A CLOSER LOOK
Saco River Community Television last year had 7,715 subscribers, with 2,310 in Standish, representing 29.9 percent; 1,790 in Buxton, 23.2 percent; 1,679, Waterboro, 21.8 percent; 815, Hollis, 10.6 percent; 635, Limerick, 8.2 percent; and 486, Limington, 6.3 percent.
The station has a $101,000 budget, supported by each member town. Subsidies by town last year: Buxton, $23,132;
Hollis, $10,746; Limerick, $8,292; Limington, $6,370;
Standish, $30,235; Waterboro, $21,632
Viewers could have easily thought Rick Alderette was delivering community announcements from a tropical island.
Wearing a white fedora, tinted glasses and tropical shirt, Alderette was actually taping the program, “Community Update,” with a Hawaiian scene superimposed in the background but not visible from the set in the studio at the nonprofit Saco River Community Television in Hollis.
This kind of creativity has replaced the bland, scrolling community announcements as part of a continuing effort to spice up the station’s programming. As early as this spring, programming will reach a new level with a live, telephone call-in show produced in the studio, as well as live broadcasts from libraries in Buxton, Waterboro and Steep Falls.
“It’s time to take the plunge and go live,” said Patrick Bonsant, the station manager.
The station tapes a variety of community events and musical shows with local artists in the studio, besides airing documentaries and the regularly scheduled municipal and school board meetings.
With a current budget of $101,000, Saco River Community Television, at 564 Plains Road in Hollis, is supported by six towns – Buxton, Hollis, Limerick, Limington, Standish and Waterboro.
“It’s a grassroots station with a small budget,” Bonsant said.
The station, which began in 1998, is located in a converted vegetable stand on the edge of a potato field. With a bank of monitors in a control room, it airs programming over three channels, 2 (public), 5 (governmental) and 7 (schools), to cable subscribers in the six communities as part of their basic cable package. People with satellite dishes don’t have access to Saco River Community Television.
“I don’t want the channels to look boring,” said Bonsant, who once worked as a news production assistant at Channel 8.
Matt Fletcher of Waterboro, a junior at the University of Southern Maine, assists Bonsant, who lives in Portland, along with Alderette and a handful of other volunteers. Fletcher also built the station’s Web site.
“He’s our creative rock,” Bonsant said.
Fletcher operated the studio camera Thursday taping the community announcements with Alderette. Fletcher, who works part time at the station, graduated last year from Southern Maine Community College and is continuing his education in media studies at USM.
As an example of locally produced programming, the station filmed a documentary about a Buxton citizen, Edith Virgie Wright, who recently died at age 90. The station covered the seizure of dogs at a puppy mill in Buxton and the campaign to preserve the Indian Cellar historic land along the Saco River, the boundary between Buxton and Hollis.
“I’ve done a lot with the Waterboro Historical Society,” Bonsant said, who added the station provides a forum for people to connect with their neighbors.
“People enjoy seeing neighbors and friends on TV,” Bonsant said.
To expand coverage, Bonsant hopes to train members of the community to operate cameras to film events, as the station has three digital cameras available to the community. Those checking out cameras need to produce an ID and demonstrate competence with the equipment. Jean Harmon, chairwoman of the Buxton selectmen board, said use of the equipment is free to residents.
The extra effort of upgrading quality and expanding community coverage on Saco River Community Television doesn’t cost the six towns additional money.
“I do this on my own initiative,” Bonsant said.
The set for Alderette’s “Community Update,” for example, was decorated with buoys from Bonsant’s apartment and a plant he bought.
Anne T. Robishaw, Buxton treasurer, said Monday Buxton paid $23,132 last year as its contribution to support Saco River Community Television. Harmon said support for the Saco River Community Television is a separate warrant article approved by voters in the annual town meeting. The amount approved was not to exceed the amount the town received in franchise fees from the cable provider, Time Warner. The franchise fee revenue – $72,352 last year – goes into the town’s general fund, Robishaw said.
Each of the towns owns its studio equipment where regular meetings originate. The station sometimes airs three separate community meetings live and simultaneously. Airing selectmen and school board meetings from municipalities allows people to watch municipal meetings live from home, with taped replays available at later times.
“I love my job. You get to help people, its creative and very fulfilling,” said Bonsant, who on request posts clips of local programming on YouTube.
In a Hawaiian get-up, Rick Alderette of Hollis tapes his weekly television show, “Community Update,” at the Saco River Community Television station in Hollis. Send questions/comments to the editors.
