Statehouse vote set on John Glenn statue to mark milestones
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A vote has been scheduled for Thursday on bringing a statue of the late astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn to the Ohio Statehouse to mark major future milestones, such as his birthday and the anniversary of his famous space flight.
Glenn, a native Ohioan, became the first American to orbit the Earth and an instant national hero in 1962. He returned to space in 1998, at age 77, as part of NASA research on aging.
State Rep. Adam Holmes, a Zanesville Republican, is seeking Capital Square Review and Advisory Board approval to temporarily place a sculpture of Glenn created by a constituent on Statehouse grounds — beginning with what would have been Glenn’s 100th birthday this July 18. Under his plan, the piece would return again on Feb. 20, 2022, for the 60th anniversary of Glenn’s orbital flight in Friendship 7.
376998 01: Cape Canaveral, Fl – Astronaut John Glenn, Jr. Fully Fitted In His Space Suit Prior To The Mercury Atlas 6 Launch February 20, 1962. (Photo By Nasa/Getty Images) 
FILE – In this May 14, 2015, file photo, former astronaut and senator John Glenn answers questions during an interview at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. Ohio. A panel is scheduled to vote Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, on bringing a statue of the late astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn to the Ohio Statehouse to mark major future milestones, such as his birthday and the anniversary of his famous space flight. Glenn died in 2016 at age 95. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon, File) 
BOSTON – JULY 28: Former U.S. Senator John Glenn of Ohio addresses delegates during the Democratic National Convention July 28, 2004 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts is expected to accept the party’s nomination tomorrow. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) 
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, UNITED STATES: The crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery (front row) Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai and Mission Commander Curt Brown; (middle row) Pilot Steve Lindsey and Payload Specialist John Glenn; (back row) Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque depart the Operations & Checkout building and head to the Space Shuttle Discovery to begin their mission into space from the Kennedy Space Center, FL 29 October. Glenn, 77, a Payload specialist on Discovery was the first American to orbit the earth in 1962. Discoverys crew will conduct a variety of science experiments in the pressurized SPACEHAB module and deployment and retrieval of the Spartan free-flyer payload. AFP PHOTO Tony Ranze (Photo credit should read TONY RANZE/AFP via Getty Images) 
U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr. (D.-Ohio), is assisted by suit experts Jean Alexander and Carlous Gillis prior to a training session at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). The STS-95 crew members are getting prepared for a scheduled Oct. 29 launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. 
376998 02: Cape Canaveral, Fl – Astronaut John Glenn, Jr. Before Preperations For Launch Aboard Mercury Atlas 6. Feb. 20, 1962. (Photo By Nasa/Getty Images) 
376998 06: Astronaut John Glenn Prepares To Enter The Mercury Launch Vehicle February 20, 1962 At Cape Canaveral, Fl. (Photo By Nasa/Getty Images) 
US astronaut John Glenn (2nd R) poses with the Congressional Gold Medal next to, from left, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democratic Senator from Florida Bill Nelson and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell during a ceremony in the Rotunda of the Capitol on November 16, 2011 in Washington. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) 
American President John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963) (left) talks with astronaut John Glenn (center) and Vice President (and later President) Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908 – 1973) (right) shortly after his arrival on Air Force One, Cape Canaveral, February 23, 1962. Kennedy honored the astronaut at a reception and presentation commemorating Glenn’s Mercury-Atlas 6 space mission (also known as Friendship 7). (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images) 
US President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to astronaut and former senator John Glenn during a ceremony on May 29, 2012 in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The award is the country’s highest civilian honor. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages) 
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, UNITED STATES: Astronaut John Glenn (R) and his wife Annie wave to friends at the Kennedy Space Center, FL 08 November as the crew of the Shuttle Discovery prepared to fly to Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Shuttle Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center 07 November after a nine-day science mission. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO Tony RANZE/bp (Photo credit should read TONY RANZE/AFP via Getty Images) 
JOHN GLENN — Pictured: (l-r) American astronaut John Glenn, wife Annie Glenn during a homecoming parade in New Concord, Ohio on March 3, 1962 to celebrate his orbit of the Earth — (Photo by: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
The vote on the proposal was delayed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Rules governing the Statehouse grounds do not allow for the permanent placement of a Glenn statue at this time. They say the person depicted must have been dead at least 25 years before that can happen. Glenn died in 2016 at age 95.
The $80,000, 7-foot bronze sculpture at the center of Holmes’ proposal was crafted by Alan Cottrill, who was born and raised in Zanesville, a short drive from New Concord, where Glenn and his late wife, Annie, met and grew up.
Annie Glenn died in June of COVID-19. She was 100.
A resolution urging Congress to award the Glenns a joint Congressional Gold Medal was reintroduced in the Ohio Legislature last week, after lawmakers failed to act on it last session.
