A pair of FMs and a trio of FM translators that have been shut down by the FCC for failure to be constructed as licensed, or to be constructed at all, will remain shut down.
The stations were in the portfolio of Great Lakes Community Broadcasting or its subsidiaries, and included WJKQ-FM Jackson MI, WAQQ-FM Onsted MI and one translator in Fremont MI and two translators in Rogers Heights MI.
The FCC said that at no time had any of the stations operated as licensed.
That led to a candor problem when applying for license renewals. The FCC said, “In multiple instances, Great Lakes falsely claimed to have constructed NCE stations or FM translator stations in accordance with FCC construction permits, when in reality it either had failed to construct the station at all or had constructed the station at variance from the construction permit.”
In all, the FCC said it has “cancelled four NCE construction permits, two FM translator construction permits and three FM translator licenses, while repeatedly noting that the character issues presented by the false certifications and misrepresentations by Great Lakes, Dr. [James] McCluskey and consulting engineer David Schaberg would be addressed subsequently.”
A last ditch effort to retain at the very least the right to assign the stations to a new licensee has now been turned down. There was no mention of when the FCC might launch a proceeding concerning McCluskey and Schaberg, but it did remind the licensee that despite the lack of any stations, it was still responsible for making certain that any towers it controls must be kept safe for aviation purposes until they can be dismantled.
