21 WFMJ archives  / July 29, 1954 | Youngstown Patrolman Joseph Bartholomew talks into a “walkie-talkie” that was being used 70 years ago at McKelvey Lake in a manhunt for an 18-year-old fugitive suspected in several robberies. He was dubbed the “Dynamite Kid” because it was believed he had explosives and had threatened to use them to avoid capture. The search went on for days, involving as many as 60 police, deputies, and civil defense personnel. The Kid managed to stay free for six weeks until being found at his parents’ home.

August 1

1999: Pete Dye, a nationally known golf course architect, arrives in Howland to begin a $1 million renovation of the Avalon Lakes golf course, which just completed hosting the Giant Eagle LPGA tournament.

Trumbull County offices have issued 206 cell phones to employees, 60 percent more than its larger neighbor, Mahoning County, and is paying nearly $75,000 annually for them.

The Trumbull County Education Association of Christian Homeschoolers, founded in 1988 with three members, now has 60 members who meet monthly for workshops.

1984: During an interview with a Detroit TV station, President Ronald Reagan says autoworkers who gave up billions of dollars in wage increases in 1982 have gained from the industry's strong comeback but warns those gains could be lost if unions demand too much during the summer's negotiations.

After Mahoning County Prosecutor Vincent Gilmartin declines to take a case involving irregularities in the city housing rehabilitation program to the grand jury, Mayor Patrick Ungaro does an end run, calling for the grand jury foreman to issue a report suggesting a special grand jury be impaneled.

Dr. Jack D. Bakos Jr., 43, chairman of the civil engineering department at Youngstown State University, is in serious condition in St. Elizabeth Hospital after being stabbed twice by a robber in the university parking deck. Bakos had just cashed a check at the university's Dollar Bank branch.

1974: Grants totaling almost $3.9 million were approved for the Northeastern Ohio Manpower Consortium, which will provide jobs and training for low-income residents of Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, and Ashtabula counties.

Consumers got hit in July with the worst round of consumer price increases in more than a year. The bill for 15 common grocery items being tracked by the Associated Press went up an average of 4 percent during the month.

Sharon City Council President Maurice P. Keaveny accuses Police Chief Daniel Gross of fostering a "cover-up" in his reply to a state study criticizing police efficiency.

1949: A Youngstown woman and a Warren man drown after they and three companions are thrown from a speeding motorboat in Lake Milton. Dead are Beverly Adler and Eugene L. Procopio.

Mr. and Mrs. Youngstown find their dollars stretching further than they did six months ago, with the prices of cars, radios, clothing, and furniture all down.

Safecrackers escape with $797 from the Hickory Grill at 122 S. Phelps St.