When two teenaged residents escaped from the Summit Academy reform school last week, residents nearby in Summit Township said they should have been notified immediately.

That’s not an unreasonable request.

Granted, the reform school is not a prison, and the escapees were captured in less than an hour after state police were notified.

But the reality is juveniles are sent there by real judges for serious criminal behavior, and they face dire consequences for trying to leave. in this case, Emmanuel Munoz, 19, of Herman was charged with felony escape and placed in the Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail; the other escapee, who is a minor, faces charges in Butler County juvenile court.

When someone is being hunted, dire consequences sometimes provoke desperate behavior. People living near a reform school should be informed if residents are on the loose. They should be alerted to potential threats if they encounter unfamiliar individuals.

And it’s no longer very hard to do, thanks for technological advances. We’ve come a long way since the days of the Emergency Broadcast System — that shrill tone, set precisely to 1050 Hertz, notifying radio listeners and television viewers to stand by for important, possibly life-saving information.

Can you remember the daily routine? “This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test.”

EBS was phased out in 1997 when the Federal Communications Commission replaced it with the technologically advanced Emergency Alert System.

Fifty years ago there were practical reasons for tight federal standards for EBS. There were only three nationwide television networks, and it was a major ordeal to interrupt the broadcast schedule.

Today, vestiges of EBS remain in the Emergency Alert System, which is administered mainly through cable television and cellular telephone carriers. The alerts are limited primarily to National Weather Service storm warnings and Amber Alerts for abducted and missing children.

Last week, many cell phones across Butler erupted with another EBS relic — that 1050 Hz emergency signal — along with a text notice of imminent flash flooding. It wasn’t welcome news, but it was extremely helpful to know sooner than later that trouble was on the way.

The only problem is, if the emergency isn’t a National Weather Service advisory or Amber Alert, then EAS isn’t going to carry it.

What about the traffic-blocking collision on Route 8, the black bear sighting near Institute Hill playground, or the two teens who walked away from Summit Academy?

For all these and other emergency scenarios, it seems reasonable and practical to consider drawing up a local alert system through Butler County Emergency Services. With a new 911 communications system being installed, now is the time to map out how this system might interface most effectively and efficiently with the public — the bankrollers and intended beneficiaries of this $15 million investment.

Already, area school districts are using similar technology to communicate via text or email with parents of children in specific neighborhoods, grades, classrooms, school buildings, even bus routes. Shouldn’t the County, state and federal governments aspire to a similar standard?

After all, Butler County was a 911 pioneer — one of the first counties in the nation to have its own 911 dispatch. That’s a tradition to be proud of, and to live up to in years to come.