Station Gets Static Over Giveaways

Sun., March 24, 1996

Associated Press

Some residents of the Tri-Cities are angry with the way a radio station gives away concert tickets.

A year ago, Tri-City phone lines shut down when too many listeners called KORD-FM for tickets to a Joe Diffie concert.

This year, the station has Diamond Rio and two other groups lined up for a show next month in the Tri-Cities Coliseum.

General Manager Bill Bradley said he’s found no simple, fair way to hand out nearly 8,000 free passes.

Recently the station has sent out employees with pockets full of tickets in a pickup truck emblazoned with the station’s name and topped with flashing lights.

The truck stops periodically and gives tickets away. The location is broadcast, often causing a rush of motorists.

Crafty country music fans prowl the streets in search of the KORD cars. Some have followed employees as they leave the station. One employee led a parade of cars through a fast food drive-through.

Some students have skipped school in the quest for tickets.

Stephen Haverkamp, 18, a junior at Pasco High, said he cut class once for KORD, but was thwarted when the station’s next ticket giveaway occurred in nearby Pendleton, Ore.

“I really messed up,” Haverkamp said. “Then I gave up cutting class.”

Mary Jo Vooge of Pasco told station officials they should change their style.

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