Sonny Bono: “H.R. 3657 would provide for the conveyance at fair market value of a small tract of Forest Service land in the San…”

“H.R. 3657 would provide for the conveyance at fair market value of a small tract of Forest Service land in the San Bernardino National Forest to a locally-owned radio station that serves mountain communities in my district. In 1988, Cliff and Katy Gill began a search for an antenna site that would allow them to obtain an FCC construction permit for a radio station to serve Idyllwild, California, a community of about 3000 residents located at 5200 feet elevation in the San Jacinto Mountains. The community is nestled in mountainous terrain and surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest and other State and local park land. The Gills discovered that the rugged terrain sharply limited the sites that could host an antenna capable of reaching the residents of Idyllwild, the neighboring mountain communities, and the highway that connects them to the valley below. Wanting to start up their station, the Gills ultimately went on the air in December 1989 from a temporary antenna on a time-share private campground. Mr. Gill named this new radio station, KATY-FM, for his wife Katy.”