FREE PLEASE TAKE ONE & SHARE WERU 89.9 FM Community Radio News & Program Guide: Spring 2010 SaltServing Midcoast, Downeast & Central Maine - Streaming/Podcasting Air at: weru.org - “A Voice of Many Voices” WERU NEWS LARRY DANSINGER TAPS By Matt Murphy, WERU General Manager OUTSIDE Since our last edition of Salt Air all the great work- er bees at WERU (board members, staff and volun- the BOX teers) have been busy with a number of projects and activities. Perhaps the most widely promoted and no- ticeable one is our new and improved website. Our volunteer Technology Com- mittee worked diligently to design and build the new site, which you can check out at the same address we’ve been using for years, “Hello, and welcome to another almost no one else is thinking sistent spelling sounds that I not someone else’s. weru.org. There are lots edition of Outside the Box, where about. developed. English is one of the I am NOT a poet, but I even of spiffy audio features such the question, ‘why be normal?’ is Outside the Box has given me most complicated languages to wrote a poem for one feature, with as short-term archives of re- normal. a chance to look at just about any- learn because one letter can have the last lines, cent music and public affairs thing from a unique point of view. as many as three, four, five or even programs. (Music programs “Today’s topic is........” I’ve done about 140 commentaries six different sounds. That was a “plastic here, plastic there, are archived for a limited so far, with topics ranging from trip, and lots of fun to create. plastic, plastic everywhere.” period in compliance with That’s how Outside the Box the Voluntary Human Extinction Before that, I recruited listen- copyright law. Local public starts. It’s the short weekly fea- Movement to socially responsible ers for a new religion, Dansinger- It may never get published, but affairs programs are also ar- ture, aired every Tuesday at giving to racism (titled “I’m a Rac- ism, which had as one of its two that proves that anyone can be a chived on the site basically 7:30am, that I write and produce. ist”) to being an odd duck and commandments, “You shall decide poet if they let themselves try. forever.) Other features The topic could fall almost any- proud of it. your own beliefs.” No recruits so I’ve always had a desire, may- include station news and where on the map or even off it. For one feature, I invented far, but I haven’t given up. At least be an obsession, to challenge the featured artist of the week. That’s the point. Expect the un- a new language, NuSpel, where it got people thinking “outside the usual way people think about a expected. Give recognition to the every English word was spelled pew,” and, I hope, believing that CONTINUED page four strange, the weird, the ideas that (speld) according to a set of con- the best ideas might be their own, CONTINUED page three Next Stop: The Blues Station By Megan Richardson WERU newcom- Homans has always ers and seasoned lis- loved music. Whenever teners alike should his work brought him all plan a trip to The to a new destination, Blues Station, the new, he passed up staying in one-of-a-kind blues his hotel room in favor show hosted by Fritz of exploring the local Homans (right) that blues scene. As a re- airs every Wednesday sult, Homans knows a from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. lot about a lot of great Homans is not your musicians, including average blues fan. many relatively un- Through his college known and under-ap- years in North Carolina preciated talents. It is and his international these musicians that travels working as the Homans wants to in- Vice President of the troduce to his listeners government division of through his show. Chris Stark takes a peek at the a vitamin manufactur- Each week the show, er, Homans has trav- which debuted Febru- Volunteer Power in the Greater Bangor Area eled far and wide and ary 3rd, takes listeners experienced a vast ar- to a new geographic lo- WERU is currently oper- MidCoast. And then there ray of the world’s best cation that is rich with ating with more than 280 ac- is Penobscot County with blues. Says the fulltime blues. Homans has tive volunteers doing a wide 40 volunteers. Since we father of two, “the show found throughout his assortment of activities such expanded our signal in the reflects my travels.” CONTINUED page six as planning special events Greater Bangor Area over or building improvements, a year ago we have slowly cataloging music or cleaning been growing the volunteer the station, producing on-air and membership base in 1186 Acadia Highway NON-PROFIT ORG. programs or reporting news that area. PRSRT STD East Orland, ME 04431 and events or designing the If you are from Penobscot (207) 469-6600 U.S. POSTAGE website. County, you are probably PAID