WPKL
Encyclopedia
WPKL is a Classic Hits
-formatted radio station
licensed to Uniontown, Pennsylvania
at 99.3 FM. WPKL's programming is simulcast on WKPL in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
at 92.1 FM. Both stations are owned by Keymarket Communications of Pittsburgh, and each has a power output of 3,000 watt
s.
. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
, the transmitter had broken down and no money was available to fix it. To complicate matters even further, when the money became available, engineers were not permitted on the property where the transmitter and tower were located to make repairs because Kel Com had lapsed on its rental payments for the leased site. Complicating matters further than that, the property was owned by Fayette County
court judge Gerald Solomon. It also became known that Kel Com/Mar Com had also owed its employees back wages, including its General Manager, who had assumed Heshler's former duties.
Both stations were totally automated by this time, using the services of Jones Radio Network's AC format for WPQR, and Music of Your Life
for WCVI, offering little in the way of full-service programming elements, as much of the airstaff had left the station after not being paid.
Nevertheless, some of the station's employees, who were still owed the back wages, continued to work for free in a loyal, dedicated effort to keep both stations afloat through WCVI, which still remained on the air, even working in inhumane conditions, such as the heat being turned off in the building, due to a lapse in utility bill payments. Both stations were forced to move to a ground floor office at 131 East Crawford Avenue in the same building, as the second and third floor offices at 133 East Crawford were deemed unsafe by the state Health Department, due largely to a tree growing out of the back of the building that was compromising its structural integrity.
WPQR was also issued an FCC monetary forfeiture of $20,000 in March 2000 for tower marking and registration violations, as well as failing to install new EAS
equipment, which replaced the former EBS
system. The licenses for both WCVI and WPQR were turned over to bankruptcy receiver Robert H. Slone of Greensburg
in August of that same year.
Both stations were finally sold in a bankruptcy bid sale in November 2000 for $475,000, according to this article that appeared in the November 15th issue of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
("Georgia buyer takes over radio airwaves") by Jason Togyer:
.
Upon the sale, WPKL and WYJK moved its operations out of the Crawford Avenue building to the building housing its sister stations along Route 88 in California, PA, just north of Brownsville
. About five years later, those stations moved from that location to another complex at the junction of I-79 and I-279 in Greentree. The Crawford Avenue building today, after years of hearings over ownership liability, has since been sold. It still stands vacant.
oldies competitor WJPA. Herring continues in that role today on the "Real Dill Pickle Morning Show".
April 2008 saw Keymarket expand the number of local hosts to three with the addition of Rocky Rhoades and Doc Holiday.
Following the midday show, WPKL airs programming from ABC Radio's Greatest Mojo (formerly "Classic Hits" and "Oldies Radio") format. WPKL's programming is also rebroadcast over WASP
in Brownsville, as well as WKPL, and WBGI in Connellsville.
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
-formatted radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
at 99.3 FM. WPKL's programming is simulcast on WKPL in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
Ellwood City is a borough in Beaver and Lawrence counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Ellwood City is 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and some 8 miles south by southeast of New Castle...
at 92.1 FM. Both stations are owned by Keymarket Communications of Pittsburgh, and each has a power output of 3,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s.
Beginnings as WPQR
WPKL first signed on the air December 20, 1968 as WPQR-FM, licensed to Warman Broadcasting Inc.; founded by Edwin Warman, with Ed Olesh serving as the station's first vice president and general manager. For many of its early years, the station operated from an office building at 540 Morgantown Road in Uniontown.First Sale
The station was purchased by Pittsburgh attorney Geoffrey P. Kelly on May 21, 1987, who operated the station under the corporate name Kel Com Broadcasting, Inc. The Kel Com endeavor was a joint partnership between Kelly and Monroeville broadcaster Marlene J. Heshler, who had bought WCVI (AM) in nearby Connellsville (as Mar Com Broadcasting) two years before. For many years following the sale, WPQR maintained a separate sales office in Uniontown, with on-air operations moving to WCVI's facilities at 133 East Crawford Avenue in downtown Connellsville.Partnership Dissolved
The early 90's marked a period of financial distress over the stations, but the circumstances surrounding it are still unknown. Heshler and Kelly dissolved their partnership in 1991, but Heshler stayed on as General Manager for both stations for a couple of years afterward, with Kelly taking control of both WCVI and WPQR. Heshler left the stations for good by 1994. At around the time of the dissolution, legal action had been taken against both stations by ASCAP/BMI over alleged unpaid music licensing fees.Bankruptcy and Second Sale to Present Owner
WPQR would carry an adult contemporary format until 1999, when the station suddenly went darkDark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
, the transmitter had broken down and no money was available to fix it. To complicate matters even further, when the money became available, engineers were not permitted on the property where the transmitter and tower were located to make repairs because Kel Com had lapsed on its rental payments for the leased site. Complicating matters further than that, the property was owned by Fayette County
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....
court judge Gerald Solomon. It also became known that Kel Com/Mar Com had also owed its employees back wages, including its General Manager, who had assumed Heshler's former duties.
