This Local Trainer Wants You to Get Fit and Be Festive This Season Allison Hickey October 21, 2022 For us adults, Halloween often brings to mind toasting a festive pumpkin beer with friends, sneaking candy from the kids’ trick-or-treat bags, and, of course, sipping on plenty of pumpkin spice lattes. While I ...
Think Pink Breast Cancer Event Raises Money for Local Individuals Jennifer Materkoski October 12, 2022 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and those in the Ohio Valley looking to show their support can do so on Thursday, October 13 at the Think Pink event from 5 to 8 p.m. at Wheeling Park’s White Palace.&n...
Local Runner’s Tips For Hitting the Road This Summer Iming Chang May 18, 2022 With the weather warming up and the days getting longer, I’m sure you’re all as eager as I am to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Take a step outside and you’re sure to find someone already enjoying one...
New Program Redefines Wellness for Older Adults Jessica Broverman April 26, 2022 The Stifel Fine Arts Center is in the midst of one of its greatest programs yet. The Full Life Art and Wellness Program through Oglebay Institute is for adults over the age of 65 that want to have fun and learn...
WEEREAD: The Midwife’s Tale Anna Cipoletti March 25, 2022 From the midwives and medicine women of yesteryear to today’s frontline healthcare workers, women have provided care and healing for as long as humankind has existed. In recognition of their contributions to he...
Local School Celebrates Diversity with Textured Hair Expo Alex Panas March 11, 2022 What started as a brainstorming session during a teacher learning day at Bridge Street Middle School has blossomed into a community event addressing an important need among their students: the care and styling ...
WSO on the Go Yoga Series to Begin on February 12 Provided February 10, 2022 Wheeling Symphony Orchestra’s WSO on the GO Yoga Series will begin Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022 at 9 a.m. at the Scottish Rite Cathedral Ballroom featuring yoga ...
COMIC: Self-Care In The New Year Natalie Kovacs January 26, 2022 The start of a new year often comes with lofty goals to overhaul our routine and implement new healthy habits - with health and self-improvement ranking at the top of the list. While there's nothing wrong with ...
This Popular Sport is Taking Wheeling by Storm Rich Wooding January 4, 2022 As folks from across the Ohio Valley hit gyms en masse in an effort to kickstart new healthy habits in the new year, there is one activity they may want to consider: pickleball, the fastest growing sport in Ame...
Music and Movement Merge with the WSO on the Go Yoga Series Provided December 28, 2021 Wheeling Symphony Orchestra (WSO) announces WSO on the GO Yoga Series to run from January to May 2022. Classes will be held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral Ballroom on the second Saturday of each month at ...
The 25-Acre Farm That’s Creating a Demand for Local Food Melissa Rebholz November 30, 2021 Full diet community supported agriculture (CSAs) have been in practice for quite some time around the world. The idea is for one farm to provide a mix of vegetables, meats, dairy products and grains to provide ...
A Doggone Good Boy Helps Locals Heal Sarah Clark November 23, 2021 What is more comforting than the affection of a four-legged friend? There probably isn’t much. That’s why the Ohio Valley Wellness Coalition (OVWC) came up with the idea to foster a comfort pup for the Ohio Cou...
Move To Munch: A Special After-Hours Experience at the Public Market Provided October 12, 2021 Your body deserves the best: An exclusive evening of yoga, food, wine, and private shopping at the Public Market. Longtime business collaborators, Chef Ryan Butler of the Public Market and Laura Hitchm...
Nicky’s Garden Center Offers Visitors More Than Just Plants Jennifer Materkoski October 4, 2021 With fall in full swing, many Ohio Valley residents are decorating their homes with seasonal staples like mums, corn stalks and pumpkins. For many families, autumn trips to Nicky’s Garden Center have become a y...
Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic Rosemary Ketchum October 19, 2020 Has this year felt as long to you as it has to me? Your answer is probably, yes. As we recognize October as National Mental Health Month, it’s a good time to check-in with ourselves as we continue to navigat...
The Service Industry and COVID-19: A Varied ‘Menu’ of Thoughts Jessica Broverman May 20, 2020 As food and beverage facilities are at the top of the list for essential businesses, servers have been on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic for two months now. These workers are putting together meal...
It’s Spring! The Outdoors Are Open … Go Explore the Ohio Valley Jesse Mestrovic March 20, 2020 Parks are a great place to practice social distancing and a great way to free your mind — especially right now. The City of Wheeling Parks & Recreation Department would like to encourage people to stay a...
