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

                                 )
                                 )
In the Matter of                 )       File Number: EB-05-BF-152
                                 )
Corry Communications Corporation )      NAL/Acct. No: 200632280001
AM Station WWCB                  )
Corry, Pennsylvania              )                  FRN 0011360369 


             NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                              Released:  December 
                                                         21, 2005

By the Resident Agent, Buffalo Office, Northeast Region, 
Enforcement Bureau:

I.   INTRODUCTION

      1.  In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture 
 ("NAL"), we that find Corry Communications Corporation, 
 licensee of Station WWCB in Corry, Pennsylvania, has apparently 
 willfully and repeatedly violated Section 11.35(a) of the 
 Commission's Rules (``the Rules'')1 by failing to maintain 
 operational Emergency Alert System (``EAS'') equipment.  We 
 conclude, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act 
 of 1934, as amended, (``the Act)''2 that Corry Communications 
 Corporation is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount 
 of eight thousand dollars ($8,000).


II.  BACKGROUND

      2.  On May 3, 2005, an agent from the Buffalo Office 
 conducted an inspection at the main studio of WWCB in Corry, 
 Pennsylvania.  Although EAS equipment was installed, the agent 
 found that it was not operational at the time of the 
 inspection.  The agent found that the equipment was not set to 
 monitor any stations and the printer was not attached to the 
 unit.  During the inspection, the operator on duty stated to 
 the agent that he had worked at the station for approximately 
 six months, but had never heard an EAS test received.  He also 
 stated that he had never conducted an EAS test and that he was 
 not aware of the procedure for conducting such a test.  The 
 station did not have a copy of the EAS handbook and the 
 operator stated that he was not aware that he was required to 
 keep a copy of the EAS handbook and he did not know how to 
 obtain a copy of the handbook.

      3.  During the May 3, 2005 inspection, the agent conducted 
 a review of the EAS logs and found that, during the period July 
 1, 2004, to December 31, 2004, no required monthly tests 
 (``RMTs'') or required weekly tests (``RWTs'') were received or 
 transmitted.  No logs were available for the period January 1, 
 2005 to May 3, 2005, the date of the inspection.  No log 
 entries existed in any station log identifying the cause of any 
 equipment failures or any actions taken to remedy any equipment 
 failures.

      4.  Later that day, the agent spoke with WWCB's chief 
 operator by telephone.  The chief operator stated that the 
 equipment had not been working for quite some time and that he 
 had notified station management in the beginning of April, 
 2005.  On May 13, 2005, the chief operator sent an e-mail 
 message to the agent confirming the information he had provided 
 orally during their telephone conversation on May 3, 2005.  He 
 also reported that new EAS equipment had been purchased and 
 that he had installed the equipment the previous week.  He 
 indicated that he had trained the operator on duty, transmitted 
 several tests, and placed the equipment in automatic mode.

III.      DISCUSSION

      5.  Section 503(b) of the Act provides that any person who 
 willfully or repeatedly fails to comply substantially with the 
 terms and conditions of any license, or willfully or repeatedly 
 fails to comply with any of the provisions of the Act or of any 
 rule, regulation or order issued by the Commission thereunder, 
 shall be liable for a forfeiture penalty.  The term "willful" 
 as used in Section 503(b) of the Act has been interpreted to 
 mean simply that the acts or omissions are committed 
 knowingly.3  The term ``repeated'' means the commission or 
 omission of such act more than once or for more than one day.4 

      6.  The Rules provide that every AM and FM broadcast 
 station is part of the nationwide EAS network and is 
 categorized as a participating national EAS source unless the 
 station affirmatively requests authority to not participate.5  
 The EAS provides the President and state and local governments 
 with the capability to provide immediate and emergency 
 communications and information to the general public.6  State 
 and local area plans identify local primary sources responsible 
 for coordinating carriage of common emergency messages from 
 sources such as the National Weather Service or local emergency 
 management officials.7  Required monthly and weekly tests 
 originate from EAS Local or State Primary sources and must be 
 retransmitted by the participating station.

      7.  Section 11.35(a) of the Rules requires all broadcast 
 stations to ensure that EAS encoders, EAS decoders and 
 attention signal generating and receiving equipment is 
 installed and operational so that the monitoring and 
 transmitting functions are available during the times the 
 station is in operation.  Broadcast stations must also 
 determine the cause of any failure to receive required monthly 
 and weekly EAS tests, and must indicate in the station's log 
 why any required tests were not received and when defective 
 equipment is removed and restored to service.

