Flags to be lowered Saturday in Ohio to honor Harry Meshel

YOUNGSTOWN

In honor of former state Sen. Harry Meshel, Gov. John Kasich ordered that all American and Ohio flags at public buildings in Mahoning County and at the Ohio Statehouse be flown at half-staff Saturday from sunrise to sunset.

Meshel, a longtime Democratic leader in the Senate, died Monday at age 93.

Services are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 220 N. Walnut St. Friends may call an hour before the service at the church.

Calling hours are scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. today at Vaschak-Kirila Funeral Home, 3100 Canfield Road.

With a seat in the Ohio Senate open, Meshel won a seven-person Democratic primary in 1970 for the job, and then the general election.

He spent more than 22 years in the Ohio Senate, most of it in leadership.

Read more about him in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.