As KWBU-TV went off the air Wednesday night, some of us shook our heads at this sad loss for the Waco area. But as KNCT-TV of Killeen steps in to fill the void, it signals new hope for our community.

Just because a public television station no longer broadcasts from Waco doesn’t mean our area will necessarily suffer long-term. The Killeen station’s general manager, Max Rudolph, assures the Tribune-Herald that it intends to partner with Waco-area organizations and feature local happenings whenever possible.

After all, KNCT has been broadcasting in the Waco area for several years (on Time Warner Channel 13). KWBU itself was spun off from KNCT in the early 1980s, operating under the call letters KCTF until it was sold to the Brazos Valley Broadcasting Foundation.

“We’ve already been in the Waco market,” Rudolph told us. “We look forward to continued service to the viewers in Waco.”

KWBU reluctantly pulled the plug on operations as station officials faced a $380,000 budget shortfall for 2010-11. This occurred after the station used up a $1 million line of credit. But public radio station KWBU-FM 103.3 remains on the air, and Rudolph hopes KNCT can work with it.

“We’re indeed looking at some avenues and working with KWBU-FM in terms of serving the Waco area,” he said.

The Killeen PBS station is set to broadcast at 6:30 p.m. Sunday a patriotic concert recorded at First United Methodist Church of Waco. Plans also call for the continuation of Dinner and a Movie events, begun by KWBU-TV and sponsored by Waco’s Community Race Relations Coalition.

Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation President and CEO Joe Riley tells us that he met with Rudolph last week and they discussed a number of initiatives KNCT could continue. Riley says he’s optimistic the station will do its best to represent the Waco market.

“I want to make sure and Max wants to make sure that the door is open,” Riley said. “We’re not competing anymore at all since we don’t have a TV station, but we’re interested in how the audience is served here as best as possible.”

Our hat is off to KWBU officials and board members for reaching out to KNCT for the benefit of our PBS broadcast area. We fully encourage such pursuits. If successful, we can even envision the day when a regional public broadcasting superstation might evolve, championing and celebrating the unique programming that many of us throughout Central Texas treasure for our families.