Fine Upheld in Tower Fence Case

Butterfield Broadcasting must pay a $7,000 fine for “willful and repeated violation” of FCC rules about proper fencing of an AM tower.
The company is former licensee of KULE in Ephrata, Wash. It had appealed the fine, arguing, among other things, that the FCC’s facts were wrong and that the fence was effective.
The gate at the perimeter of the series-fed tower site was broken and open, and a 12- to 18-inch gap existed under parts of the fence around the tower base, the FCC said. The commission said the tower base fence also was still not repaired effectively several weeks later.