I have been writing a family history for the last 10 years and hope to publish next month.  If there is any group or individual who would be interested in a copy, please contact me.

When people don't just distort the facts to mislead people, but actually make totally false statements in an effort to promote their own interests, there is a need to distinguish the truth from the lies.

With reference to Robert Walker's fallacious letter in last week's Star, the truth is that Ten FM's president Peter van Schaik and vice-president Peter Robinson do not and never have received a salary for the work they do for the local community radio station.

They are part of a coherent team of volunteers who work in a co-operative and harmonious atmosphere to manage and administer the station's activities. Team members change from year to year, and committee members are appointed each year by a majority vote of members, with the executive being voted into office at the association's annual general meetings, so members appoint the management team each year.

Complete financial records are presented regularly, and each year these are independently scrutinized by a qualified accountant, and then presented to all the members at each annual general meeting, so there should be no confusion over 'salaries' or any other payments.

Since the station adopted the present management system supervised by eight elected committee members, the financial reserves have more than tripled, the extent of sponsorship has grown significantly, various new initiatives have been successfully introduced, including local news and expanded outside broadcasts, and several competent new announcers have joined the broadcasting team. 

The reason announcer Yan Seppala ("the Y man") was suspended recently was because, despite previous warnings, he repeatedly breached the nation-wide regulations under which all community radio stations have to operate, and so the management committee agreed that this ongoing risk to the station's broadcasting license should not be allowed to continue. Occasionally other announcers have chosen to leave, but all have been replaced.

With regard to Ten FM's status in the community, the overall quality and growing popularity of the station is demonstrated by the current number of members, which increased from 183 in 2015 to 243 in 2016,  by the expanding range of sponsors who support the station financially, and by the dramatic change from being seriously in debt a few years ago to the current robust financial situation where the station is now contributing funds to support various other community organisations and events.

This is the true state of affairs at Ten FM, and the figures speak for themselves.

Regarding my post of Wednesday 10th May 2017, my claim that the President and Vice President of TenFM were paid retainers was incorrect. The fact is, they are unpaid volunteers.

I regret this error and apologise for any consequences it caused.