And I Heard It on the Radio

... as the Glen Burtnik song goes. When Wayne and I first came to Powell River BC, we immediately started listening to the local radio station.

We're a small town so there's only one. It was called CHQB at 1280 AM. The format was country with lots of local programming. That's where I got my theme song, The Truck Got Stuck by Corb Lund. I'd just purchased my GMC 4X4 and it made me think about driving in the bush. Reception up the lake wasn't great, but we listened for hours. My favourite features, other than the great tunes, were the local news and Telemarket. Call in with your items to sell and leave your phone number for prospective buyers. You learn a lot about a town on a show like that. Roo (now on JRfm in Vancouver) even interviewed Wayne about his first book, Up the Lake. I really miss that original format!

One day I was driving my truck into the bush towing my quad. I turned on the radio and to my surprise there was no country music. It was now the New Magic and the music was a mix of oldies, pop, easy listening and local information. John Stevenson was the morning anchor. In the evenings we still could listen to live broadcasts of the Kings home hockey games.

Then a little over a year ago the station "flipped." The word came through the reliable taxi driver grapevine. Now it's Sun and can be found at 95.7 FM. The music has improved and we get syndicated Ryan Seacrest on weekends (unless he really comes to hang out in our great little town!). You can even listen live on the Internet. But alas, no more Telemarket. Bummer! But we do get to hear His Worship the Mayor on the news quite frequently. He keeps us informed about local happenings along with Brittany King, the new morning personality from Red Deer.

So whether you are in Powell River listening live or out of town on the Internet, tune in to SunFM. You just might hear Wayne's Coastal BC Stories add on the Mainstreet Powell River feature. -- Margy