Most of the volunteers, wondering what volunteers http://weru.org/ 148 right now, are from do from your area. The an- Permit #82 Hancock County. There are swer is: a lot of things! [email protected] Ellsworth, ME at least 85 volunteers from Waldo/Knox Counties -the CONTINUED page six Page 2 WERU Salt Air Spring 2010 WERU provides a community-based non-commercial radio service; WERU broadcasts programs designed to serve the needs of those not fully WERU’S MISSION served by other broadcast media in the areas covered by the WERU signal; WERU is a “voice of many voices” offering a wide variety of people an opportunity to share their experiences, concerns, perspectives and information with their neighbors over the airwaves and Internet. BOARD OF Directors PLEASE CONTACT Salt Air is published by the staff and volunteers of WERU, and is printed on recycled-content Salt Air paper with soy-based ink at the Ellsworth American. Copies of Salt Air are mailed directly WERU-FM is licensed to Salt Pond Community Broadcasting, a comments, corrections questions, subscription info: [email protected] to all current members and distributed throughout WERU’s listening area by volunteers and non-profit corporation actively run by an all-volunteer Board of staff. This issue and other back issues are available to download at http://weru.org/ Directors from the community that WERU-FM serves. The current board members are: WERU-FM broadcasts 24 hours a day from the top of Blue Hill Mountain in the town of Blue Hill at 89.9 FM and is streaming & podcasting at http://weru.org/. WERU is a member of Maine Association of Broadcasters, Maine Association of Nonprofits, National Federation of Matt Baya (Volunteer Rep.) Ellsworth Community Broadcasters, and the Grassroots Radio Coalition. John Greenman (Secretary) Old Town Bill Lippincott Hampden WERU-FM Office: (207) 469-6600 E-mail: [email protected] Matt Murphy (Ex Officio & Gen. Mgr.) Penobscot PO Box 170 Studio: (207) 469-0500 Streaming & Podcasting at Richard Paget (Vice President) Stonington East Orland, ME 04431 Fax: (207) 469-8961 http://weru.org/ Greg Rossel (President) Troy Kathleen Rybarz Lamoine Marianne Adamenas, Eileen Ahern, Stephani Allen, Jeff Amsrud, Mary Anderson, Sue Ari- Lynn Soucy (Ex Officio Treasurer) Dedham ActiVE Volunteers: potch, Barbara Arter, Jim Bahoosh, Steve Bailey, Don Bamman, Jim Baranski, Matt Baya, Tom Beal, Ron Beard, Dan Beckman, Paul Behnken, Andree Bella, Linda Bennett, Charles Bickford, Kristie Billings, John Blaisdell, Ant Blasi, Mark Boshko, Midge Boshko, Jeff Bosse, Al Bourgoin, Mary Brennan, Andy Buckley, Kathie Burnett, Gina Bushong, Erica Buswell, COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD Richard Buxton, Jim Campbell, Kate Chapin, Sherry Churchill, Alan Clemence, Joan Clemons, Carolyn Coe, Ian Collins, Diana Cookson, The CAB advises the Board of Directors on how well the the Lynn Cottrell, Chris Covert, Steve Crabtree, Erica Crane, Brendan Curran, Abigail Curtis, Larry Dansinger, Drew Darling, Tiffany Daven- station serves the mission of WERU-FM. CAB meetings are open port, Darwin Davidson, Mavis Davis, Vesta Davis, Leah Deasy, Meredith DeFrancesco, Daryl Dejoy, Marina Delune, Lee Dennett, Martha to the public The current CAB members are: Dickinson, Susan Dickson-Smith, Karen Doherty, Cheri Domina, Mike Domrad, Michael Donahue, Chris Donley, Frank Donnelly, Charlie Dufour, Kate Duncan, Marty Duncan, Mark Dyer, Jeanne Ellis, Jeff Ellis, Melisenda Ellis, Mark Elwin, Ryan Entwistle, RW Estela, Dave Don Bamman, Lamoine Roberta M. Goodell, S. Thomaston Evans, Robin Farrin, Joan Federman, Rhonda Feiman, Asha Fenn, Jim Fisher, Joe Fisher, Brian Flaherty, Michelle Flaherty, David Foley, Kathleen Burnett, Blue Hill Suzanne Kelly, Bangor Haydee Santamaria Foreman, Chrissy Fowler, George Fowler, Pat Fowler, Karen Frangoulis, Linda Freimuth, Sean Gambrel, Stacy Gam- Gina Bushong, Orland Tonia Kittelson, Bar Harbor brel, Juliane Gardner, Martha Garfield, Matt Gerald, Jane Gerlach, Starr Gilmartin, Dorris Ginn, Richard Giordano, Winnifred Gomm, Leland R. Dennett, Castine Robert J. Salesi, Penobscot Bobbie Goodell, Byron Greatorex, Paula Greatorex, John Greenman, Ralph Grimes, Tim Hagney, Martina Haines, Judy Hale, Petra Hall, Martha Dickinson, Ellsworth Craig Schoppe, Ellsworth Jared Hansen, Neal Harkness, Ariel Harris-Porada, Jane Haskell, Kaley Haskell, Nancy Hathaway, Lisa Hawkins, Henries Family, Mary Frank Donnelly, Lamoine Christine West, Penobscot Hildebrand, John Hillman-Waters, Sharon Hillman-Waters, Rich Hilsinger, Fritz Homans, Denis Howard, Clare Hubbard, Rebecca Martha Ellen Duncan, Blue Hill Rev. Mark Worth, Castine Hunter, Tris Hurley, Cathy Jacobs, Lynn Jacobson, Stacie Jacques, Willie Jenner, Carlton Johnson, Patricia Johnson, Renee Johnson, David Foley, Northport John