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FCC fines "Bullseye 95.5" Oxford

tomservo

tomservo

Looks like they're hit with a $10k fine for not having a public inspection file or tower lighting from 2008.

The station blamed the loss of the files on a former employee they had arrested for embezzlement, but the FCC doesn't buy it.

What I found interesting is the fine for the tower lighting was knocked back due to a good faith effort to contact the FAA. Neither the station nor the inspector's number to the New Orleans office was valid. The station's tower is on a hill not far from the studio and actually has a taller cell phone tower practically right beside it. They thought the tower lighting on the cell tower would be adequate. In fairness, they're so close together there's no way a plane could hit either tower without seeing the lights of the other.

I remember the lights being off for weeks. But then tower lighting seems to be an incredibly low priority thing for most tower owners in rural areas, anyway.
 
Having been an Ops Mgr of a station with a tower right on the flight path to land at Memphis International I can say that we didn't take tower lights lightly. I only had to report out tower lights out once fortunately. It was a very easy process then as I remember. Simply giving them a phone call with all the information. A few days later when the light was replaced it was just as easy to call and tell them.

I heard my father who is a retired fire chief tell the story about the plane spraying for mosquitoes that took out the tower of what was then known as WJBI 101.7 in Clarksdale. WJBI's tower did not require tower lights and in this case the pilot was actually at fault. I am going to step back and open the door for J Boyd to finish the story because I am sure I will mangle some of the details.
 
I built WJBI in 1973. On august 23, 1976 a plane leased by the State was spraying for mosquitoes at 10:30 PM ( in full violation of several FAA rules)..and struck the tower at approximately
175 feet...resulting in the death of the pilot and several on the ground. The tower was 199'
high and unlit, and approved as such by the FAA. It was a very traumatic event for all involved
but the station was not negligent. The tower was located inside the city limits, and next to the studio on Hwy.61 south. JBI
 
Dang, what a tragedy. I didn't know the state ever flew planes for mosquito control, that's an interesting tidbit.

Where I live now the skies are alive all day with air traffic. I haven't spotted a single burned out bulb in the year I've been here. I guess with Pensacola NAS being nearby, plus three very busy airports (Foley, Fairhope and Jack Edwards in Gulf Shores) plus the always-buzzing fields for Barin NOLF and the banner towing company's private field, no one is skimping on tower light maintenance.

Still, in this one year there's been two plane crashes, both into the water at the beach. One had a mechanical failure and landed upside down in the water by an island and the other clipped a parasailing line and crashed on the beach. Luckily no one was seriously injured in either crash. Both were planes from the banner-towing company.
 
Zach, we have aerial spraying for mosquitoes and dog flies down here. Never heard of it being done at night.
 
poledo said:
Zach, we have aerial spraying for mosquitoes and dog flies down here. Never heard of it being done at night.
Click to expand...
May I Ask What's A --> Dog Fly ??
Respectfully,
Ken
 
Ken38654 said:
May I Ask What's A --> Dog Fly ??
Click to expand...

Dog fly = Stable fly = 100 other common names.

They come from Alabama (with a banjo on their knee) :D and usually fly south-east (because that's the typical direction the wind blows). When they get to the beach the wind coming off the Gulf stops them from flying any further south and they hang around stinging and sucking blood from all the tourist. Typically only a significant problem within a mile or so of the Intercoastal. Dog flies leave welts... usually lingering for a couple weeks.

All locals know about them... most don't know what to call them and/or think they are some type of bee.

If you really care... don't bother looking them up on Google, this is probably the best link:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig133
 
Gotcha RadeoEngineer - Thank You Very Much !
- Just Had Never Heard The Term & My Family, Well Some Are Backwoods Country !
It's Just A Damn House Fly On Steroids.
Know I'm Familiar With That !
LOL !
 
Zach said:
Looks like they're hit with a $10k fine for not having a public inspection file or tower lighting from 2008. 

The station blamed the loss of the files on a former employee they had arrested for embezzlement, but the FCC doesn't buy it.
Click to expand...

There seems to be a bit of that going on where dishonest radio station personnel think they are just too cool or that they have figured out the perfect scheme for scamming and/or stealing money, along with their other dishonesties.  Too bad the FCC wasn't buying the excuse, because it was probably the truth.  Stations with thieves now know that need to have a public inspection file.
 
If the public file disappears, it should be obvious in no more than 90 days...when the next update is due...how do you explain that?
 
A public file on a single station takes less than a couple of hours to assemble from scratch. Not to have one, which is the first thing the FCC wants to see, is arrogant stupidity.
 
RadeoEngineer said:
A public file on a single station takes less than a couple of hours to assemble from scratch. Not to have one, which is the first thing the FCC wants to see, is arrogant stupidity.
Click to expand...
Very Well Put !!!
 
It should have been reconstructed to show the employee's embezzlement, true. Better that the FCC should have "bought the story", but dealt with them for the missing file. And, of course, to show how the thief was dealt with besides turning her/him loose on the next employer.
 
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