25 Years Ago

 It's March 1979. The US Embassy in Taiwan closes as the US recognizes the People's Republic of China and opens an embassy in Peking.

 Voyager 1 detects a ring of rocky debris around Jupiter. The probe also return pictures of Io, one of Jupiter's moons.

 Former California governor Ronald Reagan, 68, forms an exploratory committee for his presidential campaign.

 Actor Lee Marvin, 55, is being sued for ‘palimony' by Michelle Triola Marvin, 46, his former live-in (but not married) companion.

 In Vienna, US skaters Tai Babilonia and Randy Garner are crowned World Ice Pairs Champions, and Linda Fratianne wins the World Ladies Figure Skating Championship.

 In Mexico, an earthquake destroys the village of La Chaveta.

 Tricia Nixon Cox gives birth to a son, Christopher Nixon Cox.

 In Washington, Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin sign the first peace treat between Israel and an Arab State. President Jimmy Carter, who helped negotiate the treaty, signs as witness.

 At the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant on an island in the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg (pictured above), the cooling system malfunctions. Radioactive steam is released, and radiation is detected at low levels up to 16 miles away. 

 In Britain, the Labour Party loses a vote of confidence and Prime Minister James  Callaghan  resigns.

 Two major oil companies begin limiting gas supplies to local gas station due. Many gas stations consider curtailing their hours. Gas prices go up to 71.9¢ for regular and 76.9¢ for unleaded.

 Heavy rains and melting show cause rivers and streams in Tioga and Broome counties to overflow and cause flooding. About 48 families in Tioga County are evacuated, schools close because many of the roads are impassable.

 Singer Tom Jones appears at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

 Fire destroys one classroom and damages another at Binghamton Central High School.

 The Johnson City School Board announces that it will close the Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School in June.

 The new disco format at "3WT" (WWWT 101.7 FM) is bringing in up to 40 request calls a night.

 The engine of a tanker truck carrying 9,000 gallons of pressurized propane bursts into flames on I-81 in Binghamton. The road is closed and more than 200 patients are evacuated from the nearby Binghamton Psychiatric Center. No one is injured.

 The results of an architectural survey show that the 107-year-old Tioga County courthouse is structurally sound and worthy of historical renovation. The cost of restoration is estimated to be between $500,000 and $750,000.

 Local ABC affiliate WMGC tries to improve its rating by moving its local news to 5:30 pm and scheduling Star Trek opposite the other local news broadcasts at 6:00 pm.

 Gas prices reach 85¢ a gallon for Texaco's premium. 

 Singer Harry Chapin appears at the Arena in Binghamton. Tickets cost $5, $6, and $7.

 Top selling books include Lauren Bacall: By Myself by Lauren Bacall, The 
Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet by Herman R. Tarnower and Samm Sinclair Baker, Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford, and Linda Goodman's Love Signs by Linda Goodman. 

 Wednesday night TV shows include Supertrain, an NBC drama about a trans-continental atomic powered express train; Eight is Enough; the miniseries Studs Lonigan; One Day at a Time; Charlie's Angels; The Jeffersons; and Vega$.

 Movies playing in local theaters include Agatha starring Dustin Hoffman and Vanessa Redgrave, The North Avenue Irregulars, Hardcore starring George C. Scott, Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty, Ice Castles, Superman the Movie, The China Syndrome, Fast Break, Deer Hunter, The Passage, Norma Rae starring Sally Field, and Hair.

 Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Spring!