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KEBE Silent? Again, or permanently

M

markdshark

So, KEBE, and it's 2 translators have filed for silence due to "antenna damage from the storms", but the K280CL (Rusk translator) has not been on the air since KTLU was turned in. I have driven through J'ville dozens of times over the last 3 years. KEBE nor any of it's translators have been on the air.

Has anyone else heard this as well? Or has someone actually heard KEBE on the air, since being acquired by Witkowski? I don't understand how these 3 licenses still exist?

Draft Copy « Licensing and Management System « FCC

Licensing and Management System
enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov
 
radioislife2020 said:
were these not sold in the last year? I remember Richard telling me he had sold them.
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You mean to sit here and tell me that he doesn't even realize he owns them??

He sold KEBE-FM, now KKGT, to Storm Broadcasting of Tomball. Jeffery Jennings is now the licensee. 95.1 was almost immediately built out by Jennings, signing on Christmas Eve with Christmas music. It launched with a wide array of chart topping hits, regardless of genre, as "95.1 Great FM on January 2nd.

Now, stick with me here. It's going to be a wild ride I'm about to take you on. 1400 KEBE and 1580 KTLU (with their associated translators) were sold by Chisholm Trail to North Texas Radio Group in January 2023. This marked the 2nd time Witkovski owned the Jacksonville AM. You see, he bought it the 1st time from Chuck Conrad, after Chuck has bought it from Mr. Waller, rebuilt the entire plant, and launched his QX-FM standards format on it. Didn't work. So, he sells it to Dick Witkovski. KEBE goes silent for the 1st time in my recollection, and I spent a number of years at 402 South Ragsdale myself. He finds a buyer for it and the AM in Rusk that he pulled from the Whitehead estate. Sale consummates, and suddenly KEBE and KTLU come back to life, simulcasting K-Hits 95.5 from the Jacksboro area.

A year passes. Suddenly, Chisholm Trail is ready to unload the Rusk and Jacksonville AM pair. Who's the buyer? Dick Witkovski. Again. Both AMs went off the air before this deal was ever consummated. KTLU Rusk has now been surrendered by NTRG, a direct spit in the face to the legacy of Mayor and Mrs. Whitehead. I know two different parties that wanted to step in and save 1580, but instead, it was left to die. KEBE J'Ville has been off the air since Chisholm Trail took it silent. We are approaching 3 years since 1400 has been lit up. Last airdate was July 16, 2022. Same as KTLU, which is now surrendered. K280CL should also be DOA because it, too, has not been on the air since 2022. 104.7 has been on the air without KEBE, oh by the way. I even had @Bill Betten to check from his studio in Maydelle. Sure enough, 284CT on the air. KEBE still silent. That's been within the last calendar year I have the proof iKEBE has been off, but knowing the history of this very special facility, and the highest-quality of a man that originally owned it, I wouldn't think about submitting anything that would jeopardize the license.

Well, except to publicly mention on a radio message board that it has been silent for way too long.
 
markdshark said:
No KEBE hasnt been sold. He wants nearly 200K for it
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For what, the license? His argument for taking it silent was loss of tower site. So, am I to correctly assume this is 200k for a slip of paper and the Nautel that Chuck installed?
 
I remember he had a am with land he was selling that included the 2 translators are those the ones your saying have been off the air for years now?
 
dm2024 said:
I remember he had a am with land he was selling that included the 2 translators are those the ones your saying have been off the air for years now?
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With land, you say? So, then, how was the tower site lost for KEBE in the initial silent request? Where was K284CT broadcasting from, if not the 1400 tower?

I wasn't kidding about it being a wild ride.

KEBE is the only AM in Texas he owns now. If you've seen a listing for an AM and a pair of translators owned by NTRG, it is KEBE.

Here's an interesting little factoid. K280CL can be sold off separately. Witkovski isn't stuck with both translators, at all. K284CT is a revitalization translator that's permanently attached to KEBE, but K280CL is an old timer, one of the first (if not THE first) low power translators signed on in ETX and having been done so by Emmett Whitehead in the mid 80's. It was originally attached to KWRW (now KTBB-FM) in order to extend 97.7 to Palestine. 103.9 wasn't moved from Palestine to Rusk, and then attached to KTLU, until after the Whitehead estate sold KWRW to Paul Gleiser.
 
markdshark said:
He does own the land but its a terrible neighborhood and less than 2 acres…..
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Hey, now! Some of those 'mater heads are close, personal friends of mine. 😂

So, then, exactly how was there a "loss of tower site" if he bought the land, too?

Wilder ride than I had thought.

