YEARS AGO FOR MARCH 19
Today is Monday, March 19, the 78th day of 2018. There are 287 days left in the year.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
On this date in:
1687: French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle – the first European to navigate the length of the Mississippi River – is murdered by mutineers in present-day Texas.
1863: The Confederate cruiser Georgiana, is scuttled off Charleston, S.C., on its maiden voyage to prevent it from falling into Union hands.
1918: Congress passes the first law establishing daylight saving time in the United States, with clocks to be moved forward one hour from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. (This law was repealed in August 1919.)
1931: Nevada Gov. Fred B. Balzar signs a measure legalizing casino gambling.
1953: The Academy Awards ceremony is televised for the first time; “The Greatest Show on Earth” is named best picture of 1952.
1987: Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as chairman of his PTL ministry organization amid a sex and money scandal involving Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary.
2003: President George W. Bush orders the start of war against Iraq. (Because of the time difference, it was early March 20 in Iraq.)
2008: Five years after launching the invasion of Iraq, President George W. Bush strongly signals he will not order troop withdrawals beyond those already planned.
2013: Pope Francis officially begins his ministry as the 266th pope.
VINDICATOR FILES
1993: Liberty police officers who belong to the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association promise to exhaust all legal avenues to stop Trumbull County’s 911 emergency calling plan. Under the plan, Liberty, which has three full-time and four part-time dispatchers, would not be a public service answering point.
Youngstown Finance Director Gary T. Kubic informs department heads that all employees hired since 1988 will be required to sign affidavits attesting to their residency in the city.
Girard comes from a 10-point deficit to rally past Weinberg Chamberlain, 72-66, in the second half of its Division II regional semifinal basketball game in Akron.
1978: With about 12 percent of Youngstown’s mandatory tax returns received, the city has collected only $28,000, a long way from the $300,000 to $500,000 it anticipates from income tax.
Save Our Valley opens a storefront office at 263 Federal Plaza West, between a pawn shop and a liquor store.
Earnie Shavers, the No. 4-ranked heavyweight in the world from Leavittsburg, will meet Larry Holmes, ranked fifth, in a 12-round world heavyweight elimination bout at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
1968: Six men, five of them felons considered dangerous, escape from Columbiana County Jail by climbing out of a rear window.
Roberta Kuebler, a Chaney High junior, takes first place among girls in the Greater Ohio Science Fair and will go to the International Science Fair in Detroit in May. Two other Chaney students win trophies: Jim McClymonds and John Parker.
The Youngstown Board of Education asks the state Legislature and city residents for more money for special education and vocational classes.
1943: More than 250 Youngstown motorists receive orders to appear at Room 907 of the Union National Bank Building to answer charges that they have violated gasoline rationing regulations.
Youngstown Mayor William B. Spagnola, suffering with a persistent cold, will take two weeks of rest in Arizona on the orders of Health Commissioner Dr. Robert Mossman.
Mahoning County schools will excuse any student needed to ease a manpower shortage on district farms.