Crestview Park being rededicated today

NEW CUMBERLAND - A rededication will be held at 1 p.m. today for Crestview Park, which has been revitalized over the last two years and is ready to welcome the public once again.

Crestview Park, which is located across from the John D. Rockefeller IV Career Center on state Route 2, was first dedicated on Oct. 25, 1963. It was one of 100 roadside parks the state built to commemorate the 100th birthday of West Virginia. The state did not continue to maintain the park, however, and it shut down about 20 years later.

In 2007, Keep New Cumberland Beautiful Director George Hines obtained a $20,000 grant from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to begin a walking trail in an effort to get citizens outside and walking to improve their health. A 40 by 50 foot observation deck was also built overlooking the Ohio River and the No. 9 Lock and Dam, and benches and picnic tables made by the Jefferson County Sheltered Workshop in Steubenville also were installed. Dozens of volunteers put in many hours clearing land, cutting trees, and spreading slag on the walking trails.

Hines said that in the future he hopes further improvements will be made to the park, such as a new picnic shelter. As of June, Hines said visitors from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Canada had already stopped at the park to stretch their legs and admire the river view.

Light refreshments will be served at the ceremony, which was put together by Keep New Cumberland Beautiful, the Hancock County Commission, the Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Hancock County Arts Council. The speaker for the rededication will be Jack Thayer, who was the master of ceremonies at the park's original dedication in 1963. Chester-based bluegrass band The Varmints will also perform.

The rededication will begin at 1 p.m. and last until 4 p.m.

(Scott can be contacted at escott@reviewonline.com)