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Note #8160 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

04128
March 9, 2004

Religious radio station begins broadcasting in Dodge City

'Voice of the Presbyterian Church' heard all over town

by Charlene Scott
Dodge City Daily Globe
Reprinted with permission

Dodge City, KS - KVPC Radio - the "Voice of the Presbyterian Church" - began
test broadcasting on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25. The station will broadcast at
100.5 FM for 24 hours a day, seven days a week in Dodge City.

	The new station, only the second to be sponsored by a denomination in
Dodge City, will operate out of First Presbyterian Church, whose pastor
promises the station "will provide a wide variety of religious music from
contemporary to classical."

	"Our primary motivation for starting the station is to be able to
broadcast our Sunday services to members who are homebound and unable to
attend church," explained the Rev. David Clipson, pastor of First
Presbyterian Church.

	"But one of the other things the station will provide is a way to
reach the community and to tell about programs at the church such as
Friendship Feast (a Monday through Friday hot lunch served to all who are
hungry)."

	The local Presbyterian Church applied to the Federal Communication
Commission three years ago for a radio construction permit, and staff members
were surprised when they were notified recently that a license finally had
been granted.

	"The FCC gave non-profits a one-month window three years ago to apply
for an LP, low powered, FM license, but we went three years and had not heard
from them," Clipson explained. "The Catholic diocese went on the air eight
months ago."

	KODC (Catholics of Dodge City), which was started by Father Ted
Skalsky, is broadcast at 102.1 FM from Sacred Heart Cathedral on Central
Avenue across the street from the diocesan chancery.

	The Catholic station utilizes a satellite feed from EWTN Radio. The
weekday schedule includes a daily Mass, recitation of the Rosary and various
religious programs.

	"When the FCC offered the window of opportunity to non-profits, there
was a lot of controversy about new stations cluttering the airways and taking
away audiences from other stations," Clipson said.

	"But we aren't going to be in competition with other Christian
stations that broadcast in western Kansas. We have no interest in competing
with commercial stations.

	"We will offer a different format," he added. "Other stations have
100,000 watts, covering several states, while we have 35 watts. Our audience
will be limited to the Dodge City listening area."

	The new station will use the Tune Tracker automated radio
broadcasting system and will offer the Sunday worship services and recorded
music 24 hours per day for the first two months of operation.

	"I can run the system from my home or from here in my office,"
explained Clipson, past president of the Dodge City Ministerial Alliance.
"The way the system is set up, it can go for years, interrupting only for the
emergency system.

	"We have several DJs in the congregation and a leadership team of
eight people who will determine our policies and help with the programming.
We are studying and exploring the possibilities of how the station can be
utilized."

	The radio station's listening area may extend a few miles beyond the
Dodge City confines, but Clipson isn't sure of that.

	"People may be able to pick it up eight to 10 miles from Dodge --
maybe in Wright," he speculated. "We won't know how far we can reach until we
start transmitting.

	"We will have pre-recorded human voices, and someday maybe a live
call-in show for music," Clipson said. "Eventually we also may get a news
feed and talk shows, and be able to make available Bible studies, but it will
take time to develop these things."

	The new radio station's antenna will be located atop the church's
bell tower, which seems fitting. The bell was given to First Presbyterian in
1880 by the New York home church of First Presbyterian's first pastor, Rev.
Ormond Wright, the young missionary who spearheaded the erection of Dodge
City's first church in 1878.

	"We are excited about our new station," Clipson said. "We are just
babies now, so we'll have to wait and see how things progress in the future."

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