Salem’s 203rd Birthday

It certainly won't be marked with trumpets blaring and the summer-long party that we had for number 200. And yes, it really has been three years already since all those grand bicentennial festivities.

But today surely warrants a mention. On April 30, 1806, our city was founded. According to the Salem Historical Society, which does a wonderful job in preserving our city's heritage, it was John Straughan and Zadok Street who felt compelled to establish what was to become Salem.

The two had adjoining property and they provided land from their respective farms to create "Original Salem" - named for Street's former town of Salem, New Jersey.

The plat of "Original Salem," as recorded at the Columbiana County Recorder's Office, is bounded by the alley between Third and Second Streets to the north, the alley between Pershing and Wilson streets to the south and west of Ellsworth Avenue to 180 feet west of Howard Avenue. Thus the genesis of our fine city.

With time comes changes. Right now our city is going through some turbulence primarily caused by the sustained weakened economy. We are at the 1,000 lost jobs in heavy industry alone during the past five, six years. Remember when the mills thrived in this town -whether it was Mullins, Eljer, Deming, Bliss or any of the many tool an die shops??The reality is they aren't coming back. Our schools, a likely connection to the lost jobs, have seen shrinking enrollment figures. That's not going to get any better.

However, despite the bad and scary times our city continues to be as good a place as you would want to live and raise a family. It's because of you - its people - and all who came before. It's because of the small town values and decencies that so many Salemites carry and impart. We have a lot of friendly, caring, nice people. Our city has produced those who have stood out in all realms whether academia, the business, sporting and entertainment worlds, medicine or you name it. Many have chosen to either stay or remain here. There's a reason for that. Our city will continue to produce those who stand out in a variety of walks of life. That is what Salem is about.

It's not a coincidence that so many of us generation after generation have called Salem home. It's because we love our town. We loved growing up here and we love living here. So let's grab some handfuls of candles and wish our fair city a very happy 203rd birthday!

Founders Day 2009

SALEM-During the Salem Bicentennial of 2006, 24 people connected to Salem were recognized as "Citizens of Honor." Since that time two have been added each year for a total of 28. It is the intent to add two each year during the Salem Historical Society's annual Founders' Day activities.

The two 2009 nominees for the Citizens of Honor class, John Cabas and Howard Tibbs, will be officially inducted during the April 28 Founders' Day dinner.

Cabas was an especially effective coach at Salem High School, who had great influence on his players. A star himself in high school in New Castle and at Mount Union, he established himself as one of the most prominent coaches in the state during the l950s and l960s.

He was a member of the first class to be inducted into the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. The gymnasium at Salem High School is named in his honor. He and his wife Betty and children Pam and Mack live in Salem.

Famous in military history is the Tuskegee Airmen unit of the United States Army Air Corps. In World War II these African-Americans were segregated as a unit; previously no U.S. military pilots had been African-American.

Tibbs had deep Salem roots, a member of a large group of families, who each year since l891, have held a reunion in Salem. Howard Avenue is named for his grandfather. Tibbs played tenor saxophone in bands while in the military. Tibbs and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen received a Congressional Medal of Honor in 2007.

Full biographies will be shared at the 39th Annual Founders' Day dinner. Dinner reservations can be made to the Salem Historical Society at 330-337-8514.

Additional activities during the evening will be a Chinese auction and a presentation by Buckeye School Principal Dennis Niederhiser, on the 155 year history of Salem City Schools.

- Submitted material

 

 

Founders’ Day dinner honors Cabas, Tibbs

By LARRY SHIELDS, Staff Writer

POSTED: April 29, 2009

Email: "Founders’ Day dinner honors Cabas, Tibbs"

