Mercer County buildings that hold large groups of children now have radios for fast alerts of dangerous weather heading toward the area.

Mercer County Chapter of the Safe Kids Coalition and the county Department of Public Safety teamed for a mini grant from the state Department of Health to buy 70 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radios. The $1,500 grant was matched by the local Emergency Planning Committee, said Kathy Pugh of Mercer County Head Start.

The radios which alert listeners to potential bad weather were made available to schools, preschools and licensed day care centers, Mrs. Pugh said. The radios were also given to Shenango Valley Community Library in Sharon and Olympic Fun Center in Hermitage, said Tammy Marshall of Mercer County Safe Kids.

The idea to buy them came last March when the countywide weather drill was held, Mrs. Pugh said, adding only 20 out of 115 agencies affiliated with the Department of Public Safety participated.

The reason for the low participation was a flaw in the alert system, Mrs. Pugh said. The county's system is set up to warn schools and businesses of bad weather, but with automated answering systems in many places, some of the emergency calls were unanswered, she said.

Mrs. Pugh said she spoke with Jim Thompson, county public safety director, who told her about the NOAA radios that broadcast weather information and warnings.

Doppler radar, used to track weather up to 150 miles away, has improved so much that the system can quickly send warnings of potential tornadoes or other dangerous weather, Thompson said.

"You have it the same time we have it. You can act," he said.

Karen Spak, director of the library, received her radio Thursday.

"I thought it was a terrific idea," she said. Last year the library had about 105,000 visitors and many of them were children, Mrs. Spak said, noting that library employees spent a lot of time watching outside and checking the Internet to stay informed of weather conditions.

Thompson said the radios, available to the public from local retailers, cost about $50.

To help inform schools and distribute the radios, Safe Kids got help from Mercer County Family Center, Neighborhood-Based Family Intervention and the Penn State Cooperative Extension Office, Mrs. Pugh said. The radios were purchased through Radio Shack.

Mrs. Pugh said Mercer County's next weather drill will be held March 19.