      8.  Section 11.61(a)(1) and 11.61(a)(2) of the Rules 
 requires broadcast stations to receive monthly EAS tests from 
 designated local primary EAS sources and retransmit the monthly 
 test within 60 minutes of its receipt and to conduct tests of 
 the EAS header and EOM codes at least once a week at random 
 days and times.8  The requirement that stations monitor, 
 receive and retransmit the required EAS tests ensures the 
 operational integrity of the EAS system in the event of an 
 actual disaster.  Section 11.61(b) of the Rules requires that 
 entries of each test and activation of the EAS must be made in 
 the broadcast station log as specified in Sections 73.1820 and 
 73.1840 of the Rules.9

      9.  On May 3, 2005, an agent conducted an inspection at 
 WWCB's main studio and found that the EAS equipment was 
 installed, but not functioning.  During the inspection, the 
 operator on duty stated to the agent that he had been working 
 at the station for six months and had never heard an EAS test 
 received.  He further stated that he had never transmitted an 
 EAS test and that he was not aware of the procedure for doing 
 so.  A comprehensive review of the EAS logs for the period July 
 1, 2004, to December 31, 2004, revealed that WWCB had not 
 received or transmitted any RWTs or RMTs during that period.  
 There were no appropriate entries made in the EAS logs to 
 indicate reasons why any tests were not received or 
 transmitted.  There were no logs available for the period 
 January 1, 2005 to May 3, 2005.  During subsequent oral and 
 written communications with WWCB's chief operator, the chief 
 operator confirmed that WWCB's EAS equipment had not been 
 working for some period of time and that he had notified 
 station management in April, 2005.   

      10.                       Based on the evidence before us, 
 we find that Corry Communications Corporation apparently 
 willfully and repeatedly violated Section 11.35 of the Rules by 
 failing to ensure the operational readiness of the EAS 
 equipment at WWCB.

      11.      In The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement 
 and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the 
 Forfeiture Guidelines ("Forfeiture Policy Statement"),10 and 
 Section 1.80 of the Rules,11 the base forfeiture amount is set 
 at eight thousand dollars ($8,000) for failure to maintain 
 operational EAS equipment.  In assessing the monetary 
 forfeiture amount, we must also take into account the statutory 
 factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Act,12 which 
 include the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the 
 violations, and with respect to the violator, the degree of 
 culpability, and history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and 
 other such matters as justice may require.  Applying the 
 Forfeiture Policy Statement, Section 1.80, and the statutory 
 factors to the instant case, we conclude that Corry 
 Communications Corporation is apparently liable for a 
 forfeiture in the amount of $8,000.
  
IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

      12.      Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to 
 Sections 4(i), 4(j), and 503(b) of the Communications Act of 
 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the 
 Commission's Rules,13 Corry Communications Corporation is 
 hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in 
 the amount of eight thousand dollars ($8,000) for willful and 
 repeated violation of Section 11.35 of the Rules.

      13.      IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 
 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, within thirty (30) days of the 
 release date of this Notice of Apparent Liability for 
 Forfeiture, Corry Communications Corporation SHALL PAY the full 
 amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written 
 statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed 
 forfeiture.

      14.      Payment of the forfeiture must be made by check or 
 similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal 
 Communications Commission.  The payment must include the 
 NAL/Acct. No. and FRN No. referenced above.  Payment by check 
 or money order may be mailed to Federal Communications 
 Commission, P.O. Box 358340, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-8340.  
 Payment by overnight mail may be sent to Mellon 
 Bank /LB 358340, 500 Ross Street, Room 1540670, Pittsburgh, PA 
 15251.   Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA 
 Number 043000261, receiving bank Mellon Bank, and account 
 number 911-6106.

      15.      The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal 
 Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Northeast 
 Region, Buffalo Office, 6400 Sheridan Drive, Suite 140, Box #6, 
 Williamsville, New York, 14221, within thirty (30) days from 
 the release date of this Notice of Apparent Liability for 
 Forfeiture and must include the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the 
 caption.  

      16.      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.  

      17.      Requests for payment of the full amount of this 
 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture under an 
 installment plan should be sent to: Associate Managing Director 
 - Financial Operations, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1A625, 
 Washington, D.C. 20554.14 

      18.      IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Notice 
 of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture shall be sent by Certified 
 Mail, Return Receipt Requested, and regular mail, to Corry 
 Communications Corporation at its address of record.

                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION




                              David A. Viglione
                              Resident Agent 
                              Buffalo Office
                              Northeast Region
                              Enforcement Bureau


_________________________

147 C.F.R. § 11.35(a).
2 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
3Section 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 or any rule or regulation of the Commission authorized 
by this Act...."  See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC 
Rcd 4387 (1991).
4Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2), which also 
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed under 
Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that "[t]he 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.'' 
547 C.F.R. §§ 11.11 and 11.41.
647 C.F.R. §§ 11.1 and 11.21.
747 C.F.R. § 11.18.  State EAS plans contain guidelines that must 
be followed by broadcast and cable personnel, emergency officials 
and National Weather  Service personnel to  activate the EAS  for 
state and local  emergency alerts.  The  state plans include  the 
EAS header codes and  messages to be  transmitted by the  primary 
state, local and relay EAS sources.
847 C.F.R. §§ 11.61(a)(1) and (a)(2).
947 C.F.R. §§ 11.61(b), 73.1820, 73.1840.
1012 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999).

1147 C.F.R. § 1.80.
12 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
13 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311.
14 C.F.R. § 1.1914.