Vindicator file photo / December 11, 1971 | Members of Local 627, Service Employees Union International, were picketing North Side and South Side hospitals in Youngstown in a strike 51 years ago over holiday and overtime pay. The union claimed that management was not honoring the provisions of a new contract.
 
December 10
 
1997: Efforts to complete a new Columbiana County dog pound by Jan. 1 have been delayed by scheduling problems with volunteer workers, and completion is not expected until spring. 
 
The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear the appeal of Kenneth Biros of Brookfield, who was convicted of killing and dismembering Tami Engstrom. (Biros was executed by lethal injection on Dec. 8, 2009, at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.)
 
Saying he wants to devote more time to his family and he has more work to do as a Mahoning County commissioner, says he has ruled out running for statewide office. He had been seen as a possible Democratic candidate for secretary of state. 
 
1982: Two Niles teenagers, Randall Fellows, 18, and Fred Joseph, 17, are being sought for the murder of Niles Patrolman John Utlak. 
 
A mistrial is declared after a Mahoning County Common Pleas jury deadlocks with 11 jurors voting for the conviction of Ronald Pearson in the robbery, kidnapping, and murder of Mary Jane Congonello, whose body was found in Lake Newport. 
 
Kathy Kendall of Canfield, who won WFMJ's 1-minute and 14-second shopping spree at Nemenz Valu King, donates the $414 prize to the Salvation Army.
 
1972: Youngstown State University quarterback Ron Jaworski leads the East to a 20-7 victory over the West in the first All-Ohio Shrine Gridiron Bowl in Columbus. 
 
Mahoning Valley officials are demanding an explanation for cuts in federal revenue-sharing funds. Mahoning County, for instance, had been anticipating receipt of $2.1 million and is slated to receive about half that. 
 
Mahoning County's Welfare Department caseload hits 9,710 cases covering 20,957 people, an increase of 86 cases and 174 people from a year earlier. 
 
1947: The singer Ella Fitzgerald takes out a marriage license in the Mahoning County Courthouse with her husband-to-be, bass fiddle player Ray Brown.  She gives a local address of 608 North Avenue, where she is staying while performing at a West Side club.
 
In a holiday message to employees, Frank Purnell, president of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., laments that a lasting peace that had been anticipated with the end of World War II has proven elusive.
 
Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman John Vitullo will not be directing the May primary elections due to ill health and likely will not seek re-election. Vice Chairman John W. Powers will take over party leadership duties. 
Warren Mayor-elect Harold C. Smith names Walter Pestrak his safety service director.