YEARS AGO

Today is Thursday, Sept. 10, the 253rd day of 2015. There are 112 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1608: John Smith is elected president of the James-town colony council in Virginia.

1813: An American naval force commanded by Oliver H. Perry defeats the British in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.

1846: Elias Howe receives a patent for his sewing machine.

1935: Sen. Huey P. Long dies in Baton Rouge, two days after being shot in the Louisiana state Capitol, purportedly by Dr. Carl Weiss.

1939: Canada declares war on Germany.

1955: The Western series “Gunsmoke,” starring James Arness as Marshal Matt Dillon, begins a 20-season run on CBS Television.

1963: Twenty black students enter Alabama public schools after a standoff between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace.

1987: Pope John Paul II arrives in Miami, where he is welcomed by President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan as he begins a 10-day tour of the United States.

1991: The Senate Judiciary Committee opens hearings on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

2005: Cadaver dogs and boatloads of forensic workers fan out across New Orleans to collect the corpses left behind by Hurricane Katrina; cleanup crews tow away abandoned cars and even begin readying a hotel for reopening.

2010: During a White House press conference, President Barack Obama blames Republicans and election-year politics for thwarting his efforts to do more to spur a listless national economy.

2014: During a prime-time address, President Barack Obama announces he is authorizing airstrikes inside Syria for the first time along with expanded strikes in Iraq as part of a “steady, relentless effort” to root out Islamic State extremists.

VINDICATOR FILES

1990: Mahoning County Department of Human Services employees say recent protests have grown out of the failure of Director Robert Douglas to respond to their concerns.

Richard Odom of Salem offers a $25 reward for return of his stainless-steel milk can and a cow trophy that was mounted on the lid, which was stolen from a display at the Canfield Fair.

Jim Tressel’s YSU Penguins stage a remarkable 98-yard drive in the final six minutes for a come-from-behind 31-27 victory over the Fighting Scots of Edinboro University. Archie Herring scores his third touchdown of the night, pushing in from two-yards out with 1:12 left on the clock.

1975: B&B Construction Co. of Youngstown begins work on the new $6 million U.S. Post office in Federal Plaza East in downtown Youngstown.

Former Sharon Police Chief Daniel F. Gross, 50, dies of a heart attack suffered while he was mowing his lawn. He retired in May after serving 25 years on the force.

A 27-year-old law student is pushing an effort to get a referendum on the ballot in Oxford, Ohio, which would make the city the first in the state to decriminalize possession of 4 ounces or less of marijuana.

1965: About 125 new teachers in Youngstown public schools are to be guests at the annual orientation breakfast of the Youngstown Education Association.

A.J. Kocak of Boardman is named manager of foundries for Youngstown Foundry & Machine Co.

Youngstown ranks third on Ohio’s priorities list with its application for $545,000 to expand C.C. Choffin Vocational School.

1940: Every one of Westlake Terrace’s 618 apartments – each neat and clean with a bathroom, electric refrigeration and excellent laundry facilities – is fully occupied with about 200 families waiting for an opening.

Mrs. E. Clyde Woods, 50, wife of the vice president of Vahey-Marsh-Woods Co., and her mother, Mrs. T.W. Morrall, 73, are killed in an automobile-truck collision on Route 45 near Salem. Janet Elise Woods, 18, is seriously injured.

Several Girard councilmen charge that gambling devices, such as slot machines and marble boards, are operating wide open in the city. Mayor Alex Whitford makes no reply to the charges.