Looking Backward

The north

10 years ago

Oct. 4, 1999:Samaritan Medical Center expects to reduce costs by $2.7 million annually by cutting a total of 50 full-time jobs and eliminating three outpatient programs. The reductions were announced in the wake of a nearly $3 million loss in operations recorded from January through August.

25 years ago

Oct. 4, 1984:Up to $175,000 in low-interest funds may be allocated for refurbishing facades at the Family YMCA building, it was announced at the fall meeting of Watertown Alive.

50 years ago

Oct. 4, 1959:A boy with a penchant for destroying traffic tickets from parked vehicles is being sought by city police. The boy, about 13 years old, was observed by an unidentified man ripping a parking ticket from a car on Terminal Place near Mill Street.

75 years ago

Oct. 4, 1934:Duck hunting grounds rang with a staccato of shotgun fire today as a horde of sportsmen went afield for the first wild waterfowl bags of the season. The Dexter marsh, as usual, appeared to be the favorite spot for the majority of hunters from this section.

100 years ago

Oct. 4, 1909:Fifty extra coaches today were scattered along the St. Lawrence division to take care of the extra traffic expected tomorrow in connection with the New York Central's annual fall excursion to New York. A good many people have the notion that a round-trip ticket to the big city for $6 is cheaper than staying at home.

125 years ago

Oct. 4, 1884:G.W. Enos, Watertown, issues a challenge to any one- or two-legged man in the city of Rochester to a walking contest with him from 27 to 48 hours' duration, without sleep or rest. Man and money ready, and the contest will be prolonged to 100 hours if desired.

The world

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Sunday, Oct. 4,the 277th day of 2009. There are 88 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 4, 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, into orbit.

On this date:

In 1976, agriculture secretary Earl Butz resigned in the wake of a controversy over a joke he'd made about blacks.

Ten years ago:An Illinois jury ordered State Farm to pay $456 million to 4.7 million customers in a class-action lawsuit accusing the nation's largest car insurer of using inferior parts for auto body repairs.

Five years ago:The SpaceShipOne rocket plane broke through Earth's atmosphere to the edge of space for the second time in five days, capturing the $10 million Ansari X prize aimed at opening the final frontier to tourists. Pioneering astronaut Gordon Cooper died in Ventura, Calif., at age 77.

One year ago:Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with her Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in New Delhi, where they lauded but did not sign a new agreement opening up U.S. nuclear trade with India. The U.S. military said it had killed an al-Qaida in Iraq leader (Mahir Ahmad Mahmud al-Zubaydi) suspected of masterminding one of the deadliest attacks in Baghdad, several other recent bombings and the 2006 videotaped killing of a Russian official. A North Korean news agency reported on Kim Jong Il's first public appearance in nearly two months.

Today's Birthdays:Country singer Leroy Van Dyke is 80. Actress Felicia Farr is 77. Pro Football Hall of Famer Sam Huff is 75. Actor Eddie Applegate is 74. Author Roy Blount Jr. is 68. Author Anne Rice is 68. Actress Lori Saunders ("Petticoat Junction") is 68. St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is 65. Actor Clifton Davis is 64. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, is 63. Actress Susan Sarandon is 63. Blues musician Duke Robillard is 61. Playwright Lee Blessing is 60. Actor Armand Assante is 60. Actor Alan Rosenberg is 59. Actor Bill Fagerbakke is 52. Producer Russell Simmons is 52. Musician Chris Lowe (The Pet Shop Boys) is 50. Country musician Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard (Sawyer Brown) is 49. Actor David W. Harper is 48. Singer Jon Secada is 48. TV personality John Melendez is 44. Actor Liev Schreiber is 42. Actor Abraham Benrubi is 40. Country singer-musician Heidi Newfield is 39. Rock musician Andy Parle is 39. Actress Alicia Silverstone is 33. Actor Phillip Glasser is 31. Rock singer-musician Marc Roberge (O.A.R.) is 31. Actress Rachael Leigh Cook is 30. Actor Jimmy Workman is 29. R&B singer Jessica Benson (3lw) is 22. Actor Michael Charles Roman is 22. Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose is 21. Figure skater Kimmie Meisner is 20.

Thought for Today:"Knowledge is like a garden: if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested." — Guinean saying.