The Buzz, From Radio Caledon Inc.

eggs in nest It appears the winter of my discontent is finally on the run! In the past few days, we've had sunshine, warm temperatures and robins!

And I'm proud to report I've already rescued one turtle crossing Castlederg Side Road. (Turtle rescue, in case you didn't know, earns you temporary "hero status" in the eyes of your kids and appreciative nods from other motorists. I'm not so sure the turtles are all that happy about it, but I have to assume that if they knew the alternative, they would be!)

Even those of us who live in shady locations have at least one tender shoot peaking happily at us from our gardens by now. And when looking into the distance, you now glimpse a faint haze of soft green on the trees - a harbinger of the beautiful leaves we'll see bursting forth in days to come!

Ah - Spring! It is all about growth, births, awakenings. And Radio Caledon is no exception - we have all three things taking place!

First of all, growth: We are currently working on a project that should see some significant improvements to the 105.5FM signal in Bolton. These improvements should happen by mid to late May.

Also, in response to requests and feedback from our listeners, Radio Caledon has recently applied to the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for permission to convert 102.7FM into a "repeater", which would re-broadcast the programming of 105.5FM The "B" in Bolton to the north-east Caledon area, including Palgrave, Caledon East, and Cedar Mills.

While not exactly "growing" our signal, this application will accomplish much the same thing. If approved, Radio Caledon would be able to simultaneously broadcast the same music and information programming to both Bolton (on 105.5FM) and to north-east Caledon (on 102.7FM). This latest application was gazetted (made public) by the CRTC on April 9th, and we hope to have their decision by mid-summer. For this application to succeed, we really need assistance from the community in the form of support letters to the CRTC. If you would like to assist us and support our application, we would be very grateful - please CLICK HERE .

Secondly, we have births: (and no... there's no little "Sarge" on the way!) We're birthin' radio show! And plenty of them.

We've got proposals for shows about volunteerism, music and horses... we've had pitches for fitness shows, psychic shows, and shows about wellness. We've even had some interest in an old fashioned "radio mystery" show. In fact, we've had so much interest, it'll be months before they all make it to the air! All these potential shows, plus those already in the works will be rolling out in the coming months, as program outlines are created, guests are signed and production is started.

Speaking of shows - be watching for 105.5FM's new morning show - Breakfast with the "B" - which should debut sometime in May. And last but certainly not least, we'll be going online with streaming audio within the next few weeks - which should assist us in providing some presence to the western part of Caledon - something we have wanted from the very beginning, but have had to table for the time being, due to technical and geographical limitations.

And third, we have new awakenings; The community is awakening to the incredible potential of this new (to Caledon) communications tool we are offering.

Listeners are awakening to the fact that - as a form of entertainment and communications - radio is inclusive, inspiring and loads of fun. There are contests, interviews with local personalities and information that is local and timely.

Business is awakening to the knowledge that - as a local advertising medium - radio offers the opportunity to broadcast an immediate message to the community. And radio works very well as a "complementary" form of information and advertisement: its secret strength is in reinforcing information that listeners may already have seen in local print media, flyers or local signage.

So - yes: Spring has sprung all over - including here at Radio Caledon. We're as busy as "bees" (pun very definitely intended) and we are looking forward to the coming months.