Weelunk.com: Do Something

Weelunk.com is a self-described “Wheeling-centric website that wants to serve sophisticated, local readers who care about their community,” and it’s is launching November 1^st. That’s according to the Weelunk Facebook page that was born a few weeks ago and has since been growing in popularity.

Wheeling is one of the oldest names in the state. It’s actually an anglo-fied Delaware Indian word: Weelunk— which means Place of the Skull, or Head. According to lore and historians, the land where Wheeling Creek and the Ohio meet was marked by native folks with a European’s head on a stake as a stark reminder of some heinous deed that occurred there. An ominous beginning. But today, people in Wheeling are reviving the word Weelunk, as part of a larger effort to revive the town.

Weelunker: Passionate Wheeling resident with a Wheeling-related message to share with Wheeling and the world.

Credit Matt Miles / Weelunk.com

/

Weelunk.com

Weelunker-in-Chief Jason Koegler has what he calls a “real” job with West Liberty University. But he’s been peddling hard to get Weelunk off the ground.

Koegler says there’s a real need for a community platform to connect all of the initiatives and activities that are happening all over the area. Weelunk is the idea that is crystalizing. So far, the three main objectives of the site

• encouraging community dialogue (Weelunkers)
• an all-encompassing, interactive Wheeling Calendar of Events
• in-depth journalism

The idea began as an online newspaper to serve the Wheeling area. Perhaps that’s why the only paid employee so far is the news editor, local talk radio personality Steve Novotney.
Novotney is another home-grown Wheelonian. He says there’s been a need for unbiased, veteran journalism in Wheeling for some time.

“We’re gonna cherish the past, but focus on the future,” Novotney said. “You’re going to see that no longer in Wheeling is it passé to dream.”

So far, all other Weelunk employees are volunteers. They include marketing experts, web developers, graphic designers, party planners, and business men and women cohorts in general who all share one thing for sure in common: they are all invested in Wheeling’s future.