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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554


In the Matter of                        )
                              )
WPGS, Inc.                         )    File No. EB-02-TP-242
Owner of Antenna Structure Registration )    NAL/Acct.       No.: 
200232700018
Number 1055007 in Mims, Florida         )    FRN: 0003-7757-23           
Titusville, Florida                )
                                
           NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                         Released:  July 17, 2002

By the Enforcement Bureau, Tampa Office:

                        I.   Introduction

     1.  In  this Notice  of  Apparent Liability  for  Forfeiture 
(``NAL''), we find  that WPGS, Inc.,  owner of antenna  structure 
registration number  1055007  in  Mims,  Florida,  willfully  and 
repeatedly violated  Section  17.51  of  the  Commission's  Rules 
(``Rules'')1 by failing  to exhibit tower  lights from sunset  to 
sunrise.  We conclude that WPGS, Inc. is apparently liable for  a 
forfeiture in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

                      II.       Background

     2.    On April 23, 2002, agents from the Commission's  Tampa 
Field Office (``Tampa Office'') investigated a report of a  tower 
light outage in Mims, Florida.  The agents observed that  antenna 
structure 1055007, owned  by WGPS, Inc.,  located at 4220  Golden 
Shores Blvd.  in  Mims,  Florida, was  not  illuminated  per  its 
assigned painting and  lighting specifications.   The top  beacon 
was extinguished on  the antenna structure  between local  sunset 
and sunrise.

     3.  On  April 25,  2002, agents  from the  Tampa Office  re-
inspected antenna structure, 1055007, in Mims, Florida.  The  top 
beacon  was  still   extinguished  at  that   time.  The   agents 
interviewed the Chief Operator of AM broadcast station WPGS2  who 
stated that he was aware of the light outage a ``couple of days'' 
before, but he  did not  log the outage  nor did  he contact  the 
FAA.3

     4.   On May  13, 2002,  the Tampa Office  received a  letter 
from the  owner  of  the  property at  4220  Golden  Shore  Blvd. 
advising that the  top beacon  had been  extinguished on  antenna 
structure 1055007 for over two months.  The property owner stated 
that he had contacted the station engineer for radio station WPGS 
the day after he noticed the outage.

                           III. Discussion

     5.   Section 17.51 of the  Rules requires tower lighting  be 
exhibited from sunset to sunrise.   WPGS, Inc. failed to  exhibit 
the required lights on the WPGS  tower from at least April 23  to 
April 25, 2002.  

     6.   Based on the  evidence before  us, we  find that  WPGS, 
Inc. repeatedly4  and willfully5  violated Section  17.51 of  the 
Rules by failing to exhibit required obstruction lighting on  its 
antenna structure between sunset and sunrise.

     7.   Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4)  of the Rules, the  base 
forfeiture amount  for  the violation  cited  in this  Notice  is 
$10,000.6  Section  503(b)(2)(D)  of the  Communications  Act  of 
1934, as  amended (``Act''),  requires us  to take  into  account 
``...the  nature,  circumstances,  extent  and  gravity  of   the 
violation, and  with  respect  to the  violator,  the  degree  of 
culpability, any history of prior  offenses, ability to pay,  and 
such other matters  as justice may  require.''7  Considering  the 
entire record and  applying the statutory  factors listed  above, 
this case warrants a $10,000 forfeiture.

                      IV.  Ordering Clauses

     8.   Accordingly, IT  IS ORDERED THAT,  pursuant to  Section 
503(b) of the  Act8 and  Sections 0.111,  0.311 and  1.80 of  the 
Rules,9 WPGS, Inc. is hereby  NOTIFIED of its APPARENT  LIABILITY 
FOR A  FORFEITURE  in  the  amount of  $10,000  for  willful  and 
repeated violation of Section 17.51 of the Commission's Rules.

     9.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80  of 
the Commission's Rules, within thirty days of the release of this 
NAL, WPGS,  Inc.  SHALL  PAY  the full  amount  of  the  proposed 
forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or 
cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.

     10.   Payment of the forfeiture may  be made by a check,  or 
similar  instrument,  payable  to   the  order  of  the   Federal 
Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture Collection  Section, 
Finance  Branch,  Federal  Communications  Commission,  P.O.  Box 
73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482.   The payment must note  the 
FRN and NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the letterhead above.

     11.  The  response,  if  any,  must  be  mailed  to  Federal 
Communications Commission,  Office  of the  Secretary,  445  12th 
Street, SW, Washington,  D.C.  20554,  Attn: Enforcement  Bureau-
Technical & Public Safety Division, and must include the FRN  and 
NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the letterhead above.

     12.  The Commission will not consider reducing or  canceling 
a forfeiture in response  to a claim of  inability to pay  unless 
the petitioner  submits: (1)  federal tax  returns for  the  most 
recent  three-year  period;  (2)  financial  statements  prepared 
according to generally accepted accounting practices  (``GAAP''); 
or (3)  some  other  reliable and  objective  documentation  that 
accurately reflects  the petitioner's  current financial  status.  
Any claim  of inability  to pay  must specifically  identify  the 
basis for the claim by  reference to the financial  documentation 
submitted.

     13.  Requests for  payment of  the full amount  of this  NAL 
under  an   installment  plan   should   be  sent   to:   Federal 
Communications  Commission,   Chief,  Revenue   and   Receivables 
Operations Group, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554.10

     14.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this notice shall 
be sent  by  regular  mail and  Certified  Mail,  Return  Receipt 
Requested, to WPGS,  Inc. 805  North Dixie  Ave., Titusville,  FL  
32796.

                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                              Ralph M. Barlow
                              District Director
  

 


_________________________

1 47 C.F.R. § 17.51.
2 WPGS, Inc. is licensee of radio station WPGS (AM) as well as 
owner of the antenna structure used by the radio station.
3 Antenna structure owners must notify the FAA of any observed or 
otherwise known extinguishment  of any top steady burning light 
or any flashing obstruction light not corrected within 30 
minutes, see 47 C.F.R. § 17.48(a), and must maintain a record of 
such information, see 47 C.F.R. § 17.49.
4 The term ``repeated,'' when used with reference to the 
commission or omission of any act, ``means the commission or 
omission of such act more than once or, if such commission or 
omission is continuous, for more than one day.''  47 U.S.C. § 
312(f)(2).
5 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which 
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed under 
Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that ``[t]he term `willful', 
when used with reference to the commission or omission of any 
act, means the conscious and deliberate commission or omission of 
such act, irrespective of any intent to violate any provision of 
this Act . . . .''  See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 
FCC Rcd 4387-88 (1991).
6 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
8 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
9 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, and 1.80.
10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.