Sisters radio station will be on air soon

Mike Gould, radio pioneer. photo by Torri Barco

Tune your dial to FM 106.7: Sisters is going to have its own radio station, probably as soon as next fall.

Local residents will be able to tune in to hear the local basketball game hosted by a high school student, or an inside traffic report with secret tips to back roads on busy weekends.

The nonprofit station is to be completely run by volunteers. It is intended for community education and should hold the biggest variety of grass-roots programs on the radio, said Mike Gould, who worked with the school district to apply for the station.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the Sisters School District application in early October; the school district will obtain final approval on November 3, Gould said. At that time, the community will have a maximum of 18 months to get the station running a minimum of 36 hours per week.

If students and other community volunteers step up to deejay the station, it should run at low to zero cost, Gould said.

"Hopefully it will be used by a lot of people, but probably (by them) only part of the time," Gould said. "It will be program-driven rather than station-driven. (Some people) will probably turn it off when they talk about the sewage treatment plan, but when the Celtic music comes on, they might think it interesting.

"I'd be disappointed if every time you turn on the station, you hear the same thing like a regular station," Gould said. "You might have someone play Cajun music; then someone else comes on and plays hard rock; then someone reads poetry. What people should expect when they turn on this station is something locally, home grown."

The school district tapped into a four-day window of opportunity in June 2001, to apply for a noncommercial, low-power FM station, which will cover the approximate 3.5-mile radius of the school district, running from Fryrear Road to Black Butte, Gould said.

In 2001, the FCCallowed nonprofit groups in communities nationwide to apply for a low-power frequency. The opportunity came as an attempt to appease members of the radio industry who were concerned the 1996 federal telecommunications bill, which allowed radio stations to expand to own numerous stations, would push grass-roots stations out of business.

The school district was one of only two groups which applied for the frequency. The other applicant was an undisclosed private party, Gould said.

Gould, who owns a radio station in Seaside, Oregon, and a Northwest-based radio research company, said he and his wife researched various places to live and found Sisters to have the best living and strongest public school system for their two children.

Naturally, he thought that school district needs a radio station. He informed then school superintendent Steve Swisher of the potential opportunity when he moved to Sisters three years ago.

"Unless you were a radio guy, you had no reason to know about (the chance to apply for a low-power station)," Gould said. "Certainly, no one at the school district knew about it (before I told them).

"Not having a radio station would be like if a school didn't have a newspaper," he said. "I know of a lot of people who are exposed to radio in college, but if there is a chance for the school district to expose kids in high school, it would be a shame to let it slip away."

Upfront costs to get the station started are estimated at about $20,000, Gould said. Gould donated radio equipment and money to help offset some of those costs. To raise money, Gould said the radio station might offer two-hour slots to donors to have their time on the air. The station can also air 15-second underwriting messages recognizing business sponsors, Gould said.

The station's antennae, which is smaller than a TV antennae, is located on top of the middle school building. The station's location is undetermined but will likely be inside one of the schools, Gould said.

Regular programs on the station could include high-school news, city council meetings, traffic reports, Chamber of Commerce meetings, local sports games and school concerts and ceremonies.