Tag: Tourism

Beckley, WV Airport Offers Flights to Popular Vacation Spot

A West Virginia airport is beginning to offer weekly flights to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The Register-Herald reports the flights originate out of Raleigh Memorial Airport near Beckley.

Airport Manager Tom Cochran says the airport has wanted to offer flights to Myrtle Beach for a long time. He says a survey through the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce showed that area residents were interested in traveling to Myrtle Beach.

Cochran says flights leave Beckley on Friday and return on Monday and cost about $100 round trip. The flight takes about 90 minutes and stops in Charlotte to pick up more passengers.

Cochran says about 75 flights to Myrtle Beach have been booked through August.

W.Va. Officials Kick Off Tourism Marketing Campaign

With millions of extra dollars for tourism, West Virginia is kicking off a marketing campaign to sell its story to surrounding states.

On Friday, state Tourism Commissioner Amy Shuler Goodwin announced the campaign titled “Real.” The push is based on market research and features West Virginians talking about what their outdoorsy communities have to offer.

Goodwin said the campaign taps into part of $4.7 million extra in newly approved tourism marketing money.

The infusion puts the state tourism marketing budget at almost $7 million. Goodwin said the amount is still dwarfed in some surrounding states.

She said the effort will focus largely on online, digital and social media exposure through video and other media.

Some target markets include parts of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Tomblin Signs Two Bills Promoting Tourism in W.Va.

Gov. Tomblin was joined by members of the state Legislature, Division of Tourism representatives and craft brewers from around the state for the ceremonial signing of two bills Monday.

He signed Senate Bill 581, transferring oversight of the state Courtesy Patrol from the Division of Tourism to the Division of Highways.

Some of the funding for the program though, about $4.2 million, will stay with the Division of Tourism to be used for a national and regional advertising campaign.

Tomblin also signed Senate Bill 273. The bill makes multiple changes to state code to help support the growth of the state’s craft brewing industry, like allowing the sale of growlers, or reusable jugs filled with draft beer.

Among other changes, the bill also realigns the licensing fees for brewers, bringing the prices down to help small breweries compete.

“Prior to this bill, the license fees to start a brewery and a brew pub were about $3,000 a year and you really can’t make enough beer to even pay for a $3,000 license,” Brian Arnett, co-founder of Mountain State Brewing Company in Davis, said before the signing.

“So, the scaled licensing fee is going to basically link the license fees to the brewers’ production.”

Arnett called the bill a start, but he and the West Virginia Craft Brewers Guild plan to work with lawmakers to continue to find ways to support the craft brew industry in the state.

UPDATE: DEP Postpones Public Hearing Concerning Lochgelly Waste Site

 Update Wednesday January 7, 2015 11:46 a.m.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is postponing the meeting due to weather/road conditions. In an email, Kelley Gillenwater with the DEP said,

"Due to the inclement weather conditions in the Oak Hill area, tonight’s public hearing on the Danny Webb UIC permit applications will be reschedule. The date, time and location have not yet been determined but an announcement with those details will be made within the next couple of days."

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection wants to hear what folks have to say about an oil and gas waste site in Fayette County.  The permit has basically been in the renewal process since 2012.

 

Renewal Process

 

The DEP ordered Danny Webb Construction to close an above ground waste pit last year. Folks have worried for years that both the above ground waste pit and underground injection well have been leaking oil and gas waste into Wolf Creek, a tributary to the New River. It appears a researcher from Duke University now shares those concerns.

 

Danny Web Construction’s permit for an underground injection well expired in 2012. The DEP renewed the underground injection well, or UIC, permit in February last year under the condition that Danny Webb Construction close the above ground waste pit.

 

Representing the Natural Resources Defense Council, The West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Organization, Plateau Action Network and citizen Brad Keenan, Tom Rist with the Rist Law Office filed a letter of appeal. After ‘receiving significant public interest” the DEP revoked the permit soon after.

