APRIL
2021: In Remembrance
Nicholas
Boinovych, 92, of Ed Welsh Road in Burlington, West Virginia, died Tuesday, April 20, 2021 while
under the care
of WVU Medicine Hospice. Surviving are his wife Dora of 59 years, his son Roger and
daughter-in-law Gwen of Burlington, son Stanley Boinovych of Cumberland, daughter Katherine Hayes of
Fort Ashby,
and sister Ann Reed of Delaware, along with four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Mr. Boinovych
served in the United States Air Force for seven years during the Korean Conflict and was a
member of
Boyce-Houser Post # 41, American Legion, in Keyser. He retired as a heavy equipment diesel
mechanic. Mr.
Boinovych was among the original landowners of the Whitetail Ridge residential
community, and
served as the first president of the Whitetail Ridge Homeowners Association in 1989.
For those of
us who moved to Whitetail Ridge from afar back in the 1990s - seeking to build a new home
for ourelves -
Nick Boinovych was often a crucial resource and creative problem-solver that helped
people pursue
their dreams of living in the Potomac Highlands.
JANUARY
2021: Named the 63rd National Park, The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is roughly four hours drive southwest of Whitetail Ridge. The area encompass 53 miles of the river known
locally as "The New." It was given conservation status as
a national river in 1978. Since then, it's been administered by the National Park Service, which maintains
several visitor centers along the gorge.
The updated title of "Park and
Preserve" makes the New River Gorge only the second site outside Alaska to receive that designation. Most of the land will be a 65,000 acre preserve, which allows hunting and fishing. The park,
follows the river and covers 7,000 acres, an area about six times the size of Whitetail Ridge. At the center, the gorge is a mile wide and spanned by the New River Gorge Bridge, the longest steel
arch span in the Western Hemisphere and the third-highest bridge in the United States.