In the media and the academy I sense growing agreement that children and adolescents should have their cell phones restricted or even taken away. I disagree. Parents within a very wide range should be free to parent. I wanted our child to have a cell phone when she was in school, partly to co-ordinate logistics, but mostly to be able to contact her in emergencies. Many girls died in the flooding at Camp Mystic last summer. Camp Mystic, apparently like many camps, did not allow the girls to have cell phones. With cell phones some of the girls might have received timely warnings from their parents, and still be alive today.
(p. A3) In the wake of revelations by Kerr County officials that they didn’t have a flood warning system, an online petition has been started to get one set up for any such future disasters. “This is not just a wish—it is a necessary investment in public safety,” said the Change.org petition signed by more than 100 people since going up Friday [July 4, 2025]. “Early warning sirens have saved thousands of lives in other communities by giving clear, unmistakable alerts day or night, even when cell phone service or electricity fails.”
Nicole Wilson, a resident of nearby San Antonio who started the petition, said she was moved into action after seeing friends nearly lose their children to the floods while at Mystic and other camps along the river and knowing that most, like one her daughters go to near New Braunfels, Texas, don’t allow cellphones or other electronic devices. She said outdoor warning sirens, such as the one she grew up with in Kentucky to seek shelter from tornadoes, could give lifesaving advance notice.
“You are going to hear the sirens, and you are going to know what the sirens mean,” said Wilson, 42, an Army veteran. “I have no doubt if they had five minutes warning they would have had opportunity to get uphill, and they would have had a chance.”
“They had no chance,” she added, her voice breaking. “They had no warning.”
For the full story, see:
(Note: bracketed date added.)
(Note: the online version of the story was updated July 6, 2025, and has the title “Escalating Alerts of Dangerous Flooding Arrived When People Were Sleeping.”)