21 WFMJ archives  / December  19, 1999 | Eileen Shively of Austintown sings the Youngstown State University fight song before the Penguins' national championship game in Chattanooga, Tenn., 25 years ago. At left, Rosemary Berstling of Hubbard.  YSU lost to Southern Georgia, 59-24.

December 19

1999: Georgia Southern proved too strong for a superb Penguin squad, beating Youngstown State University 59-24 in Chattanooga to win the NCAA Division 1-AA championship.

Police have one man in custody in the murder of Dorothy London, 74, but are still seeking a man driving a second car stolen from the Hubbard couple's home. Charles London, 75, is still missing. 

Girard city officials say any plan to develop the land around Girard Lakes must prioritize protecting the lakes as a source of water for homes and businesses. 



1984: For the first time in Salem's history, city council approves the purchase of liability insurance to protect elected officials and safety forces from the threat of expensive lawsuits. The premium will be $17,711.

Thirty of 226 students who participated in athletics in Warren City Schools were ruled ineligible after new academic requirements were enacted. The standards require students to pass four full credits of study each grading period and have a grade point average of 1.2, which will increase to 1.4 and then 1.5 in 1985.

More than 2,000 hourly and salaried employees of Copperweld Steel in Warren are invited to a meeting at which Edwin H. Arnaudin will lay out plans for the survival of their jobs. 



1974: The Packard Electric Division of General Motors almost doubles the number of employees it will lay off, from 1,000 to 1,800.

Youngstown Mayor Jack C. Hunter says 25 electric bulbs have been stolen from the Christmas tree on Federal Plaza. The city also had spotlights on the tree, but those were stolen, too.

By a 4-3 vote, Youngstown City Council increases the pay of the vacant health commissioner by $5,000 to $35,000, making it the highest salary in city government. 


 
1949: MacKenzie Muffler Co.'s plant on N. Meridian Road closes a week before Christmas, putting 300 people out of work. The company had been trying to recover from financial difficulties.

Between 10 and 15, visitors to the Dew Drop Inn, a notorious gambling den in Niles, flee when a dynamite bomb is thrown inside. A bartender neutralized the explosive by picking it up and throwing it in a sink full of water. 

Yeggmen escape with $5,225 from Mullee's Inc., a Warren department store, after cracking one safe and taking a smaller one.