Vindicator file photo / April 2,  1986 | Billy Marsteller and Ryan Varley ham it up with WHOT Radio celebrities Mark French and A.C. McCullough and sales representative Scott Burin to “tug up” support for the sixth annual “Tug of Love” fund-raiser benefitting the Easter Seal Society of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. The competition 35 years ago had more equally match teams try to pull each other into a pit filled with 65 gallons of whipped cream.
 
April 1
 
1996: Former Mahoning County Prosecutor Gary L. Van Brocklin was shot and wounded in his law office by a man who asked for him by name, fired one shot from a small-caliber handgun, and then fled. Van Brocklin was taken to St. Elizabeth hospital with a leg wound. 
 
A survey of area police departments by Joseph Caruso, a consultant for MediLink of Columbus, finds that Mahoning County's law enforcement community wants a crime lab in Youngstown to speed results in criminal investigations.
 
The "Cops in Shops" program will put undercover Youngstown police officers behind the counter at stores selling alcohol to catch underage buyers. 
 
1981: Negotiators for members of the Youngstown Education Association say striking teachers are asking for 15 percent wage increases, they would probably settle for 10 percent. 
 
More than 150 Trumbull County workers go on strike after negotiations with county commissioners reach a stalemate.
 
General Motors is hoping this will be the day that production reaches 20 Chevrolet Cavaliers and Pontiac J-2000s per hour at the Lordstown Complex.  
 
1971: About 150 telegrams a day are being sent through the Youngstown office of Western Union to President Nixon to protest the life sentence of Lt. William Calley, convicted of killing civilians in My Lai, Vietnam. 
 
The Rt. Rev. Msgr.  Norman P. Kelley, 59, pastor of St. Rose Church in Girard announces his retirement after 34 years as a priest, with 28 of them at St. Rose. 
 
Westminster College launches a $5.5 million drive for the construction of a new science center and natatorium.  
 
1946: Members of the Mahoning Valley Amateur Radio Association are enthusiastic over reports that the government is returning reliable radio frequencies for amateur broadcasts. 
 
Tennis stars Bobby Riggs and Don Budge will face off in a professional match in Cleveland, part of a nationwide tour. 
 
Sixty  Mercer County, Pa., coal miners join the nationwide strike, walking off jobs at Coyer, Bowie, and Bessemer mines.