People

Weelunk Contributor Honored as “History Hero”

Maureen Zambito February 4, 2016

West Liberty University Associate Professor and Weelunk.com contributor Earl Nicodemus was honored recently when he was named an official West...

The Success Stories of Theresa Childers

Steve Novotney January 30, 2016

It is a small area of Wheeling that now receives rave reviews, but Centre Market once was a problem for...

It’s About Great Eats At Ozzie’s on the Island

Steve Novotney January 22, 2016

After more than a decade as a manager working for a regional restaurant chain, one Wheeling resident has chosen to...

Local Soldier Has Experienced Capture In Iran

Steve Novotney January 17, 2016

Steve Bliss Can Relate to the Recent Hostage Crisis in Iran He was captured, bound, and blindfolded, and he drank...

Sean Duffy: Wheeling’s Unassuming Historical Ambassador

Steve Novotney January 8, 2016

He’s soft-spoken, he’s humble, and he never accepts any credit for his accomplishments, but Sean Duffy has indeed had a...

New WLU President Wants to Listen, Learn

Maureen Zambito January 7, 2016

West Liberty University’s new President, Dr. Stephen Greiner, took office this week and began his official duties as the leader...

WJU Professor Provides Medical Treatment in Africa

Kelly Klubert December 21, 2015

While many were spending Thanksgiving eating turkey and watching football, Wheeling Jesuit University’s Dr. Bryan Raudenbush, professor of Psychology, along...

Donatelli: ‘I’m As Ready as I Ever Will Be’

Steve Novotney December 19, 2015

He doesn’t know. He didn’t know on Dec. 13, the day after Mike Johnston was fired as the head coach...

Wheeling Park Senior Has Done it All in the Festival of Sound

Gabriel Wells December 8, 2015

It’s possible that no Wheeling Park High School student has had more stage time or has played as many instruments...

Wilkinson Ready to Lead ‘Family’ in Title Tilt

Steve Novotney December 2, 2015

Avoiding crazy in lieu of normal is the goal this week, although the probability of that happening is ever so...

Nardone: “But then T.W.B.A.I. took over.”

Steve Novotney November 29, 2015

T.W.B.A.I. Team. Win. Brotherhood. All. In. “It’s a way of life,” insisted Mark Nardone, the assistant athletics director at Wheeling...

Thankful for Dr. John McCullough

Steve Novotney November 26, 2015

He tucks himself away in a small office uncharacteristic of a university president, even if he is an interim; that’s...

Amy Blon – A Heroin Addict’s Salvation

Steve Novotney November 14, 2015

Amy Blon hopes to wake us up, and she prays she can save lives. Amy, now 27 years old, is...

The Making Of An Unlikely Hero

Steve Novotney November 4, 2015

Mike Anderson didn’t know what to do after graduating from John Marshall High School, and that wasn’t the school’s fault...

Goodwin Looks to Grow Mountain State Tourism

Steve Novotney October 28, 2015

It’s her home. She knows it well. And she knows there’s no place like her home. Amy Goodwin, the deputy...

Niles Aims For The Moon With New Album

Steve Novotney October 24, 2015

It doesn’t suck. And believe it or not, that’s the highest compliment musician Adrian Niles has ever offered when discussing...

Thornton Clicking & Collecting Wheeling History

Steve Novotney October 17, 2015

Jim Thornton misses the dark room. It was his personal red-light district, where the developer and fixer in the dishes...

Ronell Green – Wheeling’s Boxing Champ

Steve Novotney October 7, 2015

He stayed calm, and he listened; he followed the game plan; he paced himself; he was patient; he kept his...

People, Places and Artist Tom Breiding

Michael J. Iafrate October 2, 2015

The music of Pittsburgh-based songwriter Tom Breiding has taken him across the country and into the heart of the music...

Wheeling’s Mindbender: Craig Karges

Steve Novotney September 30, 2015

He was considered a nerd who hung out with some old guy, the black sheep of his family known for...

Does W.Va. Need More Poetry?

Glynis Board September 26, 2015

Perhaps not surprisingly, West Virginia’s poet laureate, Marc Harshman, seems to thinks so. He’s been collaborating with several organizations, including...

Calabrese’s Life An Open Book For Voters

Steve Novotney September 25, 2015

You’ve noticed Frank Calabrese not only because he gets around town, but also because, for many years now, he’s had...

Wheeling Man Hones His Physique With Hopes Of Going Pro

Daniel Flatley September 21, 2015

It’s 5:40 a.m., and we’re in the weight room of the J.B. Chambers YMCA in Elm Grove.  James F. Youngblood...

The Balancing Act of Erikka Storch

Steve Novotney September 20, 2015

It’s a Chicken Cobb salad. The ingredients are supposed to be scattered about and pretty much everywhere within the bowl....

Ward 3’s Wilson Running To ‘Do Something’

Steve Novotney September 2, 2015

Soon after studying in Belmont College’s building preservation and restoration program in 2012, Brian Wilson was determined to assist in...

Q&A – Ken Peralta: “We Think We Have Something Here.”