Adolescent Mental Illness (Part 2): One Ohio Valley Family’s Struggle Laura Jackson Roberts December 14, 2019 What follows is an Ohio Valley family’s story about their child’s struggle with mental illness. To protect the anonymity of their underage child, I have written it in my own words, using gender-neutral pronouns...
Adolescent Mental Illness (Part 1): Health Issues on the Rise Laura Jackson Roberts December 13, 2019 The need for mental health care and awareness is a growing problem in our state and the Ohio Valley. Now, with the closure of Ohio Valley Medical Center, Hillcrest and the Robert C. Byrd Child & Adolescent ...
Long Haul: Police, Mental Health Pros Grapple With OVMC Closure Nora Edinger November 12, 2019 Editor’s note: As part of ongoing coverage of the fallout from regional hospital closures, Weelunk looks today at what is happening to some of the most vulnerable patients who used to come through the doors at ...
Hope and Healing: Serenity Hills Life Center Offers New Recovery Option Ellen Brafford McCroskey October 30, 2019 “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.” — Anne Lamott All Sharon Travis was...
Hide and Seek: OV Docs, Patients Trying to Find New Normal Nora Edinger October 23, 2019 Editor’s note: Following the sudden closures of Ohio Valley Medical Center and East Ohio Regional Hospital in recent weeks, more than 1,200 health care workers are on the move. From dietary staff to surgeons, t...
PROFILES IN PERSEVERANCE: Meet Susan Hagan Ellen Brafford McCroskey October 2, 2019 Editor's note: In this series, Weelunk readers will meet their neighbors who are successfully navigating the road of recovery. Like any road trip, recovery has stretches of smooth highway as well as the occasio...
Finding Peace in a Sanctuary of Salt Laura Jackson Roberts September 25, 2019 Editor’s note: Wellness — we all need it. Today, allow writer Laura Jackson Roberts to share a salt sanctuary with you. It’s hard to write a story when you slept through most of the intervi...
A Thrive Test-Run: Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Try Laura Jackson Roberts September 18, 2019 Editor's note: Wellness — we all need it. Today, allow writer Laura Jackson Roberts to take you along with her to Thrive. Next week, she'll share a salt sanctuary with you. Unless you live under a rock...
River Valley Health Foundation Helps Citizens Access Better Health Care Ellen Brafford McCroskey September 17, 2019 If you have ever found yourself alone and facing a critical health diagnosis, you know firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate the maze of treatments, procedures and appointments. Such challenges are what...
PROFILES IN PERSEVERANCE: Meet Mary Hess Ellen Brafford McCroskey August 20, 2019 Editor's note: In this series, Weelunk readers will meet their neighbors who are successfully navigating the road of recovery. Like any road trip, recovery has stretches of smooth highway as well as the occasio...
PROFILES IN PERSEVERANCE: Meet ‘Nancy Jane’ — Sober for Over Half a Century Ellen Brafford McCroskey August 6, 2019 Editor’s note: In this series, Weelunk readers will meet their neighbors who are successfully navigating the road of recovery. Like any road trip, recovery has stretches of smooth highway as well as the occasi...
PETROCHEMICALS AND THE OHIO VALLEY: Part 2 — Health Effects of Cracker Plants Laura Jackson Roberts August 2, 2019 Editor’s note: On July 16, the Ohio County Public Library hosted two experts at its Lunch with Books series. Dr. Matthew Mehalik, Ph.D., and Dr. Ned Ketyer, M.D., spoke to a crowd of over 100 about the env...
PETROCHEMICALS AND THE OHIO VALLEY: Part 1 — Environmental Effects of Cracker Plants Laura Jackson Roberts July 26, 2019 1 Editor's note: On July 16, the Ohio County Public Library hosted two experts at its Lunch with Books series. Dr. Matthew Mehalik, Ph.D., and Dr. Ned Ketyer, M.D., spoke to a crowd of over 100 about the environm...
The Invisible Epidemic: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Christina Fisanick July 23, 2019 Editor's note: The goal of our Our Hope in Recovery series is to shed light on various diseases, conditions and ailments, in an attempt to help others who are struggling. I was 27 years old and halfway ...
Happy Goat Yoga-Small Business Series Jeremy Morris July 9, 2019 Editor's Note: This video is part of a Weelunk series focused on small businesses that have recently launched in the Friendly City. Thank you to AT&T for sponsoring this series. ...
Wee Asked Dr. William Mercer Phyllis Sigal June 10, 2019 WEEasked some simple questions — and your neighbors, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, even some strangers, answered. Get to know them a little bit better with our fun series, “WEEasked.” Look for it a couple...
Industry Check-Up: Hospitals Battling for Turf Nora Edinger June 3, 2019 A spanking-new Buck Rogers façade or a hospital acquisition here. A federal lawsuit alleging doctor kickbacks there. Full-blown for-profit status or intense marketing pretty much everywhere. Sorting out what...
