Re: Maine Public Radio expanding

["David W. Harris" <dwh@totalnetnh.net>]

Writing on August 10, Rod O'Connor of Southwest Harbor, Maine, asked:

> Does Maine Public Radio still have plans for WHQO 107.9 Skowhegan?
>
The September MPR newsletter, Airplay, just arrived in my mailbox and
the very first listener letter on page 3 comes from Southwest Harbor
(hmmm...) and asks "What is the status of WHQQ in Skowhegan?"  Here's
the official answer from Charles Beck, Director of Radio Services:

"We are hopeful that this action [the Cumulus donation] will still
occur.  We are still waiting for final confirmation from Cumulus.  If we
get the go ahead, we'll still need several months to get our signal
broadcasting from the site!"

Another letter deals with an issue brought up on this list a few months
ago: "Is it necessary that a weather EAS advisory/storm warning for
northern Arookstook be broadcast in the Southern Maine area?"  Mr. Beck
answers:

"We certainly understand your concerns, especially during the summer
months when the EAS alerts folks to frequent thunderstorms--often in
other parts of the state.  As a public service, we are the statewide
distributor of these emergency bulletins (not just weather
emergencies)--and they are aired live so as to be not only timely and
effective but also extremely dependable.  During the less volatile
periods (weatherwise) of the year, they do not constitute a major
annoyance.  We do not have the technology in place to broadcast these
messages only to selected areas of the state.  We are directed to
broadcast them statewide so as to avoid creating a very complicated
process that could fail when we need it most."

I remember one Friday afternoon this summer when MPR's Toby LeBoutillier
could barely get a record started (yes, he really plays records on "Down
Memory Lane") before another EAS message cut in to warn another area
about severe thunderstorms.  There must have been five or six
interruptions in a 20-minute period.