Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 9

213 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 9 WHEEL ING-OHIO COUNTY A I RPORT as the Ohio River, National Road, and the B&O Railroad. The airport itself has its own rich legacy and will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this fall. Wheeling - Ohio County Airport opened in 1946 and the first passenger flights began in 1947 when TWA and Capital DC-3s flew in. Lake Central, which would later become Allegheny, began the next year and continued to serve as a commuter carrier until 1970. There was another commuter attempt in the late 1970s but it was cancelled due to lack of demand. Randy Russell, Ohio County Administrator, reports, “We are going to put on a kind of a combination 9/11 commemorative event along with our 75th-anniversary event this fall. It is going to start on Friday, September the 10th with an education day and we hope to attract middle school and high school children up to the airport. We will have aircraft for them to check out and events for them to participate in, and then on Saturday, September 11th we will start the day with a memorial service to honor all the heroes, including not only military and veterans but also first responders. That day will have lots of food and entertainment and end with fireworks. We really have a lot to be proud of here.” Ohio County is in the northern panhandle of West Virginia and the airport is located roughly eight miles north of Wheeling, the county seat. “Wheeling is a city with a lot of great amenities,” says Russell. “We have a beautiful city park system, golf, cabins to rent…We also have a relatively large retail development known as the Highlands where there are over 83 stores and restaurants. Then we recently opened the Highlands Sports Complex, which consists of six indoor basketball courts that double as volleyball courts. There is also a full-sized indoor football field, as well as rock climbing walls, an arcade, and various meeting rooms. We hope this complex will drive a lot of sports