A Few Clarifications

Good morning, I know I said a few weeks ago that I was vacating the Sunday morning radio chair, but some recent misinformation making the rounds among the Cleveland Lithuanians has caused me to break my promise, if only for today.

Before I forget, I want to say a big "Thank You" to Marius, Augis Tadas and Regina of Siaurines Krantas, not only for their outstanding work so far, but for inviting me on their show this morning.

So, perhaps you've heard, as I have a number of troubling stories about circumstances surrounding the end of Tevynes Garsai, and the beginnings of Siaurines Krantas. Stories like the one claiming that Aldona Stempuziene didn't bother to inform WJCU General Manager Mark Krieger that she was planning to retire from the radio show in early May. I can tell you for a fact that the first call Aldona made after coming to her decision was to Mark Krieger. I know this to be true because I was one of the first people Mark called after hearing from Aldona.

In the past couple of weeks I've also heard the absurd tale that Siaurines Krantas needs money right away in order to pay its bill for airtime at WJCU. The truth is that WJCU provides airtime to selected community broadcasters free of charge. There is no "pay to play" here at WJCU. The only money that changes hands at WJCU is when listeners like you donate directly to the station every year at Radiothon time.

And speaking of Radiothon, I've also heard of some people quesitioning whether the money donated by Tevynes Garsai listeners during Radiothon 2010 was properly turned in to WJCU. I'm here to tell you that I personally accounted for, handled and submitted all Tevynes Garsai listener donations for the past three Radiothons. Further, John Carroll University sends out thank you letters to all listeners who donate by check or credit card. If WJCU never received your donation, how did they know to send you a thank you letter?

And finally, I've heard that the recording equipment here at WJCU actually belonged to Aldona Stempuziene, who took it with her when Tevynes Garsai left the airwaves. Again, I must inform those who started that rumor that they are quite mistaken. Within twenty feet of where I'm standing right now, there are not one, but two state-of-the-art production studios available for use by any WJCU staff member, including my friends here at Siaurines Krantas.

And how did WJCU pay for the equipment and furniture in those studios? The same way WJCU pays for everything else: with money you donated during past Radiothons.

So there you have it, I apologize if I bored you with too much trivial detail, but I have heard so much rumor and innuendo in the last two weeks, that I felt compelled to set the record straight with first hand facts.

Thanks again for listening, and I hope you continue to listen every week to Siaurines Krantas. Marius, Augis, Regina and Tadas are working very hard to bring you a great radio show every Sunday, and they are only getting better and better at that as time goes on. Iki.