Thirty years ago — 1989

Although zebra mussels were first spotted in Dunkirk only weeks ago, officials from both Niagara Mohawk and the city water department are already scrambling to find ways to protect their facilities from buildups of the tiny shellfish before they block water intakes and lead to serious equipment problems. At the city water filtration plant on Lake Shore Drive West, zebra mussels were recently found attached to the sides of a large raw water intake well used for the 4 million gallons of water drawn from the lake each day.

Forty years ago — 1979

About 250 striking employees at the Roblin Steel plant in Dunkirk who have applied for state unemployment insurance benefits should be receiving their first benefit check sometime next week. A state law permits strikers to file for state unemployment benefits after the seventh week of the strike. Local 6599 of the United Steel Workers of America went on strike at the Dunkirk plant on Oct. 1 when a previous contract expired.

Fifty years ago — 1969

Stephen J. Sekula, appointed Dunkirk’s first building inspector on May 22, 1963, is retiring from his post due to health reasons.