The Salem Historical Society honored John Cabas and Howard Tibbs as “Citizens of Honor” for 2009 during Founders’ Day dinner activities at the Salem Community Center on Tuesday. About 130 people attended the dinner that also featured Keynote speaker Dennis Niederhiser, principal at Buckeye Elementary School, who talked about 155 years of Education in Salem — “The Significant 8’s.” A Chinese auction drawing was also held. The society said that during the 2006 bicentennial 24 people connected to Salem were recognized as “Citizens of Honor” and each year two more have been added to a total that is 28 to date. Cabas, a local high school basketball coaching legend at Salem High School, had great influence on his players and was himself a star at New Castle High School and later at Mount Union College. He established himself as one of the most prominent coaches in the state during the 1950s and 1960s and was a member charter member of the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. Cabas compiled a 298-147 record from 1951 to 1972 and in 1959, his most famous team, was the state championship runnerup finishing with a 25-2 record - the all-time boys’ best ever season in Salem. Cabas also served as president of the Ohio State Basketball Association. The Salem High School gymnasium is named the John A. Cabas Gymnasium. Cabas and his wife Betty have two children, Pam and Mack, who both reside in Salem. Tibbs has deep roots to Salem, coming from a large group of families - the Ormes’, Cyrus’ and Manzilla families - who have held reunions in Salem since 1891. Tibbs, a 1937 Salem High School graduate who was on the track and field team, became a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a WWII United States Army Air Corps unit comprised solely of African-Americans. Previously no U.S. military pilots had been African-America. As a photographic laboratory technician, Tibbs worked at different bases in the U.S. The captions with his published photographs and his writing relay historical and military experiences, along with aspects of the bigotry he and fellow segregated servicemen endured. Tibbs married Betty Clark after his discharge and they had four sons. He graduated from Salem Business College and earned a bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University in 1951 and attended Capital Law School in Columbus. Tibbs worked for the Internal Revenue Service in the Newark area until his death in 1986. His grandfather, Civil War veteran Charles Howard owned Howard’s Barbershop on Broadway Avenue in the 1880’s and is buried in Hope Cemetery. Howard Avenue is named for him. His mother and grandmother were musical which spawned his musical interest and led Tibbs to playing the tenor saxophone in bands while in the military. The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 and Tibbs connects Salem to its African-American citizens and the Tuskegee Airmen.

Comforting to know!

Possible cause found for hole at nuclear plant

By MICHAEL D. McELWAIN

 

SHIPPINGPORT, Pa. - Officials believe they now know what caused a small hole through the steel containment plate inside Unit 1 of the Beaver Valley nuclear power plant.

"We found a two-by-four approximately six inches long embedded inside a concrete wall," Todd Schneider, spokesman for FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), said late Wednesday afternoon.

Schneider added that the piece of wood was likely used as part of the form for the four-foot concrete containment wall during its construction in the mid-1970s.

Unit 1 at the Beaver Valley Power Station was shut down April 20 for a scheduled refueling and for maintenance work.

The problem first came to light last Thursday when, during a routine inspection, workers at the nuclear power plant discovered a hole in the containment building's steel encasement.

At the 738-foot elevation level inside the containment area, inspectors discovered an area "approximately three inches in diameter and exhibited blistered paint and a protruding rust product," according to the information supplied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

On April 23, and after cleaning the area and removing the corrosion, a rectangular area approximately one inch (horizontal) by 3/8 inch (vertical) was discovered that penetrated through the containment steel liner plate.

The liner in that area is 3/8-inch-thick carbon steel. On the other side of the steel liner is a four-foot reinforced concrete wall that remained intact at all times, Schneider noted.

After finding the blister and the hole, workers cut a six-by-six inch portion out of the steel liner including the area of penetration, according to Schneider.

That's when the workers saw what appeared to be a piece of two-by-four.

"We then increased the size of the opening in the steel liner to about 12-by-17 inches to see what we were dealing with," Schneider added.

The piece of two-by-four was removed, and Schneider said it likely caused the initial damage to the steel liner.

Workers are now adding reinforcement straps and will add concrete to fill the cavity left by the foreign piece of material. After that, a steel patch will be welded into position.

"We don't know why that piece of wood was left behind, but other nuclear plants have had similar experiences," Schneider said.

While there might have been a small hole in the steel liner, the concrete wall remained intact at all times.

Together, the liner and the wall are designed to contain any radioactive material if an accident were to occur.

At no time did any radioactive material escape from the facility, according to Schneider.

"We should have the repairs completed in the next couple of days," Schneider said.

In the meantime, he added that the refueling process is also going on as scheduled.