<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the late spring of 2025, we ordered the last pieces of our puzzle.\u00a0 The \u2018puzzle\u2019 was our four year quest to obtain a new frequency (91.5 FM) for WOAS-FM and the equipment we would need to go forward.\u00a0 Losing the old frequency had been quite a shocking surprise back in 2021. In the end, however, we were blessed to have so many supporters from all over the country pitch in and donate the $19,000 we needed to update the station\u2019s electronics.\u00a0 The last pieces, the four tower bays tuned to the new frequency, chewed up the last $7,000 we had left from our 2023 fundraising campaign.\u00a0 In June of 2025, when engineer Al Harrison returned from a trip to Iceland, we were all set to get them mounted on our tower adjacent to the Ontonagon Area Schools gym.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The first step in the process was to remove the bush that had grown up inside the cyclone fence enclosure surrounding the base of this 100 foot tower.\u00a0 Al looked down and said, \u201cOh no, we have a problem.\u201d\u00a0 The base of the tower\u2019s three legs had several splits in them.\u00a0 It was obvious that water had infiltrated these steel tubes and the freeze-thaw cycle from many winters was the culprit.\u00a0 The tower has stood on this location since 1978 and was \u2018pre-owned\u2019 by the County Road Commission before that.\u00a0 Jim, Al, and I looked down at the problematic tower base and waited for the air to completely drain from the balloon of enthusiasm that we had a few minutes earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There were things to consider and many options to talk about.\u00a0 The questions came fast and furious:\u00a0 \u201cCan it be fixed?\u00a0 If so, how?\u00a0 Does this mean we might be tower shopping?\u00a0 Are we now in for another round of fundraising?\u201d\u00a0 None of us had the expertise to evaluate the structure\u2019s condition so the first step was to find a tower consultant.\u00a0 Range Communications came up as the closest company that deals in such things so we made preliminary contact.\u00a0 With their tower expert on a fishing expedition, a message came back that he would give us a call when he got back to the office the next Monday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Al had recently worked to take down a tower at a hospital in the area which sparked an idea.\u00a0 Our local hospital had shut down all ER and in-patient services in 2023.\u00a0 The building remains and is used as a clinic.\u00a0 We wondered out loud if they might be interested in donating the radio tower they had used for their ER and emergency flight services to WOAS.\u00a0 The idea seemed too good to be true so we decided to wait and see what the Range tower guy would have to say the next week.\u00a0 Al and Jim went to lunch and were still pondering if it might be possible to find a used tower.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A couple of hours later, my phone jangled.\u00a0 It was Jim, \u201cHey, I think I may have found a tower.\u201d\u00a0 Jim had stopped at a local contractor to inquire about a crane if and when we would need it to put up a new tower.\u00a0 There he found the old hospital tower in 20 foot sections sitting on a trailer.\u00a0 It became a possible option, but the lowest section had been damaged when it was still standing at the former hospital.\u00a0 We still needed to get a consultation by a tower expert.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Matt from Range Communications in Marquette called me back.\u00a0 I filled him in about the age of the tower, why we were changing the elements, and (obviously) our reluctance to make the change without a professional assessment of the damage to the lower legs.\u00a0 Had this been a video call, I don\u2019t think I would have even seen him blink.\u00a0 Matt knew all my questions before I asked them and indicated that he wouldn\u2019t give me any false hope without seeing the tower up close and personal.\u00a0 He also said, \u201cIf it is the make that I think it is, that manufacturer has not changed their tower design in thirty years.\u00a0 There may be options to repair the damage, but don\u2019t get your hopes up.\u00a0 Towers do have a finite life span.\u201d\u00a0 When he found out we were school affiliated, he gave us a very reasonable price for his trip here to evaluate the problem.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We could not have found a better tower professional to seek an opinion from.\u00a0 During his visit, we learned that Range is a multi-generational company.\u00a0 He wondered out loud if his father or grandfather had done any work on either of the towers he looked at.\u00a0 Matt himself had changed the signal lamps on the old hospital tower when it was still operational.\u00a0 His trained eye took one look at the base of our old tower and he deemed it DOA – too much damage and too old to fix.\u00a0 We turned our attention to the dismantled hospital tower being stored at the contractor\u2019s bone yard.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Matt was a little surprised there was no identification stamp on the base of the used tower.\u00a0 Just by eyeballing the type of welds and construction used on the braces and mounting plates, he was pretty sure it was a Rohn tower manufactured in Illinois.\u00a0 Matt and Jim looked through the Rohn catalog he had with him and took measurements he could reference later.\u00a0 The damage to the bottom 20 foot section was visible but not extensive.\u00a0 When he left for Marquette, Matt said he would get a hold of the company and track down the information we would need.\u00a0 Matt\u2019s\u00a0 professional opinion was that the upper four sections were sound and suggested we inquire about getting a new base section to replace the damaged one.\u00a0 It was also possible that the Center of Radiation (COR) that the FCC wants us to maintain can be obtained without using the damaged bottom segment.\u00a0 The all steel construction (as opposed to the tubular steel of the failing tower) would be viable for a long time – it could outlive all of us and maybe even the school building.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The path forward began to clear up.\u00a0 There would be multiple steps we would have to integrate into a coherent plan.\u00a0 The first step – get together with the Ontonagon Area Schools Board of Education Operations Committee.\u00a0 The discussion we had with the OC was wide ranging and of course one of the first topics discussed what funding options might be available.\u00a0 Budgets are always in limbo until the State clarifies next year\u2019s budget.\u00a0 The only thing we knew for sure is that the district\u2019s sinking fund account can not be used for the tower.