Both stations were totally automated by this time, using the services of Jones Radio Network's AC format for WPQR, and Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life is a satellite-delivered radio network featuring the Adult Standards music format. Created by record executive and jingle writer Al Ham, and now under the direction of Marc Angell, Music of Your Life has more than 50 AM, FM and HD-2 radio station affiliates, and has been in...
for WCVI, offering little in the way of full-service programming elements, as much of the airstaff had left the station after not being paid.
Nevertheless, some of the station's employees, who were still owed the back wages, continued to work for free in a loyal, dedicated effort to keep both stations afloat through WCVI, which still remained on the air, even working in inhumane conditions, such as the heat being turned off in the building, due to a lapse in utility bill payments. Both stations were forced to move to a ground floor office at 131 East Crawford Avenue in the same building, as the second and third floor offices at 133 East Crawford were deemed unsafe by the state Health Department, due largely to a tree growing out of the back of the building that was compromising its structural integrity.
WPQR was also issued an FCC monetary forfeiture of $20,000 in March 2000 for tower marking and registration violations, as well as failing to install new EAS
Emergency Alert System
The Emergency Alert System is a national warning system in the United States put into place on January 1, 1997, when it superseded the Emergency Broadcast System , which itself had superseded the CONELRAD System...
equipment, which replaced the former EBS
Emergency Broadcast System
The Emergency Broadcast System was an emergency warning system in the United States, used from 1963 to 1997, when it was replaced by the Emergency Alert System.-Purpose:...
system. The licenses for both WCVI and WPQR were turned over to bankruptcy receiver Robert H. Slone of Greensburg
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
in August of that same year.
Both stations were finally sold in a bankruptcy bid sale in November 2000 for $475,000, according to this article that appeared in the November 15th issue of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
("Georgia buyer takes over radio airwaves") by Jason Togyer:
After the Sale
Keymarket took WCVI off the air and immediately began work to overhaul the transmitter sites of both it and WPQR, restoring both to the air in August 2001. Keymarket successfully applied for the new call letters WPKL, to represent its new format flip to oldies, via ABC's Oldies Radio, as "The Pickle". WCVI returned under the new call letters WPNT (WPNT later changed to WYJK), and simulcasts WPKL. No real information on why "The Pickle" was chosen as their name (it's believed that the name was an homage to Pittsburgh's Heinz foods, which also produces pickles), but it is one-of-a-kind. WPKL simulcasts on co-owned WKPL-FM 92.1 in Ellwood City, PennsylvaniaEllwood City, Pennsylvania
Ellwood City is a borough in Beaver and Lawrence counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Ellwood City is 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and some 8 miles south by southeast of New Castle...
.
Upon the sale, WPKL and WYJK moved its operations out of the Crawford Avenue building to the building housing its sister stations along Route 88 in California, PA, just north of Brownsville
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...
. About five years later, those stations moved from that location to another complex at the junction of I-79 and I-279 in Greentree. The Crawford Avenue building today, after years of hearings over ownership liability, has since been sold. It still stands vacant.
WPKL Today
In August 2001, Keymarket hired Robert "Fish" Herring as their new morning DJ. Herring previously worked at Washington CountyWashington County, Pennsylvania
-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 152,534 registered voters in Washington County .* Democratic: 89,027 * Republican: 49,025 * Other Parties: 14,482...
oldies competitor WJPA. Herring continues in that role today on the "Real Dill Pickle Morning Show".
April 2008 saw Keymarket expand the number of local hosts to three with the addition of Rocky Rhoades and Doc Holiday.
Following the midday show, WPKL airs programming from ABC Radio's Greatest Mojo (formerly "Classic Hits" and "Oldies Radio") format. WPKL's programming is also rebroadcast over WASP
WASP (AM)
WASP is a radio station licensed to Brownsville, Pennsylvania, USA. It serves the Pittsburgh area. The station is currently owned by Keymarket Licenses, LLC.-History:...
in Brownsville, as well as WKPL, and WBGI in Connellsville.
Sources
- Daily Courier: WCVI Building Owner to Pay
- Daily Courier: WCVI Building Owner Fined
- Tribune Review: Former radio building owner fined after violating city's building codes
- Daily Courier: Time running out for owner of WCVI building
- Daily Courier: WCVI building brought up to code
- 1967 Broadcasting Yearbook
- 1971 Broadcasting Yearbook
- 1975 Broadcasting Yearbook
- 1981 Broadcasting Yearbook
- 1983 Broadcasting Yearbook
- 1987 Broadcasting Yearbook
- 1988 Broadcasting Yearbook