle and Leonard Fisher, who bought Handel’s Ice Cream, a Youngstown landmark, in 1984, have begun franchising stores and are looking to sell $1 million in stock in the company to allow future expansion.

1974: Liberty Township will move its headquarters, fire and road departments to a new $260,000 building at Fifth Avenue and Ravine Drive.

Coach Johnny Majors, who revived Pittsburgh’s college football team, agrees to an additional five-year contract.

Ann Arbor Symphony Conductor Edward Szabo, formerly of Youngs-town, accepts an ASCAP Award for the orchestra, which was honored for “its adventuresome programming of contemporary music during its 1973-74 season.”

1964: Dr. John N. Cernica, chairman of Youngstown University’s department of civil engineering, is named “Ohio’s Outstanding Engineer for 1964” by the Society of Professional Engineers.

A severe grass fire threat hangs over the area as the autumn drought continues. Fire chiefs in Youngstown and many surrounding communities declare emergencies and ban leaf burning.

1939: The greatest peacetime enrollment in Mahoning Red Cross in the history of Youngstown is predicted by William J. Brown, drive chairman, as hundreds respond to the initial call.

Robert Fleming, 18, son of Girard Patrolman Richard Fleming, is being held in the Girard jail, accused of wounding his uncle, John Mackovic, 38.