Monday, March 13, 2000
Agreement reached on flags at state capitol
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — The board that decides what can be displayed at the Statehouse has reached a compromise with veterans groups over the flying of the state's flag on holidays at the capitol.
Under rules proposed by the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, 88 of the pennant-shaped flags — one for each Ohio county — will fly there on Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day in May; Flag Day, June 14; Independence Day; Labor Day; Constitution Day, Sept. 17; Election Day; and Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
The Governor's Office of Veterans Affairs also wants flags flown on June 25, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War; on July 27, 2003, the anniversary of the war's end; and on other anniversary dates of major wars.
Ronald Keller, the review board's executive director, said he expects the recommendations to win board approval this spring.
David Aldstadt, director of the veterans office and co-chairman of the task force that developed the proposal, said veterans are satisfied with the plan.
The state currently has no policy on when to fly the flags, and the two agencies have represented opposing views on the issue.
The veterans office wanted to fly them every day from Memorial Day to Veterans Day.
The board said the flags should be flown only upon request on days special to veterans.
The disagreement dates from 1998, when the Vietnam Veterans of America conducted a candlelight vigil at the Statehouse and asked that the flags be flown during the ceremony.
The review board charged the group a $20 administrative fee for use of the area and also charged the veterans affairs office the cost of having state workers raise and lower the flags.
Union rules require state workers to do the job and the state charges $20 an hour per worker.
The standard fee to raise and lower the flags now runs $380.
Some veterans believe that they shouldn't have to pay to use a memorial built to honor veterans.
Mr. Keller said the review board applies its rules to everyone.
Mr. Aldstadt said he will ask state legislators to include money in the veterans office budget to help cover those costs for veterans groups.
He said Korean War veterans plan a vigil at the Statehouse on the 50th anniversary of the war's beginning in June. Paying a fee to raise flags while honoring those who died does not sit well, he said.
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