Brother Stair taken into custody on eight criminal charges, waves rights to a bond hearing

Update: Stair has waved his rights to a bond hearing. See details and video at bottom of page.

I’m sure many–if not a majority of–shortwave listeners have heard the Overcomer Ministry on the air via various private broadcasters.  Ralph G. Stair, the leader and voice of Overcomer was taken into custody this morning on eight criminal charges.  I’m personally not a fan of Overcomer and I don’t typically post this sort of news content, but if Overcomer is eventually shut down, private broadcasters will certainly notice the loss of income stream. Could be profound to smaller stations.

For details and commenting, check out the story on the Waterboro Live website:

Update | Arrest of Brother Ralph Stair confirmed on multiple charges | News | The Press and Standard

(Photo source: Overcomer Ministries)

Colleton County Sheriff’s Office personnel arrived at the Overcomer Ministry at 12680 Augusta Highway early Monday morning to take Ralph G. Stair, the leader of the religious compound, into custody on eight criminal charges.

Lt. Tyger Benton, public information officer of the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said a large contingent of law enforcement officers arrived at the church compound Monday at approximately 7:30 a.m. to take Stair, 84, into custody.

The charges, all filed by the sheriff’s office investigators, include three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and single counts of assault with the intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, second-degree assault, first-degree burglary, and third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Stair was transported to the Colleton County Detention Center on the charges and is expected to have a bond hearing Monday afternoon.

The sheriff’s office personnel arriving enmass at the compound were joined by agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations.[…]

Click here to continue reading the full story.

Update:

(Source: Live 5 News)

Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports

Alleged Colleton Co. cult preacher charged with 8 counts waives bond hearing

COLLETON COUNTY, SC (WCSC) –
The accused leader of a cult in Colleton County facing eight criminal counts waived his right to a bond hearing Monday afternoon.

Ralph Stair, 84, has been charged with a total of eight charges. The charges include three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of assault with intent to commit first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of kidnapping, one count of burglary, one count of second-degree assault and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Stair was arrested Monday morning two months after a Live 5 News investigation.

Agents with the State Law Enforcement Division and the FBI, and Colleton County Sheriff’s deputies worked together to make the arrest at 7:48 a.m. Monday at the Overcomer Ministry on Augusta Highway in Walterboro, according to Colleton Co. Sheriff’s Lt. Tyger Benton.

A search warrant for the property was also executed, he said.

Stair was located on the property and taken into custody without incident, Benton said.[…]

Click here to read the full story at Live 5 News.

Belgium to end telegram service

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(Source: BBC News via Kris Partridge)

Belgium’s telegram service is about to stop. Stop.

One hundred and seventy-one years after the first electrical message was transmitted down a line running alongside the railway between Brussels and Antwerp the final dispatch will be sent and received on 29 December.

The fact that this 19th-Century technology is still up and running in the age of Instagram and Snapchat may seem rather odd – especially when you consider that the UK, which invented the telegram in the 1830s, abandoned it as long ago as 1982.

The United States followed suit in 2006 and even India, which had been by far the world’s biggest market for the telegram, finally closed its system down in 2013.

Just 10 businesses and a handful of individual customers have kept the Belgian system going until now. It has been chiefly used by bailiffs, who had need of a system which provided legal guarantees of dispatch and receipt.

The buyer can call up a telephone operator to spell out their message, which is then sent by post.

But with a “flash” telegram costing €23.75 (£21) for a basic 20 words, plus €0.90 for delivery in and around Brussels, it is not difficult to see why the system is struggling to survive in the age of unlimited texting on cheap mobile phone tariffs.

Click here to read the full story on the BBC News website. 

BBC Atlantic relay station on Ascension Island seeking aerial rigger

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Click here to see St. Helena’s remote location in the South Atlantic Ocean. (Map courtesy of Wikipedia)

(Source: The Times via Richard Cuff)

There should surely be a queue down the street for a steady job in a subtropical climate with beautiful beaches and ocean views, especially after you have climbed a 413ft radio mast.

