WBGI

They clutch announcements or lists of items they want to swap on WCVI's "Tradio" show. Unfortunately, Kenney is there to read the news and obituaries. And each time the door swings open, a small metal bell tinkles.

Clutching his news copy in one hand, his other hand over the mike, Kenney turns and hisses - politely but firmly - "Shut the door!"

To residents of Connellsville, WCVI (1340 AM) is their radio station. It has been since 1947. And some, like Mike Molinaro, who owns a tailor shop in the same building, feel free to drop into the studios.

He comes to share a cup of coffee and pass the time with Kenney.

"They don't have any live programs anymore," said Molinaro, 83, a lifelong resident. "They're taking it all off the satellite. They're playing good music, though."

Like many western Pennsylvania towns, Connellsville has been knocked around, but it hasn't been knocked out. And neither has WCVI, though like Connellsville, it's seen more prosperous days.

WCVI and sister station WPQR-FM (99.3) once occupied the second and third floors of this 19th-century building. Colorful "WCVI" logos grace the upper windows, while on a sign above the sidewalk, neon lightning bolts shoot from the tip of a cartoon radio tower.

But the sign has been dark for several years. Letters along the facade that spelled "FIRST IN NEWS, ABC RADIO, MUSIC, SPORTS" have been removed, leaving ghostly impressions in the peeling paint.

The drafty studios upstairs, which once hosted live orchestras, are now much too big for WCVI's current needs. Earlier this year, the station moved downstairs to a first-floor storefront that housed an antiques store.

And WPQR has been off the air for months, its transmitter laid low by a broken component.

Yet with all of the marks against it, there are signs of new energy at this small-town radio station. Much of the credit must go to the station's only employees - Kenney and his fellow part-timer, Candy Lepre.

WCVI is Lepre's first radio job. But for Kenney, a 30-year career Army man, this must be a labor of love.

A supply sergeant at Connellsville's National Guard armory, Kenney hosts a morning show at the radio station, then goes off to work. Lepre takes the midday shift most days, though she's off this week, and Kenney is filling in.

Most of the time, WCVI plays a syndicated "music of your life" format, except on 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays, when Kenney and his wife, Lou Ann, play oldies. On Sundays it carries church services, and in the summer, Pirates baseball.

At other times, Kenney and volunteers help the station's owner, Pittsburgher Geoffrey Kelley, keep WCVI's nose above water.

The hours are long. The pay is not great.

But Kelley, who will retire from the Army this year, doesn't seem to mind. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world," he said. "I enjoy this stuff, I really do. Would I like to go back to the 1960s? Yes. ... I still have the hometown radio station (mind-set)."

Stations in Charleroi, Uniontown and Brownsville were recently acquired by a Georgia company. But Connellsville's stations seem determined not to cash in.

"We call this paradise," said Stan Wall, whose WLSW-FM (103.9) sits on a hill overlooking downtown Connellsville. "I call it God's country. You can smell the flowers and the trees. I see deer, bears up here."

Big companies "want to control the market, and take as much business from you as they can," he said. "It's hard for individuals to make it."

Fueled by the Internet, rumors have swirled around WCVI lately - that the station is bankrupt, that the Federal Communications Commission has revoked its license.

The license question arose when WCVI missed the deadline to submit a renewal application to the FCC. The station is operating under temporary authorization pending an appeal. As for WPQR, Kenney says the FM station will be resurrected when its financial problems are untangled, including a dispute with the landlord who owns the property where its tower stands.

"We bottomed out, but we came back," he said. "I'm here for the long haul, to try to keep WCVI in Connellsville."

Packed into one small room on Crawford Avenue is the entire arrangement - microphone, rows of cassettes on shelving, dials, wires. The "studio" is cold, because the heat was turned off weeks ago. Candy Lepre - station manager, disc jockey, secretary and ad saleswoman - shivers, her feet cold.

To Lepre, WCVI - 1340 on the AM dial - is a labor of love. Her 15-year-old daughter, Nicole, testified to her mother's devotion. Dropping by after school one recent afternoon, Nicole noted that Candy Lepre spends most of her waking hours either at the station or thinking about the station.

"I love radio. And I care about the people of this town. And that is what radio is all about. Making money is important. But you have to take people into consideration, too," Candy Lepre said.

After broadcasting for better than 50 years, WCVI may be entering its final days - although Lepre is pretty sure the plug won't be pulled sooner than February. In part, she is counting on a groundswell of local opinion to persuade the new owners, Keymarket Communications, known for its "Froggy" stations, to keep WCVI on the air.

Keymarket executive Lynn Deppen did not return phone calls for this story.