Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The Jackson Sun News - Historical radio tower topples during tornado

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 22:15:38 -0400

http://miva.jacksonsun.com/miva/cgi-bin/miva?NEWS/news_story.mv+link=200305104974707

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Rent DVDs from home.
Over 14,500 titles. Free Shipping
& No Late Fees. Try Netflix for FREE!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/BVVfoB/hP.FAA/uetFAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 

Home

News

Sports

Jobs

Real Estate

Classifieds

Automotive

Communities

Customer
Services

7 day keyword search

Search by day

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Home

Subscriptions

Contact
Us

News

Local

Regional

National
/ Business / Stock Market

Announcements

Obituaries

Weather

Opinion
/ Columns

Dialogue
/ Poll

Sports

Local
Sports

National
Sports

NAIA

Diamond
Jaxx

Golf
Guide

Entertainment

Marketplace

Classifieds

Real
Estate

Apartments

Automotive

Jobs

Coupon
Express

Communities

CyHigh:
Teen News

Education

Recreation

Travel
Directory

Worship

Restaurant
Guide

Your
Health

Feature Editions

Digital Town Hall

Technology

Space
& Science

Search

Today's Local Headlines

47 minutes until midnight - The day the night sky fell; A special report

Mom, daughters lend a hand

Officials evacuate McMillan Towers

Victim's relatives find strength through pain

Tornado chronology

Volunteers

Red Cross

'A phoenix story'-Tornado destroys Aeneas building, but not its spirit

Hardee and Martin

Melissa Randles

Rev. Dennis McBride

Ricky Maness

Jimmy Duke on downtown

James N. Cherry

Oburla Reaves

SUNDAY VIGNETTES

Denmark Elementary

Volunteers come in all sizes

Police Chief Rick Staples

Sheriff David Woolfork

Michael Williams

Charles Doss

Jackson Middle School

Mama Lou's

Rickey Graves

Widow angered by grave shift

Historical radio tower topples during tornado

By SCOTT J. ANDERSON

[email-masked]

May 10 2003

J. Patrick believes he experienced a miracle while he was on the air at WTNV-FM 104.1 during the tornado Sunday night.

CARA EASTWOOD/The Jackson Sun - The crumpled mass of 600 feet of metal that formerly served as the broadcast tower for 104.1 FM lies in a heap in the forest near Radio Road. The historic tower toppled during Sunday night's tornado.

The station's 580-foot transmitter tower fell during the storm. The tower, which sat next to the station on top of Radio Hill, landed in the woods to the east of the station. No property was damaged, and no one was injured when it fell.
"Call it luck, or call it an act of God, but that tower didn't hurt anybody when it fell," Patrick said. "It just happened to fall in an area where there are no homes."
Patrick is program director for WTNV. He was in the building with Steve Burke, program director at sister station WYNU-FM 92.3 and another employee, Connie Cain, when the tower fell. Burke said the wind and the hail were so noisy, they did not hear the tower fall.
"In between the lightning, when I looked and didn't see it there, I was in absolute shock and denial," Burke said. "We kept trying to look for it and couldn't see where it was. It looked like it fell in a different direction until the sun came up."
WTNV was off the air until Friday afternoon. The station is sharing WMXX-FM 103.1's transmitter tower while WTNV's is being replaced. Patrick said that could take six to eight months.
"I went over there Monday morning to tell them they could use my tower," said Gerry Hunt, owner of WMXX. "I am just trying to help them get back on the air. I am not a hero or anything."
Scott Bebout, general manager of WTNV and WYNU, said he was grateful for the help.
"First, there's no words to express our appreciation to Gerry Hunt," Bebout said. "He has bent over backwards to help get 104.1 back on the air. That just shows the camaraderie that radio companies have around Jackson. Second, an icon in Jackson is gone. The pit in our stomachs when we saw that tower fell is hard to explain."
The tower had stood since 1947 and was a free-standing tower, meaning it was not supported by guy wires. "We never dreamed it could come down," Patrick said.
Clear Channel Jackson, the parent company of WTNV and WYNU, is planning several victim-relief events. Patrick said the company is focusing on what happened in the community, not to the station.
"I think what happened here is unfortunate and sad, but we are very blessed compared to those families that lost their loved ones and their homes," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers are not on our tower, but on the true victims of this storm."
-Scott J. Anderson, (731) 425-9752

Email this story to a friend:

Friend's email:

Friend's  name:

Your name:

Your email:

Comments

-

Tornado

Was there adequate warning before last Sunday's tornado?

Yes

No

View Results

View
Past Results

The Jackson Sun |
Jackson Sun News |
Jackson Sun Homes

Jackson Sun Marketplace | Jackson Sun Jobs
| Site Map

Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service.

Copyright 2003 The Jackson Sun

The Jackson Sun -
245 W. Lafayette Street, Jackson, Tennessee - 731-427-3333