# What was the most newsworthy event to happen in your county (or equivalent) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119 "2014-08-08T19:33:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/41 "2014-08-09T15:17:14Z")
Not at the time, but: 4 Presidents were born here. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/42 "2014-08-09T17:13:06Z")
Where I live now & lived the longest: Berkeley riots in the 60s, Oakland Hills firestorm of 1991. Where I was born & raised: John Denver’s fatal plane crash. ---
**Author:** ![Tremblay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e56c9b/32.png) [@Tremblay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tremblay)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/43 "2014-08-09T17:36:06Z")
The river caught on fire. 3 females were kidnapped and held for 10 years then escaped. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/44 "2014-08-09T17:57:59Z")
The Von Trapp family settled here after escaping Europe during WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/45 "2014-08-09T18:02:52Z")
“American Taliban” [John Walker Lindh](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walker_Lindh) went to my high school. I’m not sure how well known the [Mitchell brothers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_brothers) were outside of California, but I could hear the gunshots from my living room when Jim killed Artie. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/46 "2014-08-09T19:26:09Z")
Charles I started the Civil War by raising his standard in Nottingham. Later, ended it by surrendering to the Scottish army at Southwell. King John, villain of many Robin Hood tales, died in the castle at Newark. The last battle of the Wars of the Roses, Stoke Field, took place at East Stoke. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/47 "2014-08-09T19:29:14Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > There was an earthquake in San Francisco on April 18, 1906. There was an even bigger one in Anchorage, Alaska in 1964. Here in Portland, it would have to be the eruption of Mount St. Helens, even though the volcano is not in Multnomah County, or even in Oregon, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/48 "2014-08-09T19:29:41Z")
September 18, 1858 - Lincoln debated Douglas. Other than that, nothing. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/49 "2014-08-09T19:36:33Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > Cambria County, PA, here. We seem to have a problem with our rivers. You may remember the [floods](http://www.jaha.org/FloodMuseum/1936.html) we had in 1977 and 1936. I’m sure you’ve heard of the one we had [in 1889](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood) that killed over 2200 people. I was born in Johnstown and lived there when we had the 1977 flood. I lived in the Denver area in 1999 when the Columbine School shootings occurred. I lived in Jefferson County and Littleton is in Arapahoe County, but the shock and concern crossed county boundaries. At times like that we were all Denverites, regardless of which county we lived in. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (and 18 other people) were shot just about two miles from where I live in front of the Safeway where I do my shopping. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/50 "2014-08-09T19:39:47Z")
Well, it was 66 million years ago, and a huge event. > **[Chicxulub crater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_Crater)** > > The Chicxulub crater (IPA: \[tʃikʃuˈlub\] (listen)) is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Its center is offshore near the community of Chicxulub, after which it is named. It was formed slightly over 66 million years ago when a large asteroid, about ten kilometers (six miles) in diameter, struck Earth. The crater is estimated to be 180 kilometers (110 miles) in diameter and 20 kilometers (12 miles) in depth. It is the second largest confirmed impact structure on ... Is there a prize? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/51 "2014-08-09T20:27:56Z")
The DC Sniper(s). Well, I actually live in the adjacent county now, but at the time, I was in Montgomery County where the first 5 people (and the last) were shot. Only shot one in my current county (Prince George’s). ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/52 "2014-08-09T20:36:32Z")
My high school made international new [from the violent beating of a pro-gay advocate.](http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=30838) IIRC, the indecent happened right between my homeroom and English lit, my locker couldn’t have been more than a couple of yards away. Not often you get confirmation that your HS was indeed redneck central. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/53 "2014-08-09T23:08:05Z")
Either Kevin Coe, the South Hill Rapist, or when Billy Tipton died in Spokane and turned out to be a woman. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/54 "2014-08-10T02:14:15Z")
We had a big flood in 1982. Reagan came and posed with a sandbag. That made the national news. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/55 "2014-08-10T02:17:50Z")
Hometown (long ago and far away): The first slave ship, _Desire_, was built. The first ship for the American Navy, Schooner _Hannah,_ was built. Resident Col. John Glover and his fisherman Mariners rowed Washington’s Army across the East River to save their buns. Resident Col. John Glover and his fishermen Mariners rowed Washington’s army across the Delaware River on Christmas night to attack and rout the Hessians and save us all from the British language. Resident Elbridge Gerry became Governor and then VPOTUS, signed the D of I, and gave his name to the ubiquitous practice of carving the landscape into political enclaves - gerrymandering (pronounced with a HARD G, please!) US Marine aviation started there (first plane built and flown-details unclear to me right now) _USS Constitution_ (Old Ironsides) sailed into the harbor in 1814, 1933, and 1997. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/56 "2014-08-10T02:23:37Z")
Los Angeles, we could add the Charles Manson murders to events allready mentioned here. And possibly the McMartin preschool trial. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/57 "2014-08-10T02:27:22Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > We had a big flood in 1982. Reagan came and posed with a sandbag. That made the national news. Oh yeah. That reminds me. My home county (St. Charles County, MO) was one of the many that were involved in the massive floods in 1993. That was a pretty big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/58 "2014-08-11T11:48:10Z")
I don’t know if my OP poisoned the well but it seems like a large percentage of these are crime related. I expected more history and less crime. But I guess that’s what is newsworthy. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/59 "2014-08-11T12:15:48Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I expected more history … Montgomery County, Ohio was home to the Wright Bros. airplane development, and also the [General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton_Agreement). ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/60 "2014-08-11T12:58:14Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I don’t know if my OP poisoned the well but it seems like a large percentage of these are crime related. I expected more history and less crime. But I guess that’s what is newsworthy. I tried to find something more historical for my Montgomery County (Texas) but came up empty. The only other “newsworthy” fact I recall is that Farrah Fawcett’s parents lived on Lake Conroe, and it was big (local) news whenever she visited them. :o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119.md?page=4)