Waller Broadcasting CHR “Breeze-FM” 95.3 KFRO-FM Gilmer/102.3 KLJT Jacksonville and Regional Mexican “Kompa-FM” 94.3 KZXM Bullard/103.1 KMPA Pittsburg TX in the Tyler/Longview market was the scene of some drama on Monday morning as the station’s staff was locked out and charged with trespassing by the owner.
As the KFRO-FM/KLJT morning show arrived at the station they found the locks on the door were changed over the weekend. Susie Waller, daughter of recently deceased station owner Dudley Waller arrived with the local police and a letter from her mother granting her power of attorney over her father’s estate claiming that all of the employees had been terminated on Friday. The staff claimed that they were never given any termination notifications and had worked a station event on Saturday. Waller also terminated her brother, Bill Waller who had served as President of the company and according to KETK-TV was in negotiations to purchase the stations from his father’s estate.
Bill Waller also told KEXT that the stations staffs had filed OSHA complaints to Susie Waller for working over a month with no air conditioning causing many to become ill.
The station’s staff published the following letter on the morning show’s Facebook page:
First of all we want to apologize to all our Listeners, all our Advertisers and all the Charities we benefit.
This morning, we were all informed that everyone at the station was terminated. We showed up at 5:30am to kick off the Morning Madhouse only to find the locks on the door had been changed. Then we were greeted by the Jacksonville Police Department (who were all extremely nice and understanding). The owner’s daughter showed up and while hiding behind the station tells the Jacksonville PD that we had all been served with notice of termination on Friday and we were now trespassing. None of us were ever served or notified of anything! If fact, we were all busy conducting a community wide Peace Rally on Saturday.
While our hearts are broken and 15+ people need to find new jobs to support their families we still feel blessed. For the past several years, we have had the honor of working with an amazing team led by Bill Waller and Angelica Love where we all felt like family. Not only that but we have had the most amazing listeners in the world who have always supported us and for that we will always be thankful.
As for all the charities please know while we may not have a radio station any longer that we will always be there to support and help you as well as all of East Texas. You’re our Family and our home!
Please keep us all in your prayers as our amazing staff searches for their next step in life while trying to understand all the injustice that has been done.To our listeners, our advertisers, our charities or just our friends, although we are outraged and devastated by this injustice, what matters to us most is that you continue to support our causes, that you continue to support local artists and that you continue our mission to make East Texas a better place.
We love you East Texas!
-Your Morning Madhouse Team and all your friends formally with The Breeze and Kompa
I smell a big fat ol lawsuit coming out of this real soon.
Thanksgiving at the Waller household should be a blast.
I guess the loyalty of the employees means nothing to these jerks.
That’s a fine how do ya do.
Looks like Sis just single-handedly took a huge chunk of value out of the estate’s assets.