 

This past summer the Environmental Quality Board heard complaints against the DEP’s permitting process in this case. The groups point out that despite the permit expiring, and the revocation order, Danny Webb could still collect waste.

The board still hasn’t made a decision in that case and now, in light of the public hearing, it appears the DEP is moving forward in granting the permit. A public hearing is part of the permit issuance process.

 

Residents Remain Worried

 

The groups remain concerned about potential hazards to public safety. According to court documents, resident Brad Keenan presented results from water samples taken from Wolf Creek in 2007 that showed “high concentration of diesel and other petroleum products”.

 

In an appellant’s brief filed in September, the Rist Law Office sharply criticizes the DEP for not taking action against Danny Web Construction. Tom Rist points to the DEP’s records as evidence showing the site was out of compliance.

 

Science Study

 

The appeal also quotes an environmental researcher and Duke University professor Avner Vengosh saying that samples taken from Wolf Creek, included “elevated levels of several dissolved constituents in water such as chloride, bromide, sodium, manganese, strontium and barium.”

 

These chemicals are typical of oil and gas wastewater. It’s important to also point out that this site in Fayette County is a commercial disposal well, which means all kinds of liquid industrial waste is brought in from other sites.  These underground injection wells accept oil and gas waste from states throughout the region including Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

 

Tourism Trouble?

 

Finally, groups point out that Wolf Creek is a tributary to the New River, which brings in tourism dollars to the region. The site is also located about a mile from one of the county’s only day care facilities.

 

Danny Webb Construction did not responded immediately to our request for comment. The public is invited to attend a public hearing to voice concerns or support of the permit, at Oak Hill School tonight at 6:30 p.m.

The DEP says there are currently 14 commercial sites across the state and 33 private disposal wells.

Thousands Will Ride the World Class Gauley Rapids Beginning This Weekend

Five thousand people on some 500 boats are expected on the Gauley River beginning Friday as the U.S. Corp of Engineers begins drawing down the water levels on Summersville Lake, releasing a thunderous amount of water into the Upper and Lower sections of the Gauley.

The releases will occur during the next 7 consecutive weekends, supporting the local rafting industry and ensuring the river maintains its world class rafting status.

Local rafting outfitter Dave Arnold estimates each rafter will spend about $300 in local communities. 

He says Gauley Fest Weekend, scheduled Sept. 19-22, will have a $1 million dollar impact on the local economy. 

The Gauley River is renowned for its intense rapids that come fast and often,  with 53 of approximately 100 rapids rated Class III and above.

In spring and summer the flows are dependent upon snow melt and precipitation. But in the fall, because of the water release, the 10-mile Upper Gauley features Class IV and V rapids while the 11-mile Lower Gauley rapids range from Class III to V.

Faith Based Adventure Camp Planned for Nicholas Co.

A faith based organization plans to develop land in West Virginia to create a youth camp. The New River Gorge Regional Development Authority made the announcement earlier this week.

Young Life, a non-denominational Christian organization, plans to build an adventure camp in Nicholas County close to Mt. Nebo.

The organization has 35 camps around the globe according to their website. In a release, Young Life’s state Director, Scott Berg, said it was the outdoor activities, and landscape that attracted the group to West Virginia.

The $35 million project will be completed in three phases.  Young Life hopes to complete phase one, which is creating a master plan, improving infrastructure, and building a base camp for small group adventure camping, within one year. Eventually Young Life plans to build a resort camp.

The entire camp will accommodate 25,000 youth  per year once complete.

The West Virginia Development Office, Nicholas County Commission and various business leaders support the project.

The New River Gorge Regional Development Authority Executive Director, Chad Wykle said the camp is a good fit to supplement “the adventure tourism exposure youth have with West Virginia through the Bechtel Summit Boy Scout Reserve, and will be a wonderful neighbor for the National Park Service.”

Young Life is hopeful that the camp will also improve the quality of life for the adolescents of West Virginia.

Exit mobile version