Steve Novotney August 30, 2015

The people of Wheeling got lucky one day four and a half years ago. That’s when Ken Peralta made a...

Q&A: David Palmer — “I Want to Be a Part of It.”

Steve Novotney August 16, 2015

For David Palmer, it’s a “Wheeling thing.” He’s been a cop, a fireman, and the city’s Code Enforcement Officer, and...

Young Approach To Coaching Defines CCHS Football

Steve Novotney August 15, 2015

Mike Young packs a lunch. Turkey on wheat. An apple. A couple of energy bars. And one low-fat, sugar-free brownie....

Local Veterinarian Epitomizes Pet Care

Steve Novotney August 14, 2015

Dogs and cats, of course, but his patients also include critters like cows and horses and hamsters and snakes and...

Q&A: Gene Fahey – “I believe we can grow.”

Steve Novotney August 9, 2015

Just recently Gene Fahey found out that his family members, on his mother’s side, are direct descendents of the Betty...

Q&A: Diana Mey – “I Can’t Look The Other Way.”

Steve Novotney August 2, 2015

Don’t dare her, not unless you’re ready to pay up because she will not stop until you do. Diana Mey...

Cerrone’s Good Mansion Wines Offers Imported Tastes

Steve Novotney August 1, 2015

It’s really all happened by chance. The acquisition of the historic L.S. Good Mansion on 14th Street in East Wheeling;...

Local Pro Nearly Qualifies for PGA Championship

Kayley Miller July 23, 2015

If there’s one thing driving Wheeling professional golfer Jason Martin to success, it’s his undeniable passion for golf. Basically self-taught...

Memorial Golf Scramble The Dawn Of A Final Wish

Steve Novotney July 11, 2015

There were three wishes Randy Stephens requested at a time when he was considering the chance he could die. He...

Q&A: Danielle McCracken: “Our Mission Is Education.”

Steve Novotney June 28, 2015

It’s personal to her. Danielle McCracken remembers well traveling to the Capitol Music Hall in downtown Wheeling as a Brooke...

Q&A: Bishop Michael Bransfield: “Work Is A Necessity.”

Steve Novotney June 21, 2015

There have been many changes within the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston that have taken place since Dec. 9, 2004, the day...

Johnson Finding His Seam after Lost Season

Steve Novotney June 13, 2015

They are like tunnels with lights at the end of them, and those pathways guide Savion Johnson to more yardage,...

Area Business Naturally Rubs People The Right Way

Steve Novotney June 12, 2015

“Nature Itself is the Best Physician.” That’s what the chalkboard sign outside Under the Elder Tree reads. It quotes Hippocrates,...

McCardle Q & A: “Miracles Are Happening For Everyone.”

Steve Novotney June 7, 2015

It all started with one child’s wish, and seven years later it has grown into a community that’s never existed...

Wood Family Q&A: “Food Is Culture Too.”

Steve Novotney May 31, 2015

Blame the painting. It’s not an excuse, but when Chuck Wood and his family first saw a painting by Janet...

Soup Shack Serves It ‘Souper’ the Old-Fashioned Way

Steve Novotney May 27, 2015

One person after another, Frank Warren tells those strolling the northern market house at Centre Market to have, “A souper...

“Young Blood” At Helm of Historic Wheeling Tool Business

Glynis Board May 24, 2015

In an age of globalization and a shrinking manufacturing sector, two young men in Wheeling are hedging their bets and...

Riley Q&A: “We Get Folks Off to a Good Start”

Steve Novotney May 24, 2015

The mission is her mission. Dr. Vicki Riley became the new president of West Virginia Northern Community College on Jan....

Q and A: Ryan Ferns

Sarah Cuff Koegler May 17, 2015

In April 2015, OV Connect hosted a panel of local legislators to reflect on the recent session. Delegates Erikka Storch...

Campeti Has Been Saving Friendly City Soles For 47 Years

Steve Novotney May 15, 2015

He was a little, 10-year-old boy shining shoes inside the Campeti’s shoe shop on 11th Street in downtown Wheeling in...

Q&A: Four City Council Hopefuls Share Their Visions

Steve Novotney May 10, 2015

They all have lived elsewhere. Three are natives, and one is a transplanted West Virginian who has been in Wheeling...

Local Business Leader Named Entrepreneurial Success of the Year

Nikki Bowmar May 7, 2015

Justin Seibert, president of Direct Online Marketing (DOM) in Wheeling, West Virginia is the winner of the U.S. Small Business...

Maskey Q&A: ‘There Have Been Miracles in Nepal’

Steve Novotney May 3, 2015

When the earth rattled under the tiny country of Nepal, Vishakha Maskey was unaware that her parents and relatives had...

Local Woman Continues To Search For Missing Father

Steve Novotney May 2, 2015

It was three years ago when Julie Wurtzbacher was last in the news because of her quest of finding her...

Fahey Q&A: “I guess it’s in our DNA”

Steve Novotney April 26, 2015

He’s a Fahey, and you know his name. You’re familiar with it because he and several of his family members...