Denton County, Texas
Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the seventh-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton, Texas, Denton. The county, which ...
, United States. The population of DISH was 437 at the 2020 United States Census. This community, established in June 2000, was originally named Clark. In November 2005, the community accepted an offer to rename itself "DISH" (all capital letters) as part of a commercial agreement with the satellite television company
Dish Network
DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation.
The company was originally establ ...
.
History
The settlement was originally named for its founder, Landis Clark, who incorporated the town in June 2000 and was its first mayor. In exchange for renaming the town to DISH, all residents received a free basic television service for ten years and a free
digital video recorder
A digital video recorder (DVR), also referred to as a personal video recorder (PVR) particularly in Canadian and British English, is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SS ...
from Dish Network.
Air quality
In 2005, energy companies began drilling natural gas wells at DISH. Residents complained of foul smells and of health issues that they linked to the gas (
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
,
methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...
and
benzene
Benzene is an Organic compound, organic chemical compound with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal Ring (chemistry), ring with one hyd ...
) emissions from the wells. The town spent $15,000 on an air quality test, which found elevated levels of several chemicals including benzene. Following that, the energy companies made changes.
In response to concerns about the town's air quality, the Texas Department of State Health Services conducted air quality tests and, in May 2010, released its results for DISH, including tests of blood and urine samples from 28 DISH residents that were tested for
volatile organic compounds
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. They are common and exist in a variety of settings and products, not limited to house mold, upholstered furniture, arts and crafts sup ...
(VOCs). The agency concluded that:
The information obtained from this investigation did not indicate that community-wide exposures from gas wells or compressor stations were occurring in the sample population. This conclusion was based on the pattern of VOC values found in the samples. Other sources of exposure such as cigarette smoking, the presence of disinfectant by-products in drinking water, and consumer or occupational/hobby related products could explain many of the findings.
The state installed an air quality monitoring station at DISH, which showed that, in 2012, air pollutants were generally within government limits.
An article about the air quality in DISH by '' NPR'' in 2012 stated that "better studies are needed" to test for the health effects of drilling emissions, and also that the installation of gas wells in populated places "is way out ahead of public health evaluations of any kind to date".
Demographics
The population in 2010 was 201, and the estimated population for 2015 was 387. The population of DISH was 437 at the 2020 United States Census.
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
's ''
The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
'', correspondent
Ed Helms
Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor, musician and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sit ...
presented a segment about DISH.
Household Name, a podcast by ''
Business Insider
''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...
'', produced an episode on DISH, "A Town Called DISH", that was aired on June 12, 2019.