The neighborhood may be a little worse for wear, but let's not minimize what's sitting out there on that acre and change. In 2014, 1400 was completely overhauled, including a brand new Nautel transmitter. Chuck Conrad spared no expense on it. Saw the set-up with my own eyes. When Chisholm lit it back up, "K-Hits" on 1400 sounded very rich and full. Beautiful processing, very clean sound. KTLU, by comparison, sounded like it was being heard through a tin can. Horrendous processing, no lows, and broadcasting one channel of audio.
 
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rosecitymedia said:
Hey, now! Some of those 'mater heads are close, personal friends of mine. 😂

So, then, exactly how was there a "loss of tower site" if he bought the land, too?

Wilder ride than I had thought.

The neighborhood may be a little worse for wear, but let's not minimize what's sitting out there on that acre and change. In 2014, 1400 was completely overhauled, including a brand new Nautel transmitter. Chuck Conrad spared no expense on it. Saw the set-up with my own eyes. When Chisholm lit it back up, "K-Hits" on 1400 sounded very rich and full. Beautiful processing, very clean sound. KTLU, by comparison, sounded like it was being heard through a tin can. Horrendous processing, no lows, and broadcasting one channel of audio.
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The STA mentioned antenna damage, but Witkowski isn’t known for his honesty in FCC filings, he filed that the station had been on the air all this time, when it hasn’t been. It was pretty good KEBE was under Chuck, that was when KZQX was standards, quite enjoyable back then.
 
markdshark said:
The STA mentioned antenna damage, but Witkowski isn’t known for his honesty in FCC filings, he filed that the station had been on the air all this time, when it hasn’t been. It was pretty good KEBE was under Chuck, that was when KZQX was standards, quite enjoyable back then.
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Is he even running the stations at this point? He's up in years, and some time back, his grandson was already heavily involved in the operation.

I left out a portion of KEBE's history in my long-winded promo above. I get a little warm in the collar region when I actually think about what's happened to 1400 in the last decade, and unfortunately, it led to a bit of brain scramble. It was THE station that Dudley Waller loved, regardless of how big, powerful, and so much superior K Double O I was. Let me tell you, it was by no accident that Mr. Waller chose Chuck Conrad as the next owner. I, personally, wish Chuck would have been successful with ownership of 1400, but it wasn't, and that's truly a shame.

Anyway, Witkovski sold it the first time to Paul Coates and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for what lasted less than a year. The Coates-Huckabee ownership was when KEBE and KTLU became sister stations. It was not done by the hand of Dick Witkovski. I tend to forget that very abbreviated ownership of KEBE. If you'd heard what Paul Coates launched on KEBE/KTLU, you'd quickly forget it, too. K284CT came on the air during this time period. I believe NTRG filed for the CP, but it didn't show up on the Jacksonville dial until after it came under the brief Coates ownership.
 
rosecitymedia said:
Is he even running the stations at this point? He's up in years, and some time back, his grandson was already heavily involved in the operation.

I left out a portion of KEBE's history in my long-winded promo above. I get a little warm in the collar region when I actually think about what's happened to 1400 in the last decade, and unfortunately, it led to a bit of brain scramble. It was THE station that Dudley Waller loved, regardless of how big, powerful, and so much superior K Double O I was. Let me tell you, it was by no accident that Mr. Waller chose Chuck Conrad as the next owner. I, personally, wish Chuck would have been successful with ownership of 1400, but it wasn't, and that's truly a shame.

Anyway, Witkovski sold it the first time to Paul Coates and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for what lasted less than a year. The Coates-Huckabee ownership was when KEBE and KTLU became sister stations. It was not done by the hand of Dick Witkovski. I tend to forget that very abbreviated ownership of KEBE. If you'd heard what Paul Coates launched on KEBE/KTLU, you'd quickly forget it, too. K284CT came on the air during this time period. I believe NTRG filed for the CP, but it didn't show up on the Jacksonville dial until after it came under the brief Coates ownership.
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Chuck doesn’t have any kids or grandkids? Do you mean Witkowski?
 
I have nothing to add to this post that has not already been said. Here is the KEBE (AM) history cards, which is a interesting read. KEBE was first licensed in 1947.
KEBE History Cards
 
When does the Silent Notice expire? Around January 14? That's just a couple of weeks away. I wonder what will happen. Just out of curiosity, the last time I was in Jacksonville, I drove by the transmitter site. From the street, the tower and building looked fine. The grass was cut. When I had it, it was a pretty nice facility. From the outside, it looked like nothing had changed. But it wasn't on the air and hasn't been for a very long time. Perhaps I shouldn't care, but I hate to see this station have an untimely end.
 


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