The airwaves in Connellsville and the surrounding area will once again be filled with the sound of music. WCVI-AM (1340), which was acquired by Keymarket Communications LLC back in November 2000, along with WPQR-FM (99.3), and went off the air last February, is back in business. The station, along with Brownsville's WASP-AM (1130), will be simulcasting programming from a new radio station launched by Keymarket, WPKL-FM (99.3) The Pickle. Keymarket acquired both stations and five acres of land where WCVI's towers are located with a successful bid of $475,000 in bankruptcy court in November. At the time of the acquisition, many residents feared that Keymarket would reduce WCVI's power and eventually shut it down. Keymarket officials, however, claimed at the time and now that they are still interested in serving the community. 'We are delighted to provide another fun, family-oriented radio station for the local community,' said Keymarket President Gerald Getz. The Pickle will feature a format consisting of rock and roll oldies of the '50s, '60s and '70s including such artists as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Four Tops, Chicago, Elton John and Credence Clearwater Revival. WPKL will bring oldies to the Uniontown, Connellsville and surrounding areas with the assistance of the simulcasts on WCVI and WASP. According to Frank Bell, vice president of programming at Keymarket, the format was chosen primarily because it is the second most popular kind of music in Fayette County. The most popular type of music in the county is country. Keymarket, a corporate sibling to Altoona-based Forever Broadcasting, is also the parent company of Uniontown's WOGG-FM (94.9) and Charleroi's WESA-AM (940) and WOGI-FM (98.3), which simulcast the 'Froggy' country music format. The Pickle officially started broadcasting at 6 a.m. Tuesday with a local morning show, produced out of the station's Brownsville studio. The show features program director and long-time area resident Jim Harrington as its host. Harrington has worked on-air for more than 30 years in the Pittsburgh; Boston, Mass.; and New York City, N.Y., markets. News updates in the morning are anchored by Robert Wortz, who joins WPKL with seven years' experience in oldies radio. The morning show airs from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays. Although the station is currently in the process of expanding its work space in Brownsville and hiring five new employees, WPKL is still in its infancy. According to Frank Bell, vice president of programming at Keymarket, there is still a lot to be done and, at least for now, the remainder of the line-up will be fed from a live satellite service. The Pickle may seem a bit odd for the name of an Oldies station, but Bell reported that idea actually came about while searching for new call letters with an employee. Several different combinations came up, but one in particular appealed to Bell - WPKL. It looked like 'pickle.' It sounded fun and after some research, Bell found that no one he knew had ever heard of another station in the country being referred to as 'The Pickle.' It is only a coincidence that one of the most popular brands of pickles is made by the H.J. Heinz Co., headquartered in Pittsburgh, reported Bell. However, he does admit that the connection and proximity to Heinz offers some unique promotion and marketing possibilities. According to Bell, the response has been phenomenal and he has even been contacted by a station in central Pennsylvania with interest in becoming part of The Pickle. Since the station is just in the early stages of development, no concrete marketing plans have been formulated as of yet, but Bell invites residents to give the new station a chance. 'You'll be hearing a lot about The Pickle,' said Bell. Keymarket owns and operates 12 radio stations throughout western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.

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