Have You Heard?

WICHITA — B98 FM’s Tracy Cassidy and Brett Harris have a “friendly” rivalry each year to see who can collect the most turkeys and donations for United Methodist Open Door, but Cassidy is worried this year.

She’ll be at a new location — the Dillons at 21st and Maize — and wants to be sure donors can find her.

To inspire potential givers to head her way, Cassidy offers this thought:
“Can of green beans: .75 cents. Bag of stuffing: .49 a pound. Beating Brett Harris in our annual turkey drive collection: Priceless!”

WICHITA — After what he says has been five months of waiting, Brett Harris has been offered a new three-year contract at B98 FM.

“For five months, I didn’t have any contract talk at all,” Harris says.

That’s led him to look at what he calls “a menu of other options if Clear Channel wasn’t interested in me.”

Harris says he had to consider alternatives to protect his family, which includes two young girls.

“If you don’t get an offer in five months, you naturally are going to look at your options for your daughters.”

One of those options, which is still on the table, is for Harris and a group of investors to buy Journal Broadcast Group’s classic country station KFTI, 92.3-FM.

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WICHITA — Radio personality Dan Tooker hasn’t been on KVWF, 100.5-FM (”The Wolf“), the last couple of weeks, and it’s not clear if he’ll be returning.

“We’re not really sure which way it’s going to play out,” says program director Ron Allen.

“Basically, it had kind of been a fluid situation from day one,” he says.

Tooker was on KFDI, 101.3-FM, until 2007, when he lost his job (the Country Music Association named him broadcast personality of the year for medium-size markets shortly after that).

He took a job in Boise following that then returned here earlier this year.

Allen says Tooker’s wife is still in Boise and hasn’t found a job here yet, so they built in plenty of time for him to return home for visits, which is why he’s been off the air.

But the couple’s financial situation may keep it that way. If Tooker’s wife doesn’t get a job, he may leave.

“It’s still probably better than 50-50” that Tooker will stay, Allen says.

“He would still like . . . to be on the team.”