Afar_radio

Jeff Green | Aug 23, 2007

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AFAR Radio:"Your voice in the community"

by Jeff Green

Addington Frontenac Area Radio (AFAR) is an idea with a future.

The proposed 30-hour a week radio station, which would likely be centred in Northbrook, would serve the southern part of Addington Highlands and Barrie Ward in North Frontenac.

The closest FM radio stations to the region are based in Belleville and Kingston, and these stations do not serve the region in terms of “local news, emergency warnings, local business advertising or community news/events,” according to an overview of the radio station proposal that has been released.

Last week, a delegation from the steering committee behind the station came to a meeting of North Frontenac Council seeking a letter of support in aid of an application to the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation for a development grant.

It is still early days for the proposed station. According to Robert Taylor, the chair of the steering committee, the first tasks are to obtain support from local councils and community organizations.

“We would like to see if we can come under the umbrella of Land o’ Lakes Community Services, which would be a good place for us. It would save us having to set up our own not-for-profit corporation and perhaps it could provide us with a home,” Robert Taylor said.

The steering committee estimates that it will cost about $15,000 to $20,000 to equip the station, and that money will have to be found through grants and fundraising.

Once the station is up and running, air time would be sold in order to generate about $700 a week or more in order to keep the station running on its own steam.

Taylor said he hopes to get students from North Addington Education Centre involved, even perhaps with the programming. “I don’t suppose they would play the kind of music that I normally listen to, but that’s what’s meant by broadcasting,” Robert Taylor said.

North Frontenac Council agreed to send a letter of support for the proposal. AFAR will be approaching Addington Highlands Township through the Economic Development Committee.