Morgantown Dominion Post (Advertorial)
14 February 2006
By Judy Reckart for the Community Visions Foundation
Vision 2020's Monongahela River Recreation and Commerce Committee (MRRCC) met Friday, Feb. 10 to review members' updates on a variety projects and activities including a nine-county river clean-up and a conference addressing river-related ecological, recreational and commercial issues.
The Mon River Summit, originally scheduled Oct. 20, 2005, is slated for April 10 at the Radisson. The MRRCC set a goal of 120 attendees for the event and Brad Allamong, CVF executive director, assumed leadership of the Summit planning committee.
Chuck Joseph with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), out-lined plans for the first Monongahela River Sweep, a nine-county river clean-up project scheduled June 10.
Co-sponsored by the Upper Monongahela River Association, the Monongalia Arts Center, the WVDEP's Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (REAP) program, the Radisson and Vision 2020, the sweep is a volunteer-based event to remove litter from the upper portion of the Monongahela and its West Virginia tributaries. Groups and individuals in Barbour, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Tucker and Upshur counties are eligible to participate in
the clean-up. According to Joseph, Sweep activities will include a students' poster art con-test coordinated by the Monongalia Arts Center; the clean-up itself, scheduled 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. June 10; and a celebratory "thank you" picnic for volunteers at the Radisson following the Sweep. County-level coordinators will organize local volunteer efforts. Contact Chuck Joseph at 368-3950 or cjoseph@wvdep.org for additional information.
Ralph LaRue with BOPARC reported that the Riverfront Park/Mon River fountain project currently has received approximately $10,000 in funding. With an estimated $25,000 price tag, the fountain will be anchored in the Monongahela River in the vicinity of the Hazel Ruby McQuain Amphitheater and will shoot a vertical 40-foot stream of water. The engineering firm of DMJM Harris is working with BOPARC to design an aesthetically accept-able anchoring system for the device. The fountain project was proposed by Dr. Rumy Hilloowala, a WVU anatomy professor, and is being funded by grants and private donations. LaRue also said he's contacted both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District and the state's Department of Environmental Protection and the Division of Natural Resources for the permits the fountain's construction requires.
WVU anatomy professor Dr. Rumy Hilloowala has proposed constructing a lighted fountain anchored in the Monongahela River adjacent to the Hazel Ruby McQuain Amphitheater as an additional attraction to downtown Morgantown's Riverfront Park. The $25,000 project is being funded by grants and private donations. Residents may direct contributions to the project through the Greater Morgantown Community Trust Fountain Fund, PO Box 409, Morgantown, WV 26507.