Years Ago | March 9th

21 WFMJ archives / March 7, 1950 | Gen. George C. Marshall, president of the American Red Cross, marched down Federal Street in Youngstown 75 years ago to promote the opening of the Mahoning County Red Cross drive. From left, Mayor Charles Henderson, William B. Pollock II, and Marshall. A Vindicator artist painted out details in the photo's background before publication.
March 9
2000: Warren voters defeated a 0.75 percent income tax increase by 58 percent to 42 percent, leaving city officials struggling to solve fiscal shortfalls that have put 64 employees on furlough, including 15 police officers. Citing a bank robbery in the city, Mayor Hank Angelo says the city can't afford any further cuts in safety forces.
A day after Columbiana County voters defeated a half-percent sales tax, commissioners cut courthouse cleaning services and began studying ways of reducing insurance costs. The county's shortfall is estimated at $4.5 million a year.
A blocked furnace flue is blamed for a back-up of carbon monoxide that killed a Howland Township couple, Paul and Juanita Simmons, in their Orchard Avenue home.
1985: More than 500 Austintown township residents flee their homes after a truck loaded with an acrid chemical sprung a leak and was parked near the Strouss warehouse on Victoria Road.
Automobile dealer George Apostolakis, 44, is killed in a two-car crash near his newest dealership, Autos Unlimited, on Youngstown Road in Warren, near Pineview Memorial Park.
Layoffs continue in cash-strapped Trumbull County, where 22 county employees are given layoff notices.
1975: Youngstown Police Chief Donald Baker is working on reorganizing the department in the style of the armed forces.
The MAT Narcotics Strike Force Unit, a federally funded program to curb drug trafficking in the four-county area, will be phased out over the next year.
Eight 50-year members of the St. David Society and Jack Meadows, president for 24 years, were honored at the 84th annual dinner at the Central YMCA.
1950: The newly remodeled Walker's Shoe Store opens at 2802 Market Street in the Uptown shopping district. The store has 10,000 pairs of men's, women's and children's shoes.
Sen Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wisc., accuses a Senate investigation group of being "a tool of the State Department" and is denounced for remarks "unworthy of a senator."
Following Gen. George C. Marshall's visit to Youngstown, Gen. Omar Bradley, the nation's highest-ranking military officer, will visit the city in April.