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Tunnel Day, August 26, 2006 (Saturday), 9am – 4pm.

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August 26, 2006 (Saturday), 9am – 4pm.
Meet at Wheeling Health Right parking lot, 61 29th Street.
Food and beverages, gloves and tools will be provided.

Contacts: Ben Stout, WJU 243-2316, coordinator, bens@wju.edu
Erin McDonald, WJU 243-8728, emcdonald@wju.edu
Susie Nelson, City of Wheeling 234-3617, snelson@cityofwheelingwv.org

Sponsors:
Wheeling Jesuit University
Wheeling Walks
Wheeling National Heritage Area
City of Wheeling, West Virginia
Ohio County Health Department
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, WV Make it Shine Program
Ohio County Walkers and Runners Club
Lowe’s of South Wheeling
Riesbeck’s Food Stores
Domino’s Pizza

Wheeling Walks invites the public to join with students from Wheeling Jesuit University in cleaning up trash, cutting brush, and sprucing up the area around the south portal of Chaplin Hill Tunnel. The area is currently an eye sorer and subject to trash dumping within the South Wheeling development area. The purpose of the cleanup is to restore the area to a park-like condition and prepare the rail bed for inclusion in the future Wheeling Heritage Trail expansion.

The 2500 foot Chaplin Hill Tunnel was constructed by the Wheeling Terminal Railway in 1890. The tunnel portals, or entrances, are now overgrown by vines and trees and remain “hidden from view like an Mayan Ruin” in the words of Ben Stout, Professor of Biology at Wheeling Jesuit University who is coordinating the clean-up. City Manager Robert Herron says the tunnels are little known and “an important part of our heritage.” Wheeling Walks, a group of volunteers dedicated to providing outdoor opportunities for local residents, is hosting Tunnel Day as a way of bringing attention to a bold expansion plan that would double the size of the current Wheeling Heritage Trail.

The trail expansion plan was prepared by Ben Stout, Robert “Scat” Scatterday, and Hope Childers. The plan has been endorsed by the Wheeling City Councils Economic Development Committee. Expansion will ultimately add three tunnels, two major bridges, and create multiple circle routes that will give walkers and bikers a variety of route options. It will also encircle the Wheeling Heritage Area and provide access to other historical sites such as McColloch’s Leap and Wetzel’s Cave.

Erin McDonald, Assistant Director of the Service for Social Action Center at WJU, is coordinating student involvement as part of our annual “Make a Difference Day.” Community partners have come to count on us to help with big projects because of our service over the past decade,” said McDonald. Two years ago, after the September flood, over 300 Freshmen students worked throughout the community to help restore homes and businesses. According to McDonald, We hope that Make a Difference Day will “from day one instill in our students the value of being men and women for others.” Groups of students will be working with a variety of agencies all across town in hopes of fostering a deep sense of community engagement in the Wheeling area.

We are looking forward to interested community members coming out and working with our students Saturday August 26. We will be there all day. We will meet in the parking lot of Wheeling Health Right at the bottom of 29th Street. We will have information displays about the trail expansion plan and will have refreshments for all. West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has provided us with gloves and garbage bags, and Lowe’s of South Wheeling has provided tools. Domino’s will provide snacks and Reisbeck’s is providing drinks. Wheeling Heritage Area is supporting Tunnel Day and helping to foster the trail expansion plan with their mini-grant program. The City of Wheeling has been tremendously supportive in planning improvements and making arrangements to spruce up the area.

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