Wirt County Journal June 9, 1999 River's importance to future parkway A local parkway/byway workshop was held at the Dora Bee Woodyard Memorial Library with the aim of discussing the importance the Little Kanawha River played in the county's past and the potential uses for the future parkway corridor. With concerns as how the river played into the Little Kanawha Parkway Scenic Byway project, it was important the group, consisting of mainly local citizens, discuss the past river use. Commercially, the boat traffic and the oil/gas industry that flourished at one time were seen as major developments. Roads and bridges gradually eliminated the river as a commercial resource and the locks, located on the river, were made unserviceable, and over time the recreational use for the river diminished as well. The group discussed the potential uses for the river in connection to the corridor. The potential for recreation, tourism and community-based economic development was affirmed by everybody and the discussion turned to the identification of intrinsic qualities within the corridor. Those qualities named are as follows: historic, natural, recreational, archaeological, cultural and scenic. A shared vision for the river was restore the old locks for commercial and recreational use; restore and interpret Burning Springs for tourism, recreation, and community-based economic development; and capture (or maintain) the oral history of the corridor. Those attending the meeting were Dale Clark, Alvin Engelke, John Griffin, Coy Ivy, Charles R. Murray, Winnie Murray, Mary Ann VanClief, Steve VanClief and Jim Bailey.