Old tower to get new life at radio station

ROCKFORD - An aging radio tower in southern Mercer County will be moved north to help a grassroots radio station get on the air.

The 100-foot emergency radio tower near the Southwest Mercer Fire Department in Fort Recovery will be moved in coming weeks to the village of Rockford so its radio station - WRDK, 101.3 FM - can hit the airwaves.

"We're lucky Fort Recovery wanted to get rid of this tower," said Brian Stetler, operations manager for the radio station. "This worked out great."

The tower was bought used when the county obtained it in the late 1990s from a utility company in Indiana. It was erected in Fort Recovery - a dead spot for radio communications - to enhance the local VHF emergency radio dispatch system, according to 911 coordinator Monte Diegel.

"It worked to a certain degree but not always," county commissioner Jerry Laffin said.

An antenna on the tower currently used by the fire department will be moved to the larger Multi-Agency Radio Communications System tower a few yards to the north, Diegel explained. MARCS - which connects emergency responders statewide - is replacing VHF systems across Ohio.

Diegel initiated the tower's change of venue.

"The whole idea just makes sense," he said.

Mercer County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved donating the older tower to the village. The Ohio Revised Code allows government entities to donate items to one another.

Obtaining the donated tower likely will save thousands of dollars, Stetler and radio station general manager Jim Crocker said. The station is a non-commercial entity that relies on volunteers and donations - not taxpayer dollars - for operational costs, they said.

"Everything we've done so far was paid with donations," Stetler said.

It will cost $1,000-$1,500 to hire Hirschfeld Crane Service of Neptune to erect the tower, the men said, adding owner Brian Hirschfeld agreed to do the work at cost. Donating labor to the project are Rob and Jordan Belna of Belna Petroleum and painter Brian Sutton, all of Rockford, Stetler said.

"We have a transmitter ordered and an emergency alert system, which are required according to FCC regulations," Stetler said. "Then we're basically on the air."

Ten days after the radio station goes live, Crocker will notify the FCC so the village can be granted an official license, he said.

WRKD currently is streaming online at www.1013rkd.com. The station plays music from the 1970s through today. It also airs Parkway schools sporting events and provides area residents with news and notifications.