But contractors running the BBC Atlantic relay station on Ascension Island in the south Atlantic have had to readvertise a post for a full-time antenna maintenance supervisor. It may not be the job of everyone’s dreams, but it would suit anyone with a head for heights and a longing to get away from it all.

[…]Attempts to recruit a new rigger have proved unsuccessful, even though the job comes with a bungalow and an unspecified salary with a singular advantage: there are few places on Ascension (population roughly 800) to spend any money.

[…]The successful candidate will not lack for fun. There are beachside barbecues and even an 18-hole golf course, although the greens are known locally as “browns” and visitors have unkindly dubbed it “the worst golf course in the world”.

Click here to read the full article at The Times.

Post Readers: Please comment if you’ve ever visited Ascension Island!  It is on my long-term bucket list.

Alcaraván Radio and La Voz de tu Conciencia Christmas card

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I just received Alcaraván Radio’s annual Christmas and New Year eQSL card:

I enjoy tuning in Alcaraván Radio–they’re one of many low power shortwave broadcasters in South America that make shortwave listening and music discovery so fun! Click here to listen to an Alcaraván Radio recording I made several years ago.

BBC Genome Project releases 1930s editions of Radio Times

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(Source BBC Genome Blog)

The BBC Genome Project is releasing the next batch of pages from Radio Times, this time covering the 1930s.

Genome users will now be able to access the articles, editorial material, letters pages, illustrations and photographs from the 1930s. We hope this will help users correct some of the errors in the Genome data – as well as gain insights into broadcasting during this fascinating period.

The 1930s was a turbulent decade. The country had to cope with the worldwide depression and mass unemployment that followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929. In 1936, King George V died, but his successor Edward VIII abdicated at the end of the year, to be replaced by George VI, his younger brother. Internationally, the decade was marked by the rise of the Nazis in Germany, and the sequence of events which culminated in the outbreak of war in September 1939.

It was a period of change in broadcasting too. At the start of the 1930s the BBC was still overseen by Sir John Reith, its first Director General. In 1932, the BBC moved from its cramped headquarters at Savoy Hill to the purpose-built Broadcasting House.[…]

Click here to continue reading on the BBC Genome Blog.

XHDATA D-808 operation manual

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Click image to download manual.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Anderson, who writes:

Attached is the manual for the new XHDATA D-808.  Your readers who have ordered the D-808 may be interested in downloading this:

https://www.digitalnomad.nz/downloads/XHDATA-D-808.pdf

Many thanks, Dave! I’ve ordered the D-808, so I appreciate getting a sneak peek at the manual.

I did note one thing that sets the D-808 apart from the AR-1780: the D-808 is powered by one 18650 lithium battery.

My D-808 was shipped a few days ago, but I don’t expect it to arrive for at least a couple of weeks. Anyone else order the D-808?

WBCQ seeks help after fire takes out their main transmitter

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On WBCQ’s Twitter feed, Allan Weiner announced that the station’s transmitter building suffered a fire on December 10, 2017:

Allan has set up a Go Fund Me campaign to begin the process of raising enough money to purchase a used transmitter. Here’s the note from their Go Fund Me page:

Free speech radio WBCQ international shortwave suffered a fire in its main transmitter building on December 10th. The building was saved but our main 50 killowatt trasnmitter completely burned up inside and is a total loss.

We are dedicated to the cause of free speech radio and have been for 19 years. There was no insurance and we have limited funds. We need to replace this transmitter to insure there is at least one free radio station broadcasting programs of individuals wishing to express their free speech rights to the world.

At least $20000 is required to buy a used transmitter and have it shipped to the radio station in Maine. We are on a reduced power backup transmitter and need to return to full 50KW power as soon as possible. Thank You.

Click here to view WBCQ’s Go Fund Me campaign and support the purchase of a transmitter. [Link Removed]

Many thanks to Dave Zantow for the tip!