Thanks for the info. I live in Seattle. So, I'm not too concerned with the severe weather aspect but it does occasionally happen. The previously installed dish appeared to just be grounded via the grounding wire that was part of the coax cable, which is only 12 awg I think. It went into the outside cable box, to a grounding type block, then via another larger grounding wire to the grounding pole. There didn't appear to be any other kind of grounding used. So, the ground for static discharge dissipation is to improve signal reception not some other type of safety issue...correct? I'm also thinking about just hiring a electrician to come out and make sure all is OK.
Anyway, I ended up putting the new antenna on the roof on a 7 foot pole, utilizing the ground wire setup from DTV. I have picked up about 55 channels where I'm at. All of the major networks come in crystal clear. I'm only about 9 miles from the antenna sites. Overall, I'm really impressed with the quality and sticking it to the big cable company. I just want to make sure I've not constructed a bonafide safety hazard, as it does look like a perfect lightening rod :-) Thanks again for all of the input.