Squirrels Nest in Satellite Dish, Cause WSAZ Signal Problems
Squirrels Nest in Satellite Dish, Cause WSAZ Signal Problems Save Email Print
Posted: 4:40 PM Apr 22, 2008
 Last Updated: 6:55 PM Apr 22, 2008
 Reporter: Mike Waterhouse
Email Address: mike.waterhouse@wsaz.com
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- At least two squirrels were living inside a satellite dish at WSAZ that receives NBC programming from New York, causing intermittent outages on WSAZ.

Engineer Isaac Mead discovered the squirrels inside a screened-in portion of the feedhorn on the dish Tuesday morning, according to WSAZ Chief Engineer Aaron Withrow.

The dish is located on the roof of WSAZ's Huntington facility on 5th Avenue.

Withrow said the squirrels have caused the NBC signal to go to black on the air many times, but engineers were not able to pinpoint what was causing it.

Mead and other engineers climbed the roof and ladders to reach the dish -- and were able to remove the squirrels from the dish. Nobody, including the squirrels, was hurt during the removal process.

The squirrels did cause some minor damage that will have to be fixed, Withrow said.
WSAZ engineers climb the roof to remove the squirrels.
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Posted by: To the haters on Apr 24, 2008 at 12:35 AM
Those of you who have bashed WSAZ for putting this up...to the first guy...not a slow news day but really it was them just telling us what was going on and why some people missed some of one of their shows...and for the bad reporting comment...have you looked at the other stations in this area? Those are bad reporting and bland stories not WSAZ's
Posted by: Phil on Apr 24, 2008 at 12:22 AM
I guess a good place for them to store nuts......they'd feel right at home......
Posted by: Ari on Apr 23, 2008 at 04:57 PM
some people call this story stupid but it's better then hearing about shooting and robberies all day. It's a cute story
Posted by: Stacy on Apr 23, 2008 at 01:25 PM
Cute story. Thanks for sharing, it put a smile in my day today!
Posted by: booger on Apr 23, 2008 at 09:14 AM
can't blame the squirrels for bad reporting and bland stories........
Posted by: Kathy S on Apr 23, 2008 at 05:28 AM
Hmm, maybe you guys need to see if these squirrels are working for your neighbors there on 6th Ave...you know..that Channel 13 WOWK gang lol. Could be critter sabotage! This reminds me about a new car we had a few years back. One day on the way to work, all this smoke came gushing out of our vents when we turned on the A/C. Started smelling something burning so we took it to the dealership only to find out that a chipmunk (which my daughter & I always fed & had tamed it)had built a nest inside our A/C unit. Well, I guess these little cuties have to have someplace to live!
Posted by: Kathy S on Apr 23, 2008 at 03:24 AM
Just confirms that all of you guys and gals at WSAZ who we love so much ARE just plain NUTS lol Hope you all just relocated their nests so they have a new home. They just made me miss most of Days of Our Lives yesterday darn little critters! But I hope they have a new home that makes 'em happy and us too lol
Posted by: Sue on Apr 22, 2008 at 09:19 PM
So THAT'S what was going on. I was wondering.
Posted by: Jessica on Apr 22, 2008 at 08:30 PM
well thats good that they fix the problem and hopefully they didnt hurt the squrrels (:
Posted by: Nate on Apr 22, 2008 at 06:40 PM
WSAZ is holding something back! I think there is something squirelly about this story!!!! Its just plain NUTS!
Posted by: Beth on Apr 22, 2008 at 06:35 PM
Wow, my husband and was I wondering what that was. It never happened on other stations.
Posted by: Renae' on Apr 22, 2008 at 06:31 PM
Thanks WSAZ for a good laugh, this is such a cute story, too bad there isn't more of these kind of stories, it makes me smile to know these little critters got one over on the human race, so glad they were not harmed in any way. Stories like this let people know there is some humor in the world and not all of it is bad news.
Posted by: Bev on Apr 22, 2008 at 06:13 PM
They just needed a home. I hope they didn't kill them. Tell us what happened to them please and don't lie because we'll find out.
Posted by: Cameron on Apr 22, 2008 at 05:24 PM
...who wasn't hurt? The squirells or the engineers? Lucky the engineers weren't "in season".
Posted by: Kathy on Apr 22, 2008 at 05:00 PM
This is a cute story. I knew something was wrong with the signal but I never would have guessed these cute, little rascals were the culprits. I hope the little varmints have a wonderful new home.
Posted by: Lee on Apr 22, 2008 at 04:54 PM
Wow...slow news day, eh?
Posted by: Jeff on Apr 22, 2008 at 04:53 PM
Well, squirrels DO like to hang out where the nuts are.
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The Yell: Comments for the Week of 1/4
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  • Posted By: : This is not a comment, but I would like comments on it please. What do you think of Poca High School? Racist or not?
  • Posted By: Robert: We the people, through our own self centeredness and apathy, have allowed our teachers and police officials to be some of the most underpaid people in the United States. We are trusting our childrens education and our public safety to the very people that are some of the most underpaid profesions in the U.S.. If I could change this, I would. However, I do believe that these people should be randomly drug tested. I work in the construction industry and I have no problem being drug tested. I have nothing to hide. I also believe that any person who is intrusted with the safety of others should have nothing to hide. This includes plitical officials up to and including the president.
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