March 22 blog

Josh's Blog

Thursday, March 22nd

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Today has been a day filled with progress. Who would have imagined that we'd have the foundation of our new building finished just four days after the fire? Not I. However, sure enough, there it is, poured and curing. We decided that the best course of action was to erect a new building on-site, in the parking lot of the current building. Of course, the new structure will be significantly smaller than the old building, as it'll only house transmission and processing equipment, with no need for studio facilities. As soon as the concrete foundation is dried, we can start laying blocks. The blocks will be filled with steel and concrete. The door will be heavy steel, with multiple criminal-proof locking mechanisms. If somebody wants to get into Fort Knox, they probably could. No structure is fool-proof. However, we sure won't make it easy for them this time.

I cannot say thank you enough to David Poore and his crew from Concrete Products in Middlesboro. David has spent literally hours walking us through the whole process of pouring a sturdy foundation. Brian built the framing for the foundation with assistance from Rick Evans, who helps out with a variety of things around the station. Joey from Concrete Products not only delivered the concrete, but stayed to help us "skreed" the concrete and loaned us his "bull float" to finish the surface. To help us to the extent those folks did is above and beyond the call of duty. We sincerely appreciate it. And folks, if you live in the tri-state area, call David when you need concrete...he knows his stuff, and takes care of his customers. www.concreteproducts.us , or 606-248-0551.

Today, we also met a few of WANO's neighbors. Sure, we consider the whole community to be "neighbors". However, I'm speaking specifically of two gentlement who live literally in the same neighborhood as the WANO transmitting facility. While we were working at the site today, neighbors Chris Hubbard and James Jones came by to introduce themselves. Chris' family has lived across the street for generations, and James is a volunteer fire fighter who helped extinguish the flames. Both young men said they were there to help, however they could. Not fifteen minutes later, the concrete truck arrived, and James and Chris dove right in and got their hands dirty. Thank you guys, we couldn't have finished nearly as quickly without you. It's great to know that our neighbors are willing to pitch in and get their hands dirty to help. What I've quickly learned is that our community is, well, a community. People help one another, and that's a whole lot more than I can say for some places I've visited. I'm pretty much the new kid in town, having lived here only a year and a half. However, this feels like home. I'm touched by the way people have opened their hearts and accepted me. You always wonder what it'll be like when you move to a new town. I'm glad I picked this one.

Another thank you for the day goes again to Mike Phelps and Bob Cauthen at SCMS. When we have an equipment problem, they solve it. They helped today with rounding up cable and connectors to connect the new transmitter to the antenna tuning unit at the base of the tower. Thank you guys.

As always, I have to thank my mother Libby. She is there for us no matter what we need, whether we need somebody to answer the phones or somebody to run pick up sodas while we work. I love you, mom.

Finally, just like yesterday, thanks to my neighbors John and Teresa. Teresa pulls more rabbits out of her hat than any magician than I've ever met. The entire staff has been working at the WANO site most of the week, and when we need something, all we have to do is call...Teresa makes it happen. Thank you. I'll be paying both of you back with Margaritas somewhere sunny this summer!

I promised I'd be in bed early tonight, but it's now 11:15 and I'm just now finishing for the day. Time to find some rest somewhere! I'll check in tomorrow. In the meantime, check out the pictures from today's work: