Public radio got a boost on the Middle Peninsula on Friday, when executives from WHRO Public Television and Radio turned on a new radio station located on the tower at Thomas Hunter Middle School in Mathews. 

WHRO president and CEO Bert Schmidt was all smiles as board member Elizabeth Young of Hartfield, pushed the "on" button under the eye of chief enterprise officer John Heimerl, chief engineer Chris Gunnufsen, and senior RF engineer Glenn Hickman. Also present were Mathews County schools superintendent David Holleran and technology coordinator Bill Vrooman.

WHRG—the "G" stands for Gloucester, since the call letters WHRM were already taken—is a 9,600-watt re-feed of the National Public Radio affiliate WHRV FM in Norfolk, said Heimerl. Located at 88.5 on the radio dial, the new station should offer good reception from Yorktown to White Stone and beyond, he said.

In addition to the current WHRV programming, Heimerl said that WHRG also includ...