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International Florida: Sheriff: TV, radio still to provide news in emergency
International Florida: Sheriff: TV, radio still to provide news in emergency 
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| Florida: Sheriff: TV, radio still to provide news in emergency |
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St. Petersburg Times (Florida) October 17, 2004 Sunday SECTION: CITRUS TIMES; Pg. 1 LENGTH: 540 words HEADLINE: Sheriff: TV, radio still to provide news in emergency BYLINE: JUSTIN GEORGE BODY: The Citrus County Sheriff's Office is no longer pursuing its own Federal Communications Commission license to run a low-power radio station that could have served as the beacon of local information during hurricanes. Instead, the agency will continue what it says is a successful partnership with local television station WYKE-Ch. 49 and radio station WLMS-FM 88.3 to get word to residents during a storm or other emergency. "A license wasn't available," said sheriff's Capt. Joe Eckstein, who is the county's emergency management director. As tropical force winds and relentless rain from Frances cut power to about 50,000 residents during Labor Day weekend, county officials found themselves unable to communicate with residents who wanted to know about shelters, contaminated-water threats, school closings and storm conditions. Local radio stations went off the air when they lost power; some radio towers were flooded and unapproachable. Tampa Bay TV and radio stations, meanwhile, appeared to be ignoring Citrus County news releases in favor of airing information about more populous counties. When the storm blew over, County Commission Chairman Josh Wooten said Citrus must "control its own destiny" in disseminating information. Sheriff Jeff Dawsy began discussions with the county to see if Citrus could control a radio band or expand one to serve the county during emergencies. A radio band exists in Crystal River to inform motorists of tourist destinations. The sheriff hoped to install a radio station transmitter at the county Emergency Operations Center, which could broadcast live updates and other safety-related programming. Obtaining control of a radio band requires FCC permission, and some local leaders of radio stations doubted that the county could navigate the complex permitting process or that a low-power band would have enough power to make a dent in a 700-square-mile county. Before any of the plans could be put to motion, the winds and rain from Jeanne struck the county, lurching it into another emergency. This time, however, radio and TV stations and the county were prepared with generators, access to Tampa Bay stations improved, and - most important - only about 20,000 people lost power, a far cry from the number of customers in the dark after Frances. During Jeanne, WYKE, which airs a lot of local government programming, arranged with WLMS-FM 88.3 to simulcast storm information on the small religious radio station, ensuring that residents who lost electricity but still had battery-powered radios wouldn't be left in the dark. The county, meanwhile, referred the public to watch and listen to those stations. The plan worked, and now the county hopes to bolster its relationship with the stations, which want to hook up a live video link to the emergency center so that information can air immediately and directly to county residents. "This is something we all want to make happen," WYKE general manager Tom Franklin said. "What we're going to do is serve the people in the county with information one way or the other . . . This is not about news and competition. This is about emergencies." Justin George can be reached at (352) 860-7309 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it LOAD-DATE: October 17, 2004 |
