21 WFMJ archives / October 31, 1985 | Calvary Christian Academy students dressed as biblical characters for the school’s Christian Fest, an alternative to Halloween 40 years ago. Clockwise from lower left, Christopher Brantley, 3, King David; Christian Wagner, 8, Rachel; Andria Miller, 8, Queen Esther, and Verlene Martin, 4, an angel.

October 31

2000: Mahoning County Commissioner Vicki Sherlock, a Democrat, holds a 2-to-1  margin over Republican challenger Sam Moffie, while Commissioner Ed Reese has a commanding lead over his Republican challenger, Paul Sracic.

Superintendent Ben McGee says West Elementary, where a teacher was diagnosed with Legionnaires' Disease, is not the source of her infection. West, the city's largest elementary school with 850 students,  has none of the stagnant water sources that breed the disease, officials say. 

Appearing at the ITAM Post 3 in Youngstown, former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro says she is dumbfounded that there is even a question over who is more qualified to be president, Vice President Al Gore or  Texas Gov. George W. Bush. 

 

1985: A poll commissioned by The Vindicator shows overwhelming local public support for the Lake Erie-Ohio River Canal being promoted by U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr., D-17th. Fifty-seven percent support it, with only 22 percent opposed. The rest are undecided. 

Despite chilly rain, lovers of Halloween line the streets for Warren's annual parade. 

The Youngstown City Council freezes the rates charged by Youngstown Thermal Co. for a period of five years. The company provides steam heat for about 90 customers in downtown Youngstown.

 

1975: Ohio Department of Transportation Director Richard D. Jackson opens the Boardman Expressway from South Avenue to East Midlothian Blvd. 

Due to natural gas shortages, the Newton Falls power plant is converting its generators from gas to diesel oil. 

Citing continuing rising costs, the Youngstown Hospital Association increases the rate for a semi-private room from $71.60 a day to $79.30.

 

1950: Despite the poor volume of steel business in Youngstown, industrial employees in the city received the third-highest weekly take-home pay in the state in September, at $107.41 for a 37.5-hour workweek. 

Twenty-two people, including 16 members of the California Polytechnic College football team, are confirmed dead in the crash of a C-46 in Toledo. Vindicator sports writer Chuck Perazich, who was on the same plane with the Youngstown College team earlier in the day, writes a first-person account. "It could have been us," several YU players say. 

Additional police are assigned to duty on Halloween night in Youngstown and Mahoning County to guard against property destruction.