“We will rebuild.”
So states the Gatlinburg Church of Christ in Tennessee, and the sentiment applies to its low-power FM station as well.
WJFS(LP) “The Way 101.1” has applied for a construction permit for a new tower location. “This has been necessitated by the total loss of the station facility in the recent forest fires in the Gatlinburg, Tenn., area,” wrote consulting engineer Jim “Turbo” Turvaville in the FCC filing. The station is silent, he told the commission, because its building and tower “are now only ashes on the ground.”
He said the requested location will provide a permanent home for the operation. The church asked for expedited processing of its minor change application; the FCC approved it the next day. See coverage map below.
Turvaville noted that the requested move exceeds the permitted minor mod limits of 5.6 km and asked for a waiver given that “the change of tower location is one of hardship following a natural disaster, and the use of the proposed tower location is being donated to the licensee and is on the property of a member of the board of directors of the licensee, in order to expedite the resumption of operations of the station.”
