UTICA-ROME -- A little over a month after the FCC said there are no problems with signal levels at the WOKR(FM) tower in the Town of Floyd, local lawmakers say they're hearing positive feedback from neighbors who originally complained about dangerously high levels of radiation in June.
According to the Utica Observer-Dispatch, the FCC sent a letter in late July to Rep. Michael Arcuri, stating it found radiation levels at the tower site to be within compliance with safety standards. At this point, the FCC says any further complaints or concerns about the operations of the transmitter site need to be addressed directly with the station's owner, Educational Media Foundation.
The signal at 93.5 FM carries the syndicated God's Country Radio Network, through an LMA with owner Educational Media Foundation. EMF's own religious music format brands, K-Love and Air1, are already carried on other stations EMF owns in the market.
The newspaper says Arcuri and state Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito will host an open forum later this month to see if neighbors still have any concerns they'd like to share about the station. That meeting is set for Monday, August 17 at 12:30pm at the Floyd Town Hall.
Steve Lloyd, one of the neighbors who lives closest to the tower, says he has recently returned to his home after spending the last several weeks living at his camp on Kayuta Lake. He tells the newspaper things have been better since he moved back, but he's still keeping a close eye out for any problems.
Back in June, Lloyd was the man who brought the issue to light, saying WOKR's signal was so strong, he could hear the programming through his TV set, even after it was turned off. He also claimed members of his family were showing symptoms of illness typically associated with exposure to radiation. He even had a local engineering firm conduct tests which showed the radiation levels were high; neighbors accused tower crews of rushing to make repairs late into the night before FCC inspectors arrived.