Christian music station coming to valley [03/12/2005]

On Feb. 28, WMSJ reached an agreement with Edgewater Broadcasting Inc. to purchase a Federal Communications Commission construction permit to build a translator in North Conway. This would enable WMSJ to rebroadcast its signal into Mount Washington Valley.This agreement is a significant step forward in solidifying the station's plans to expand its radio ministry to listeners in the valley area, but financial support is still needed to make this a reality. Over $2,000 has been raised, with an additional $10,000 needed to conclude the purchase.The current signal almost reaches Mount Washington Valley. Based on initial engineering studies, the expansion of the signal through a translator would cover the towns of North Conway, Conway, Intervale, Kearsarge and Fryeburg. The studies also show that the signal may also reach into the cars of Jackson, Glen, Bartlett, Madison, Chocorua, Brownfield, Lovell and Chatham residents.There has already been a lot of excitement amongst area residents about the possibility of having WMSJ as a choice on the radio dial, said Chany Ockert, a Conway resident and volunteer spearheading the fund-raising effort. Volunteers have started to ask their friends, family, and coworkers for donations. With the purchase of the construction permit, WMSJ has until July 30, 2007, to make the translator operational. However, the station hopes to be on the air sooner.WMSJ is a nonprofit, non-commercial radio station that has been on the air since 1993. The contemporary Christian music station covers southern and central Maine and seacoast New Hampshire. Over 21,000 listeners tune in each week. An estimated 3,500 more listen on line at www.wmsj.org.Those wanting more information about the current fund-raising efforts or the plans to expand into Mount Washington Valley can contact either Mark Tordoff at mark@wmsj.org, or Chany Ockert at (207) 632-5166 or chanyockert@hotmail.com.