KPBS staffers learned that Rockley Curless, 75, died on March 14, 2024. No cause of death was given, and “Rocky,” as he was known by nearly everyone, was seen out and about as late as two days before his reported death. He had formally retired from KPBS on January 31, 2024. Memorial Services for him were held in April at the Miramar Military Cemetery.

Director of Engineering Leon Messenie said Rockley had assumed the position of RF Maintenance Supervisor after Tom Oaklund retired in 2004. He cared for the KPBS RF facilitlies from La Jolla to Calexico. Before coming to KPBS, he had been an engineer at KUSI San Diego. He also worked in broadcasting in Palm Springs and Hawaii. He was a helicopter flight engineer for the US Army with 22 months duty in Vietnam.

Leon said, “Rockley seemed to have lots of stories from his many broadcasting years.  He really loved working at the transmitter.  He would always talk to the equipment and say goodbye to the transmitters when he would lock up and leave.  He was a very nice and caring person and will be missed.”

On Friday, February 9, 2024, the FCC canceled the license of low-power FM KRLY-LP Alpine, ending the station’s nearly 20-year history. A letter from the FCC explained that correspondence requesting an explanation for the station’s silence lasting more than a year had not been answered, so, by their rules, the station’s license had expired on May 24, 2023 “as a matter of law.”

The station was granted a construction permit in 2004 with 2 watts ERP on 107.9 MHz from water tanks north and above the town of Alpine. Timothy and Kathleen Lange initially owned the station. They carried a Christian format. Gerry Turro, famous for his “Jukebox Radio” stations in New Jersey in the 1990s until the FCC shut them down in 2003 became involved and moved KRLY-LP to an Easy Listening/Standards format. Gerry had been the Chief Engineer of WNEW-AM New York.

Adam Williams took control of the station in May 2010. Alpine resident Chris Torrick, past Oklahoma radio DJ, managed the station. Chris long held a dream to own and operate a radio station.

Low power FM stations cannot broadcast commercials, so unless financed by a wealthy benefactor or well-organized collective, they usually run out of money. KRLY-LP was further burdened with rough topography, low power limitations, and adjacent channel interference from XHRST-FM Tijuana on 107.7 MHz. The station was granted a Minor Modification to move and increase power to 50 watts in August of 2022, but the CP was never built out.

Chris Torrick continues to stream his station with a country music format from his home in Alpine. He has not responded to questions about his operation.

Disclosure: Chris hired me to move the station during the summer of 2014. It had a full-sized studio with interview microphones on professional furniture, run on Prophet automation, with an AudioArts console.