WJLX(AM) in Jasper, Ala., which made national headlines last year after the sudden disappearance of its broadcast facilities, has resumed operations on 1240 AM.
Jonathan Timmons has taken over operations of the station as acting general manager. He spoke to Radio World about a whirlwind 22-day effort to restore the AM signal before the one-year deadline of its silent special temporary authority.
The station filed for an STA after Brett Elmore, its general manager, reported to police that the station’s 200-foot AM tower and transmitter had been stolen.
Elmore died in October at the age of 41.
Timmons had known Elmore since their time at Curry High School in Jasper. He later joined the Marine Corps but remained in touch with Elmore. “We’d talk nearly every day,” Timmons recalled.
Elmore invited Timmons to cover local sports broadcasts in 2015, which sparked his interest in broadcasting.
Now, Timmons has assumed control of the station Elmore had established in Walker County.
“I just couldn’t sit back and see his reputation take a hit,” Timmons said of Elmore. “He loved the community and everything he did was in an effort to serve it.”
Timmons has been frustrated by people criticizing Elmore on social media, especially since Elmore is no longer able to defend himself.
He doesn’t know what happened to the missing tower or transmitter. He said the transmitter site showed evidence of vandalism and was in a general state of disrepair.
“I just wish he had come to me sooner,” Timmons said regarding Elmore and the site’s problems.
Over 22 days, Timmons and his team cleared the site and set up two power poles in the swamp where WJLX’s transmitter is located.
Timmons traveled to Donalsonville, Ga., to pick up a Harris Gates One 1,000-watt transmitter.
He then took it to Michael Patton & Associates in Baton Rouge to have it tuned to 1240 AM.
On Thursday, Jan. 30, Timmons picked up the transmitter in Louisiana and installed the 500-pound unit at the site the next day.
Using a longwire antenna, he and a few colleagues connected it to the transmitter. Patton assisted in setting up an ATU. By 6 p.m. on Feb. 1, WJLX was back on the air.
Timmons said the station is operating at approximately 100 watts under a temporary setup. WJLX owns a 195-foot tower that he plans to erect as part of a more permanent AM setup.
He also credited David Snavely, the former owner of WIXI(AM) in Jasper, for his guidance and assistance.
Timmons owns an industrial maintenance business in the region. “My day-to-day is usually problem solving,” he explained, “but that’s a lot of what broadcasting is, too.”
After Elmore’s death, Timmons was in touch with his family, including Elmore’s mother, and discussed plans for the station going forward. As a result, since November, he’s assumed operations of the station after purchasing a share from its owner, James “Don” Early. Early, 83, is more of a “silent partner,” according to Timmons.
He said that every dime of advertising dollars since then has been used to acquire the transmitter and have it programmed.
Only $14,000 of the approximately $23,000, Timmons said, has been released from the GoFundMe set up by Elmore to help rebuild the station.
Timmons says his investment of time is, in part, a way to give back for the generosity Elmore showed him over the years, including his support for Timmons’ nephew after a swimming pool accident.
[Related: “Skeptics Question Disappearance of Alabama Radio Tower”]
The station’s saga caused speculation of just how an antenna tower could disappear. In Radio World’s reporting, Elmore said he had been working with the Jasper Police Department in investigating the disappearance.
Elmore had wanted to keep the station’s 101.5 FM translator on the air after the disappearance but the commission denied its request.
The FM signal ultimately returned to the air as an iHeartMedia WDXB(HD3) translator, which Timmons says has continued.
Timmons is also taking over operations of 90.1 WERH(FM) in Hamilton, which Elmore began broadcasting in July.
Now, Timmons expects to be in broadcasting for the long haul.
“It’s my way of continuing to serve the community, schools and athletics that WJLX has offered,” Timmons said.
