DOVER-FOXCROFT – Piscataquis County officials were elated this week to learn that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is pushing for the inclusion of funds in the 2002 federal budget for five additional National Weather Service radio sites in Maine.

Collins, who previously consulted officials at the Caribou office of the National Weather Service, hopes to persuade Commerce Secretary Donald Evans to include the funds for sites in Milo, Cutler, Frenchville, Millinocket and Rangeley.

“It’s her hope that with the assistance of the Department of Commerce, this service can be expanded in Maine where weather alerts issued by the National Weather Service have saved lives and millions of dollars in property,” Felicia Knight, the senator’s press secretary, said Tuesday.

Knight said that Collins has received letters and telephone calls from constituents who have complained that they cannot receive National Weather Service weather alerts in their geographic areas.

“They range from county commissioners concerned about the Piscataquis River flooding its banks, to fishermen along the coast of Washington County who need accurate and timely warning of dangerous weather conditions,” she said.

Hendricus Lulofs, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Caribou, said Tuesday that both Collins and U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe had contacted him about the need to expand the weather service frequency to a larger area of Maine.

Weather transmitters now are located in Falmouth, Dresden, Ellsworth and Mars Hill. The additional transmitters would cover areas that now aren’t able to access the bureau’s 24-hour-a-day broadcast of weather information and weather alerts.

To obtain the information, a homeowner would need to invest in a radio receiver at a cost of $20 and up. “This should be treated like a smoke alarm,” Lulofs said. Floods can do as much damage as fires, he said.

Lulofs said the 300-watt transmitter requested for the St. John Valley in Frenchville would cost about $52,000, while the 1,000-watt transmitters requested for Milo, Millinocket, Cutler and Rangeley would cost approximately $74,000 each. He said the actual cost of the transmitters would be much more if existing towers were not used. Lulofs said the weather service has permission to use existing towers in Milo and Cutler. Discussions are being held with Millinocket and Frenchville officials, he said.

If Collins is successful in getting the funding for the radio sites included in the 2002 fiscal budget, there will be no local match required. If the funding is not included in the budget, Collins can sponsor a special bill for the funds. Again, there would be no local match, Lulofs said.