Second Annual Conference to Shed Light on Mental Illness Laura Jackson Roberts May 31, 2019 If there’s one word that describes Amy Gamble, the executive director of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Greater Wheeling, it’s open. She’s dedicated her life to mental health awareness, and thr...
Tick-Borne Disease: Fact, Fiction and Prevention Laura Jackson Roberts May 3, 2019 The other day I went into the woods to dig up some ramps. I wore socks and long pants as I crouched in the leaf litter. Later, I felt something on my stomach. It was a tick, moving as fast as it could toward my...
Perspective Is Everything: Living with Multiple Sclerosis Laura Jackson Roberts March 15, 2019 Editor's note: In this series, we’ll talk to locals who struggle with autoimmune disease and share their stories. Below, Ohio Valley resident Michele Meeks shares her experiences with Multiple Sclerosis. WHA...
Bike Share Program Coming to Wheeling Provided February 25, 2019 Residents and visitors alike will soon have access to a new feature in the community that will enhance recreational and wellness opportunities. Launching in the spring, Wheeling will be home to West Virginia’s ...
Health Department Works to ‘Reduce Harm’ Among Drug Users Ellen Brafford McCroskey February 5, 2019 To those not suffering from substance use disorder, the solution to the current opioid epidemic seems perfectly obvious — users should pull themselves up by their proverbial bootstraps, kick their addictions co...
Pennies From Heaven … Thanks to Kenny? Ellen Brafford McCroskey January 16, 2019 Call it karma, or cause and effect, or the result of living by the Golden Rule. However you label it, good things often come to good people. That was certainly the case this week when Project HOPE received a...
Drumming Up Better Health Ellen Brafford McCroskey January 8, 2019 “My goal is to help at least one person every day to be positive and focused on their health,” says Kyle Lewis, co-owner of the Healthy Vibes for You nutrition club at 2137 Market St. in the Centre Market area ...
Recovery Center Puts the UNITY in CommUNITY Ellen Brafford McCroskey January 2, 2019 “People are making positive choices every single day when they walk through our doors,” says Mary Hess, executive director of the Unity Center in Benwood. The Unity Center is a place of community, support and e...
‘Shaking the Family Tree’: A Recovering Alcoholic’s Memoir Provided December 31, 2018 Editor's Note: Dallas H is the author of “Shaking the Family Tree,” an anonymous personal memoir/poetry offering of a recovering alcoholic. Interlaced with relative poetry, it addresses the ramifications of the...
Recovery Coach Certification Now Offered Locally Ellen Brafford McCroskey December 12, 2018 “Transformed people transform people.” Those words coined by spiritual author Richard Rohr are the motto of the Center for Addiction Recovery Training’s Recovery Coach Academy, now being offered locally. ...
All Things Under the Rainbow — A Discussion and Support Group Ellen Brafford McCroskey November 20, 2018 LGBTQ+ friends and neighbors, meet Heather Sexton, CT (counselor trainee). Heather, a wife, mom and native of eastern Kentucky, has relocated to Wheeling and is finishing her master's degree in counseling. Once...
Lupus: Cruel and Hard to Diagnose Laura Jackson Roberts October 23, 2018 In this series, we’ll talk to locals who struggle with autoimmune disease and share their stories. Below, Ohio Valley residents Ashley Suder and Allison Stoner open up about their experiences with lupus. Wha...
Angela Was ‘More Than Her Addiction’ Phyllis Sigal October 5, 2018 There's a line in the song “Wait for It” from the musical “Hamilton” — “Love doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints. It takes and it takes and it takes.” The same can be said for addiction. _...
HOPE for the Homeless — Street Medicine Team Cares for Wheeling’s Most Vulnerable Ellen Brafford McCroskey October 3, 2018 1 Imagine that you’ve just had your leg amputated. It’s an emotionally devastating and life-altering event that will change the way you go about your daily routine. Staying mobile, performing simple self-care and...
‘Recovery Boys’ Screening Launches Community Discussion on Addiction Ellen Brafford McCroskey September 26, 2018 As a mom myself, my heart kept breaking for their mamas — the mothers of these four young men. Jeff, Adam, Ryan and Rush are profiled in “Recovery Boys,” a Netflix film depicting the struggles of recovery in We...
Mother Finds Her Passion Along Road To Recovery Ellen Brafford McCroskey September 18, 2018 “Sometimes, the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” – Barbara Kingsolver No mother plans to raise a child who struggles with substance use disorder; that is not among the hopes and dreams o...
