*Pages 1--3 from Microsoft Word - 1607.doc* Federal Communications Commission DA 00- 1156 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D. C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Amendment of Section 73.202( b), ) MM Docket No. 99- 42 Table of Allotments, ) RM- 9467 FM Broadcast Stations. ) RM- 9618 (Whitefield and Northumberland, New ) Hampshire) 1 ) REPORT AND ORDER (Proceeding Terminated) Adopted: May 17, 2000 Released: May 26, 2000 By the Chief, Allocations Branch: 1. At the request of Dana Puopolo (" Puopolo"), the Commission has before it the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, 14 FCC Rcd 7841 (1999), proposing the allotment of Channel 256A to Whit efield, New Hampshire, as t he communit y's first local aural service. Puopolo filed comment s reit erat ing his int ent ion to apply for the channel, if allot t ed. Comment s and a count erproposal were also filed by Barry P. Lunderville (" Lunderville") request ing the allot ment of Channel 256A to Nort humberland, New Hampshire, as its first local aural service, st at ing his int ent ion to apply for t he channel, if allotted. 2 2. As an init ial mat t er, we recognize t hat Lunderville's count erproposal did not comply wit h Section 1.52 of the Commission's Rules by including an affidavit verifying that the statements contained in his counterproposal were accurate to the best of his knowledge. Section 1.52 requires that the original of any document filed with the Commission by a party not represented by counsel shall be signed and verified by the party and his/ her address stated. In the absence of such verification, the petition may be dismissed. 3 We have, however, considered proposals which did not init ially comply with the verification requirements where adoption of the proposal would not adversely affect another allotment or proposed allotment. See, Grants, New Mexico, 8 FCC Rcd 851 (1993). In this case, the staff has found that an alternate channel, Channel 268A, is available for allotment to Northumberland, thus allowing the allotment of Channel 256A at Whitefield. Therefore, we will consider the Northumberland proposal. 1 The community of Northumberland has been added to the caption. 2 Public Notice of the filing of the counterproposal was given on May 6, 1999, Report No. 2328. 3 See, Section 1.420( b) of the Commission's Rules and Amendment of Sections 1.420 and 73.3584 of the Commission's Rules Concerning Abuse of the Commission's Processes (" Abuse of Process"), 5 FCC Rcd 3910, n. 41 (1990). See also, Lancaster, Groveton and Milan, New Hampshire, MM Docket 99- 9, DA 00- 649, released March 24, 2000. 1 Federal Communications Commission DA 00- 1156 2 3. Lunderville st at es that Nort humberland is a township in Coos Count y and has a 1990 U. S. Census population of 2,492 persons. He states that Northumberland should be preferred over Whit efield since it has a great er populat ion. Lunderville goes on t o point out t hat Puopolo has pending before the Commission eleven (11) petitions for new allotments and contends that it is unlikely that he has the financial wherewithal to apply for and build each station, given the current auction procedures. He also submits that Puopolo would not be allowed to own the number of stations he has proposed in northern New Hampshire and Vermont since they are all within 40 kilometers of each other and all with service contours into the same core market. 4. Based on the information before us and our independent research, we find that Nort humberland is not a communit y for allot ment purposes. Nort humberland is list ed in the U. S. Census as a county subdivision which are statistical entities established by the Census Bureau and state and local government officials for the purpose of collecting, presenting and analyzing census statistics. Our research shows that the two zip codes assigned to Northumberland, 03582 and 03584, reflect post offices in Groveton and Lancaster, NH, respectively. Further, our search of the internet, shows that there is a Northumberland School District located in Groveton and there are no elementary, middle or high schools with a Northumberland address, no grocery, pharmacy, police department, fire depart ment , church, bank or library wit h a Nort humberland address. Whit efield is also list ed in t he 1990 Census, as a CDP, and attributed with a population of 1,041 people. It has its own post office and zip code, 03598. In addition, Whitefield has two elementary schools and a high school, its own fire and police depart ment s, medical facilit ies and doct ors, rest aurant s, grocery st ores, library and bank. Thus, Whitefield qualifies as a community for allotment purposes. 5. We believe the public interest would be served by allotting Channel 256A to Whitefield as the community's first local aural service. Channel 256A can be allotted to Whitefield in compliance wit h t he Commission's minimum dist ance separat ion requirement s wit h a sit e rest rict ion of 10. 9 kilomet ers (6. 8 miles) nort heast to avoid a short -spacing t o St at ion WOKO, Channel 255C1, Burlington, Vermont. 4 Canadian concurrence in the allotment has been obtained since Whitefield is located within 320 kilometers (200 miles) of the U. S.- Canadian border. 6. Accordingly, pursuant to the authority contained in Sections 4( i), 5( c)( 1), 303( g) and (r) and 307( b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.61, 0.204( b) and 0.283 of the Commission's Rules, IT IS ORDERED, That effective July 10, 2000, the FM Table of Allotments, Section 73.202( b) of the Commission's Rules, IS AMENDED, wit h respect to the communit y list ed below, to read as follows: City Channel No. Whitefield, New Hampshire 256A 7. A filing window for Channel 256A at Whitefield, New Hampshire, will not be opened at t his 4 The coordinates for Channel 256A at Whitefield are 44- 27- 17 NL; 71- 31- 36 WL. 2 Federal Communications Commission DA 00- 1156 3 time. Instead, the issue of opening a filing window for this channel will be addressed by the Commission in a subsequent order. 8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That the petition for rule making filed by Barry P. Lunderville (RM- 9618) IS DENIED. 9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That this proceeding IS TERMINATED. 10. For further information concerning this proceeding, contact Leslie K. Shapiro, Mass Media Bureau, (202) 418- 2180. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION John A. Karousos Chief, Allocations Branch Policy and Rules Division Mass Media Bureau 3