"Please be advised your volunteer services at CKLN Radio, Inc. are no longer required," reads the note from Ryerson community station program director Mike Philips, sent to at least a dozen outspoken station voices.

The dismissals brought to a boil the dispute reported by EYE WEEKLY in February, when over 140 CKLN members met to discuss the matter of non-confidence with the interim station management and board of directors, voting them out — even though a few of the board members burned out from the battles on their own. "To think that a community radio station with such a left-leaning anti-corporate history will just roll over and accept management’s edicts," wrote Chris Bilton, "is like expecting courteous paparazzi at a Hollywood rehab clinic."

But, over the past week, a paid-duty police officer was reportedly installed at CKLN’s studio in the Ryerson Student Centre at the cost of $62.50/hr, to keep the most vocal volunteer dissenters away from the microphones. Friday night, one show was cut off in the middle of an on-air phone call from Susy Alvarez, one of those volunteers who received the dismissal letter.

At the centre of the storm is Mike Phillips, the 67-year-old engineer installed as station manager after CKLN went for about five years without someone in that top job. Tony Barnes, a longtime music host, took over for the abruptly departing program director of eight years, Tim May. Their decision to bring in a more commercially minded coordinator for February’s "Afrikan Liberation Month" met with some suspicion.

The move to unionize the station further contributed to the dispute, and CUPE Local 1281 claim that the organized attempt to remove the members of CKLN’s board of directors was sparked by the paid staffers.

Meanwhile, the editor of the Eyeopener — Ryerson’s campus newspaper – published a comment headlined "CKLN is wasting your money". John Mather raised a talking point that’s likely to reverberate further as incoming students paying $9.63 each per year to support the station have no relationship with the FM dial – a very different climate from when CKLN got its first license in 1983.

"Should students really take comfort in the fact that they're paying for 30-something beatniks to listen to radio?," wrote Mather. "The station should tailor [itself] to students or not exist at all."

Recent developments suggest the implosion is on track to happening sooner than anyone thought. But listener interest in their eclectic programming has managed to hold its own due to CKLN’s philosophical stance.

The problems originated with questions about who was going to pay for it all, coinciding with the station’s move from its Jorgenson Hall bunker to sparkling new facilities at the corner of Gould and Church.

Sunday morning’s satirical chat show, International Connection, was even terminated for 14 months after the two hosts started asking questions about the business side of CKLN. (Scroll down on Scrolling Eye, Jan. 4.) The program was reinstated last December after a $400,000 lawsuit was filed.

But with the landscape for alternative media in a state of transformation, why would anyone fight for CKLN in the first place? Perhaps they would if the transmitter was paying some dividends – whether they’re financial, political, or creative.

"The station earned its reputation based on supporting creative events," says Barbara Goslawski, co-host for 18 years of the Friday midday film show Frameline, at least until she was relieved of her volunteer duties last week. "We were giving attention to people who weren’t getting it otherwise. I was covering the smaller film festivals from the start – and, even if the mainstream picked up on them later, I was able to continue that relationship over the years.

"Here was a way to give notice talented people who made their first short film, and contribute to something I felt passionate about. Maybe it involved discovering a new genius, or giving someone a first chance to be interviewed, and have the courage to accomplish something bigger. But it was also about being respectful of other cultures and orientations. The dedication to fairness struck a chord with me. It might sound idealistic, but it fulfilled all of my ideals."

When she turned those ideals internal, via an email list of concerned CKLN volunteers, Goslawski found herself on the wrong side of station management. For the time being, her volunteer efforts are dedicated to spreading the word that the station is being controlled by a group of people that 90 per cent of the attendees at the February meeting impeached. A subsequent "legal" election to repopulate the depleted CKLN board of directors was held earlier this month.

But station management held a concurrent election last week, and new volunteer representatives were chosen to keep things accountable. (Reached by phone, Barnes offered a terse "no comment". A message to Phillips wasn’t returned.)

Gary Topp, the local promoter whose relationship with CKLN dates back to its pre-FM incarnation – his gospel show, The G Spot, was an early hit on the 88.1 airwaves — recently returned on air to host a once-monthly Tuesday show. He arrived this morning ready to rant about the police presence – guarding a station censured three years ago for airing a segment called Bad Cop, No Donut! But there was no officer on the premises, and Topp spun discs in peace.

Nonetheless, he’s unimpressed with the current state of affairs.

"They shouldn’t be dismissing people who’ve been around for 18 or 20 years," says Topp. "Change is a part of life, but I told Tony Barnes he cannot be acting like this. Go back to them and say, ‘Sorry, we had a bad day’. There should be a process in place that allows everyone to properly fight things out."

Topp takes issue with the curious withdrawal of the claim that tax receipts would be issued for fundraising drive contributions. And there are increasing instances of DJ patter embedded with conspicuous plugs for local businesses.

"I think CKLN is still an important media outlet in Toronto," he says. "The station has always been about freedom of speech and taking up causes nobody else cares about. It’s still my favourite medium – and all other radio is so horrid now, here’s a place where there’s an opportunity to be artistic.

"What they’re doing now is nothing if not fascism. They’re acting no different than the Ku Klux Klan. And that sounds like something worth fighting against right now."

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