Brome-Missisquoi
a re-print from “The Record”
Responsibilities, responsibilities. It’s amazing how many we have. And, it’s surprising that some of us don’t seem to care. How often have we heard: “I guess I’ll get married, and if it doesn’t work out I can always get divorced”. Or, “I don’t feel like going to work today. I think I’ll call in sick”. Or “It’s good enough, who’s going to notice anyway if it isn’t perfect”?
What’s with the human species that makes us feel we can get away with things, believing we’re entitled to steal from each other? Okay, not all of us. But, one has to believe that even the righteous join in the pursuit of happiness, living out lives in controlled environments built by the not-so pure at heart.
a re-print from “The Record”
The “BIG Brome Fair” is coming and CIDI is abuzz in anticipation of the event. This will be the third year for us at the fair (in the same booth by the cattle barns). What’s different about this year is that it’s the first time we will be broadcasting live from the fair across Brome Missisquoi county at 1450 watts (effective radiating power). With our new Patch Hill tower right next to the fairgrounds the sounds of the event will be heard from Sutton right through to Bedford and around the world online.
Brome Fair is a good way, every Labour Day weekend, to meet fiends and relatives, including the ones we haven’t seen in years. For CIDI it’s a perfect place to sign up new members, and for our listeners to get to greet and meet the CIDI volunteers; hosts, technicians, producers and organizers. Come see the faces behind the voices you hear on 99.1 FM. It’s also a great way for Townshippers living abroad to get to hear sounds of the old homestead.
Being across from the cattle judging areas, our microphones pick up the results of daily events being blared across the grounds through metal speakers hanging from telephone polls. Fortunately our microphones are closer to our guests and hosts than the action and the sounds provide a perfect backdrop to interviews featuring local politicians and fair goers.
a re-print from “The Record”
Boy is it hot or what? When I come home after work these days I see what seems to be a dead cat on my deck. Smoke (better known as Smoke the Singing Cat) completely collapses in 30 degree-plus temperatures. Imagine wearing a fur coat in this weather.
This whole thing of community radio in Brome Missisquoi and Shefford, CIDI 99.1 FM, has pretty much the same effect on me as the warm and sticky summer weather has on Smoke. It’s an incredible challenge and energy drainer. You know Harry S. Truman’s saying: “if you can’t stand the heat then get out of the kitchen”. Well, the team at CIDI plans to keep on cooking.
All the same, it’s perfectly normal to back away from the heat once in a while, relax and restore the life forces so to speak. However, I just don’t understand why the cat needs to recharge his batteries so much. Hot weather or not, I see him in a sleep mode most of the time.
a re-print from “The Record”
Radio Communautaire Missisquoi. What is it? Is it a radio station or a warm and fuzzy arts-development organization? Can anyone put a finger on the essence of this “new kid on the block”? I think it’s time to review who we are.
I never know how people are going to perceive RCM. We are multifaceted, producing radio programs, television shows and events. I guess you could say we are a non-profit production company. Our mandate is to operate community radio station CIDI 99.1 FM, and to produce fundraising events for local community organizations.
When brainstorming the company’s “raison d’être” our board of directors, back in 2005, decided that confidence would be RCM’s product of choice; the service it would offer the communities of Brome Missisquoi and Shefford. Right away, even though we felt strongly about our decision, we realized that it might be difficult communicating our goal to the general public.
a re-print from “The Record”
Glory, glory Hallelujah! Well, friends of CIDI, December 7, 2009 marks a very special day in the annals of our little radio station that could. Thanks to Roch Vallière and his excavation company of the same name, a very important CIDI patron and advertiser, we’ve started building the road to our future, the road to Radio Communautaire Missisquoi’s new broadcast tower on Patch Hill.
Roch Vallière is, as all of us are at CIDI, determined to get 99.1 FM into every Brome-Missisquoi home. With a bulldozer and fleet of dump trucks, gravel is being packed and shaped into a road leading up to the exact spot where RCM’s tower will stand.
Hans Rutten, CIDI’s technical operations manager along with Dewey Durrell, RCM’s president, worked tirelessly during the past few days staking out the route, in snow and muck, determined to get the job done before the deep freeze of winter sets in. With equal volunteer enthusiasm, Stan Horne, a West Bolton resident and member of the town council reflected his community’s commitment to CIDI’s growth. Showing up early one morning this week, armed with his trusty chainsaw, he cut down a tree partially blocking the road’s path.
