(Left to Right) Back Row: Chris Prince, Joy Smith, Lachlan Kennedy, Gary Patterson, Greg Hetherington, Hector Card.  Front Row: Rochelle Snobelen, Laura Wrigglesworth, Dana Treacy

Well-known local radio personalities Gary Patterson and Greg Hetherington have teamed up to offer 30,000 potential listeners another choice on their radio dial. 

In October, the pair and partners Max Fantuz, Mike Kilby, and Greg Aarssen brought CKXS 99.1 FM to the airwaves from their station at 520 James Street in Wallaceburg. The station mixes adult contemporary music with crossover country hits and highlights Wallaceburg and Dresden news and information.

“Our call letters really represent excess music, excess community,” explains Patterson. “The big focus for us is on the local community; heavy on local content when it comes to news and information.” The station features a farming program for rural listeners and broadcasts of local games and professional teams that have a local connection including the Washington Redskins whose kicker, Shawn Suisham, is a Wallaceburg native.

The station promises to do its part to help revitalize the communities of Wallaceburg and Dresden with hopes of offering a free one-year advertising package to any new business that signs a two-year lease within the listening area. “We’re pretty serious about wanting to build a community,” says Patterson.

“We just feel with the Wallaceburg and Dresden area that we can actually make a difference. There is a lot of great, positive news here and some wonderful things happening and we’re part of that.”

Hetherington will be the morning host and Patterson will co-host with news, sports and weather. The station’s other announcers have radio backgrounds and are from the area.

The station will stream on its web site, www.ckxsfm.com, so former residents can keep up with the latest news in Wallaceburg and Dresden area.