21 WFMJ archives / May 22, 1966 | A five-ton truck loaded to capacity with roof deck material shows that Republic Steel Corp.’s newly developed ground mat was ideal for negotiating on soft sand or dirt. The heavy truck did not distort or damage the mats in this test 57 years ago.

May 22

1998: Mahoning County Sheriff Phil Chance wants county commissioners to reinstate the county’s sales tax as an emergency measure rather than wait for the people to vote on it in November.

A minimum-security inmate who used a federal vehicle to escape from the Federal Correctional Institution at Elkton is being held by federal marshals after being recaptured. His was the third escape since the prison opened.

Lawrence County receives a $47,500 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation for improvements to West Park in Union Township.

1983:  Lawrence County Commissioner Frank Vitril says the state’s requirement that counties print extra election-day ballots is wasteful and should be abandoned.

The Vindicator wins United Press International’s first place award in Ohio for a special section on organized crime printed July 18, 1982, just days after 128 pages of affidavits by the U.S. Justice Department’s  Strike Force on Organized Crime were released by the federal court in Cleveland. The section provided a who’s who of organized crime in the Mahoning Valley.

Many of the jobs that were once done by proud Youngstown area steelmakers who were paid good wages are now being done by workers in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and even the Peoples's Republic of China, writes Vindicator business editor George R. Reiss.

1973: An ever-decreasing tax valuation for the city of Youngstown is expected to cut revenue for Youngstown City Schools by $500,000 and necessitate the elimination of some classes, says Supt. Robert Pegues.

The Boardman Board of Education and Boardman Education Association sign a contract for the 1972-73 school year that sets the base salary at $7,100 a year.

1948: Youngstown Mayor Charles P. Henderson says that 52 policemen and 49 firemen who will be laid off on June 1 will be furloughed by seniority and called back on the same basis when the city’s financial situation improves.

The Mahoning County Democratic Party spent $4,562 in the May primary campaign, according to reports filed by party treasurer Forrest Cavalier.

 Nearly 1,000 school safety boys and girls take a special 13-car train to Cleveland to enjoy an Indians game at Municipal Stadium.