\u00a0 With the All-School Reunion right around the corner, we were given the green light to start a fundraising campaign with the understanding that we let people know we are working on the plan forward and raising money at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We discussed the future of radio in general and Jim and I provided a brief history of the station\u2019s origins and where we are headed in the future.\u00a0 It is true that young people are getting more of their entertainment from the internet, but much of WOAS FM\u2019s local audience still tunes in on the radio.\u00a0 Online audio and video has been a nice addition to the station\u2019s lineup, but the future of over the air broadcasting is still bright.\u00a0 Having spent the better part of $15,000 (raised in 2023) on new equipment to broadcast over the air, we weren\u2019t going to let a little thing like needing to replace our tower hold us back.\u00a0 Indeed, putting up a new tower will NOT be a simple operation, but we are not going to shy away from learning a few more skills in our \u2018how to manage a radio station\u2019 handbook.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By the end of July, we had both the preliminary research and fundraising underway.\u00a0 It just so happened that the kick off for the fundraising took place the same week as the Ontonagon All-School Reunion.\u00a0 On Friday, July 25, 2025, we held an open house at the station during the reunion registration period.\u00a0 With the last available 88.5 hats and shirts on display, it only took about thirty minutes before the first friendly face popped around the corner.\u00a0 Kevin Countryman and his wife stopped by and were our first visitors.\u00a0 Kevin\u2019s first comment was, \u201cIt seems like yesterday that I was sitting in that chair,\u201d he said as he pointed to the DJ\u2019s seat in the studio.\u00a0 As we had nowhere else to store the cable reel, connectors, and tower bays until the new tower issue is resolved, these items are taking up a good share of the floor space in the studio.\u00a0 When I apologized for the disarray, Kevin laughed and said, \u201cIt looks just like I remember it.\u201d\u00a0 Kevin and his better half left with some station swag and door prizes and had they been the only visitors, I would have called the day a success.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The next visitors in the door were Jon and Jackie Schneck.\u00a0 Both were former students and Jackie and I had been teaching colleagues before she relocated to downstate Owosso.\u00a0 Like Kevin, Jon was a member of my first seventh grade class (who graduated in 1981) and both were involved in building WOAS-FM under Tom Lee\u2019s guidance.\u00a0 Hearing first hand stories of the raising of the original tower from volunteers who were manning the ropes was of great interest to me.\u00a0 I was still teaching down the road at the \u2018old school\u2019 when WOAS was first being assembled.\u00a0 Jackie gets special mention because she made the first donation to the new tower fund and for that she gets a star by her name on our list of donors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The last visitors before we closed up shop were Brady Guilbault and his significant other.\u00a0 Brady pioneered the concept of \u2018team radio\u2019 with a program he called \u2018<\/span>Let\u2019s Be Serious<\/span><\/i>\u2019 along with his posse of radio buddies.\u00a0 Brady is the latest in our line of former DJs who worked in the industry both in Marquette and Ontonagon.\u00a0 He was a fixture here for a number of years after Jan Tucker retired from WUPY and her show morphed into <\/span>The Superior 906<\/span><\/i> show.\u00a0 Even though a job opportunity in Lansing took Brady off the air a few years ago, he was excited to report he will be doing broadcasts of Ithaca, Michigan Yellowjacket football games on radio come fall.\u00a0 Brady left with the last two old school 88.5 promo hats and shirts.\u00a0 With the end of the open house, we began the waiting game to await the response to our new fundraising efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The beginning of August came in with a one-two punch of good and bad news.\u00a0 Contact from former students Jamie Gollakner and Mark Pantti in Marquette gave the project a new twist.\u00a0 Jaimie offered to rally some of his resources to help us raise funds.\u00a0 Mark, as it turned out, has works with Matt the tower expert at Range Communications.\u00a0 Together they found a 100 foot tower that they plan to donate to WOAS.\u00a0 They promised to get back to me in a few days and when I called Jim to give him the good news, the bad news took me back a few steps.\u00a0 Jim had suffered a stroke and was on the way to Marquette.\u00a0 When he called me the next day, he said he would probably be in the hospital there for about a week.\u00a0 Obviously this turn of events trumped the good news and I let him know we stood ready to do anything on this end to aid him in his recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In order of progression, the next step was a second session with the board\u2019s Operations Committee.\u00a0 The groundwork having been laid, the project would not be able to move forward without the full board\u2019s consent.\u00a0 Prior to the regular August 18, 2025 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Lisa Johnson and I met with Mark Pantti to look over siting options.\u00a0 The tower Range Communications is donating would be 100 feet tall and require a triangular footprint for the supporting guy wires to be planted 60 feet out from the tower.\u00a0 A new concrete foundation roughly 4 feet by 4 feet by 7 feet would have to be poured and they have pre-made cement anchors for the guys.\u00a0 With final approval to move forward from the Board granted, the project pieces began to fall into place.\u00a0 As soon as a final plan and costs are assembled, the Board will make the final decision about moving the project from planning to building at their September meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By the time the full Board met, our fundraising had already brought in $2,000\u00a0 toward the new tower project.\u00a0 Approval of a building permit and a meeting with the Zoning Commission will follow.\u00a0 When first confronted with the tower problem on July 3, it felt like we had just hit mile 20 of a marathon and we were now facing the final six mile run that was going to be all uphill.\u00a0 Then Mark called and said, \u201cMatt and I will do everything we can to get your tower issue fixed.\u00a0 You know how much WOAS means to me.\u201d\u00a0 Suddenly, the road to the finish line looked\u00a0 much flatter and wasn\u2019t going to be so daunting after all.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n