21 WFMJ archives  / January  25, 1985 | Two Youngstown Water Department employees, Thomas McBride, left, and Delbert Jones, were on fire hydrant duty 40 years ago. Here they were using steam to thaw a hydrant at Fifth and Broadway after another night of subfreezing temperatures. The mercury was in single digits and lower for much of January 1985, hitting a low of minus 20 one night.

January 27


2000: Magistrate Lynn Sfara Bruno grudgingly agrees to a deal that dismissed 44 of 47 violations against Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church, owner of the former Idora Park, but demands that the church show progress within 30 days to secure the grounds. 

The flu is an often dangerous infection in children, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends flu shots for them, especially those with asthma, diabetes, or other chronic conditions. 

BFI will continue collecting trash in Youngstown past its contract date of Feb. 6  while a court sorts out whether Waste Management Inc. or Phoenix Disposal Inc. should get the new contract. The city awarded the contract to Waste Management, but Phoenix filed suit on the basis of its bid, which was 50 cents per household cheaper. 


1985: In an unusual front-page editorial, The Vindicator urges an areawide effort by labor, management, government and the public to convince General Motors that the Mahoning Valley would provide a good site for the new Saturn plant. 

Ten cars of a 105-car train carrying coal derail outside Greenville, Pa.  There were no injuries, but the clean-up will take days. 

Trumbull County commissioners see a 0.5 percent sales tax as the only way to balance the  budget. Sixty-five of Ohio's 88 counties already have a piggyback tax. 


1975: A 16-year-old boy shoots and kills two Summit, Wisc., policemen, uses their cruiser to commit a burglary and then rides home on his bicycle. 

Eugene R. Godward, 16, receives his Eagle Scout award following Mass at St. Rose Church in Girard.

Following a spectacular come-from-behind victory over Gannon College, 60-58, Coach Dom Rosselli's Youngstown State Penguins go on the road to Steubenville. 


1950: A 24-year-old South Side man who got back his suspended license by giving Judge John W. Powers a hard-luck story about his sick brother finds himself in jail after the judge checked out the story and found it to be false. 

Mahoning County officials are told to be on the lookout for a new virus that produces mild polio-like symptoms. The new disease is draining the resources of the National Foundation on Infantile Paralysis. 

Actress Elizabeth Taylor receives he diploma at University High School, dressed in a white gown.