99 years ago in 1916:

l The total number of arrests made to date by the local police is 1,315 with three months more to go. Last year the number of arrests was only 1,000, but this year bids fair to nearly double that number.

The above will give some idea just how much business is done by the local police and how much more business will be done in the future with the population of the city increasing all the time. There are now 11 members on the police force exclusive of the chief and they are kept busy.

l All of the cigar dealers in the city have received notice that the price of the five cent cigar, which originally sold six for twenty-five cents, has been changed to five for twenty-five cents or five cents straight, thus, smokers who used to purchase the five cent cigar in lots of six for twenty-five cents so as to receive the one extra may now just as well buy them one at a time.

The price of other cigars will not go up for the present, although dealers say that this unwelcome event may be expected soon.

Cigars which has up to this time sold for $32 and $33 thousand are now selling for $37, which is a very noticeable gain.

50 years ago in 1965:

l Damage has not been estimated in an early morning fire at the Loblaw Store, 2436 Youngstown SE, which was discovered by city police about 4 a.m.

City firemen said material piled too close to a gas heater in a storage section of the building caught fire, filling the store with smoke.

Police on routine patrol discovered the fire when they noticed smoke throughout the building.

Firemen, who quickly extinguished the fire, said the extent of damage won’t be known until store personnel inspect the produce and meat to determine the amount of loss due to smoke damage.

l A 15-year-old boy was stuck head-first in a cave today, hungry and cold, but reportedly still in good condition nearly 24 hours after he was trapped.

Rescuers called in cave experts to try to figure out how to free the youth, Morris Baetzold, from the cavern where he was wedged waist-tight while on an outing Tuesday. He remained calm during the rescue efforts.

Medina County Sheriff Norman Stuart said a hole would be drilled from the top of the cave to the tunnel where the boy was trapped if other efforts failed. It is about 35 feet down to the tunnel.

25 years ago in 1990:

l U.S. Rep. James Trafficant Jr., D-Poland, got enthusiastic cheers from a crowd jammed into Stambaugh Auditorium this morning to hear a live broadcast of the congressman on “Donahue.”

Traficant received a standing ovation when he walked onto the stage and he got even louder cheers when he condemned a federal budget bill that would have “working people taking it on the chin.”

l The IUE has given Packard Electric Division and its parent, General Motors Corp, a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to come to a contract agreement.

A spokesman for the Local 717 said the union is not satisfied with GM’s offer of a 2 percent wage increase and 2 percent lump-sum paments in the second and third years of the contract.

10 years ago in 2005:

l A string of armed robberies in Austintown may be connected to a robbery in Howland, Austintown authorities said.

“The descriptions of the suspect are consistent,” Austintown detective Douglas Scharsu said.

The BP station at 3860 Elm Road NE was robbed shortly after 9 p.m. Friday in a similar fashion as three recent gas station robberies in Austintown, he said.

The robber was described as a black man about 6 feet tall, heavy set, in his mid- to late-30s and wearing a red ball cap and blue jeans.

l A man who police believe ran a large-scale fencing ring and bookmaking operation out of his home was placed on five years probation and ordered not to partake in any game of chance.

John Kucek, 62, of Warren, pleaded guilty June 28 to a bill of information charging him with a felony count of receiving stolen property and a misdemeanor count of gambling.

Kucek, a former General Motors Corp. employee, was charged in June in connection with the pair of illegal operations, which led police to raid two pieces of his Youngstown Road SE property. They discovered hundreds of stolen items and paraphernalia connected to an illegal gambling operation.

– Compiled from Tribune Chronicle archives by Bonnie L. Hazen