Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/761484
ByDanSewelland Andrew Welsh-Huggins TheAssociatedPress COLUMBUS, OHIO Amer- ican hero-astronaut John Glenn will lie in state in Ohio's capitol preceding a celebration of his life of mil- itary and government ser- vice and two history-mak- ing voyages into space. The public viewing at the Ohio Statehouse and a me- morial service at Ohio State University's Mershon Audi- torium is planned for next week; the dates and times were being worked out Fri- day, said Hank Wilson of the John Glenn School of Public Affairs. Statehouse officials meet Monday to au- thorize the public viewing. Glenn, who died Thurs- day at age 95, was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 and the oldest man in space at age 77 in 1998. A U.S. Marine and combat pi- lot, he also served as a U.S. senator, representing Ohio, for more than two decades. President Barack Obama on Friday ordered flags at federal buildings and on ships around the world flown at half-staff until sun- set on the day of Glenn's in- ternment. Glenn is to be buried at Arlington Na- tional Cemetery near Wash- ington, D.C. Tributes from the na- tion's leaders and others continued Friday. "Throughout his life, Senator John Glenn embod- ied the right stuff," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement. "Our military in particular benefited from his courage and dedication ... But just as important as what John Glenn accom- plished is how he accom- plished it: with a combina- tion of fierce determination and profound humility, and always with integrity." Glenn was a fighter pilot in World War II and Korea and served on the Senate Armed Services Commit- tee, among other Washing- ton service. In his eastern Ohio home- town of New Concord, the John and Annie Glenn Mu- seum, usually available this time of year only for special tours and events, opened Friday with free admission. CharLynGrujoksi,ofCon- nersville, Indiana, stopped in after spotting a roadside sign for the museum while driving home from Pitts- burgh and listening to a ra- dioreportonGlenn.Themu- seum is in the astronaut's converted boyhood home. Grujoski and her daughter left impressed. "He was a true American hero, someone who loved his country and served it," she said. Glenn was known for his humility, said Hal Burlin- game, who grew up in New Concord and was friends with Glenn for half a cen- tury. "John Glenn that you see is the real John Glenn," Bur- lingame said. "He would be the same John Glenn if he happened to be sitting here today talking with us. He never took himself too se- riously." Glenn was born July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio, and grew up in nearby New Concord. He wed his child- hood sweetheart, Anna Margaret Castor, in 1943. The couple spent their later years between Washington and Columbus. He and his wife served as trustees at their alma ma- ter, Muskingum College, and Glenn also promoted his namesake School of Public Affairs at Ohio State, which houses his private papers and photographs. His long political career, which included a failed 1984 run for the Democratic pres- identialnomination,enabled him to return to space in the shuttle Discovery in 1998, 36 yearsaftergoingintoorbitin Friendship 7 as part of Mer- cury, the first U.S. manned spaceflight program. He turned his Discovery mis- sion into an educational mo- ment about aging. Schools, a space center and the Columbus airport are named after him. "For generations, Amer- icans cheered John Glenn as he soared into the heav- ens," former House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican and fellow Ohioan, said in a statement. "Now he has taken his place there for eternity, a well-earned re- ward for an American life well and heroically lived." OBITUARY He ro -a st ro na ut J oh n Gl en n to l ie i n st at e in O hi o JOHNMINCHILLO—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A September 1966edition of LIFE Magazine, bearing an image of John Glenn, rests in a showcase at the John & Annie Glenn Museum in New Concord, Ohio, Friday. By Ryan J. Foley The Associated Press IOWA CITY, IOWA Govern- ment statistics released this week claiming that 77 minors in the U.S. were killed by unintentional gun discharges last year sig- nificantly understate the scope of an enduring pub- lic health problem. A review of shootings na- tionwide by The Associated Press and USA TODAY Net- work found that at least 141 deaths of minors were at- tributed to unintentional or accidental shootings in 2015 — 83 percent higher than what the Centers for Disease Control reported. Advocates for stricter laws and new technology meant to keep guns away from children argue that many of the deaths are preventable, and the un- dercount is significant be- cause it can skew the pub- lic policy debate. Lobbyists for the firearms industry, including the National Ri- fle Association, cite the CDC statistics to argue that such deaths are so rare that vol- untary education — not ad- ditional laws or regulations — are needed. CDC officials have ac- knowledged that their sta- tistics are low because they rely on how coroners clas- sify the fatalities on death certificates. Some coro- ners rule deaths in which one child unintentionally shoots another as a homi- cide — rather than an acci- dental discharge — because they fit the definition of be- ing killed by another. They also can classify them as undetermined if the intent is unclear — for example, if it's not certain whether a minor committed suicide or accidentally shot himself. AP and USA TODAY Net- workcountedfatalshootings that were declared acciden- talorunintentionalbyinves- tigatingagencies.Themedia organizations'reviewdidnot include deaths where guns were fired on purpose, such as cases of stray bullets or celebratory gunfire. The undercount for 2015 is in line with, but more sig- nificant than, the one ob- served for 2014, when the CDC missed one-third of the 113 deaths documented by the media outlets. The CDC data, released Thursday, does track a trend identified in the me- dia organizations' review in which deaths of all minors are most common among 3-year-olds, who typically pick up unsecured, loaded guns in their homes and fire back at themselves. The data also shows another spike in deaths among 15- to 17-year-olds, who are more likely to be shot by another teen playing with a gun. Mark Rosenberg, for- mer director of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said he believes the nation could eliminate all uninten- tional gun deaths involving children. He said "it's crazy" the government isn't doing more research into how to prevent them, in part be- cause of a 1996 law that de- clared the CDC cannot use research funding to advo- cate or promote gun control. "I think people 30 years from now are going to look back at this time and say, 'My God, how did we, as parents, as a nation, tolerate these deaths? These shoot- ing deaths where a toddler kills a sibling or where a child is gunned down by a gun that they found in their home — how did we ever put up with that?'" Rosen- berg said. "We use the word 'accident' and lull ourselves into this deadly compla- cency that says, 'This is just the cost of having firearms in our country'. It's not." Rosenberg said accurate data is needed to persuade lawmakers and firearm owners to make changes — for instance, to adopt smart gun technology that would only allow the owner to fire the weapon. The NRA said Friday that its Eddie Eagle gun safety program, which tells stu- dents not to pick up any guns they see, has helped reduce the number of un- intentional shootings in the last two decades but that more can be done. "The NRA believes fire- arms education, safety, and training is the key to pre- venting accidental shoot- ings," spokeswoman Cath- erine Mortensen said. REVIEW New CDC data understate accidental shooting deaths of children "I think people 30 years from now are going to look back at this time and say, 'My God, how did we, as parents, as a nation, tolerate these deaths?'" — Mark Rosenberg, former director of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control 728 Main Street Red Bluff, CA 96080 Support our classrooms, keep kids reading. 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