YEARS AGO

August 2, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

Today is Sunday, August 2, the 214th day of 2015. There are 151 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1776: Members of the Continental Congress begin attaching their signatures to the Declaration of Independence.

1909: The original Lincoln “wheat” penny first goes into circulation, replacing the “Indian Head” cent.

1923: The 29th president of the United States, Warren G. Harding of Ohio, dies in San Francisco; Vice President Calvin Coolidge becomes president.

1943: During World War II, U.S. Navy boat PT-109, commanded by Lt. John F. Kennedy, sinks after being rammed in the middle of the night by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri off the Solomon Islands. Two crew members are killed.

1985: Some 137 people are killed when Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, crashes while attempting to land at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

1990: Iraq invades Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate.

VINDICATOR FILES

1990: General Extrusions Inc., which opened a plant in the South in 1983, causing some to wonder whether the Youngstown plant’s days were numbered, has poured more than $3 million into the Youngstown facility. Company President Herbert F. Schuler says, “Youngstown has always been our headquarters plant, and it’s our intention to always have it that way.”

Nearly 20 religious and social workers meet with Mayor Patrick Ungaro to form the Crime and Violence Task Force, which will address the causes of violent crime, ranging from drug use, unemployment, lack of medical coverage and a breakdown in moral values and the family unit.

Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge William G. Houser orders a Market Street bar, Levi’s Recreation Center, and the apartments above it closed indefinitely because of fire and health code violations.” The bar had previously been Gabriel’s Lounge and Nick Tecau’s Magic Bar.

1975: On the fourth consecutive day of 90-degree temperatures, an ozone alert is declared by Gov. James A. Rhodes for several northeastern Ohio counties, including Mahoning, Trumbulll and Columbiana. Area industries are asked to reduce activities that may add to the ozone level.

Federal Plaza takes on the look of 15th Century England when a madrigal troupe, jesters and jugglers stage an hour’s show to the delight of a lunch crowd audience.

Advertisement: Playing at Ambrosia’s, 1931 Belmont Ave., Joey Augustine and “Mirage.”

1965: Three youths are in fair condition at Trumbull Memorial Hospital after being struck by lightning at the Eastwood Golf Course on U.S. Route 422 east of Warren. They are Thomas Grainger, 20, of Niles, and Anthony Bianco, 19, and Francis Stowe, 20, both of Warren.

A Girard pilot, Richard Mason, 40, is in satisfactory condition in St. Elizabeth Hospital after crashing his Republic Seabee amphibian airplane while landing at Lans- downe Airport.

Mrs. Robert Shellenberger gives birth to a daughter, Sherry Ann, in St. Elizabeth Hospital a day before her mother, Mrs. Charles Langenheim, has a daughter, Lori Kay, at the same hospital.

1940: Miss Cora Z. Parsons, the woman who introduced art into the Youngstown schools and into the lives of many Youngstowners, dies in Hayward, Calif., where she had lived after retiring in 1923.

John R. Elliot, superintendent of the Youngstown Municipal Airport under construction in Vienna Township in Trumbull County, tells Youngstown City Council that it will require a staff of 14 people with a combined annual payroll of approximately $28,000.

Mary Cox of Sharon, Pa., and Harry “Moon “ Zink of Steubenville win the mixed double crowd award in The Youngstown Vindicator’s tennis tournament, defeating Laura Wible and Leo Mason of Youngstown.