Both my wife Debbie and I had chaotic 70th birthday parties.

Three years ago, I spent my birthday in Geisinger Hospital in Danville with a major heart issue, and last year, my wife’s birthday had an uninvited party wrecker.

It was late June, and Debbie had designed a fantastic event we planned for our church friends at our home in Clinton Township. We have a very nice house on a hill with four acres of land, and we wanted to have a fun-for-everyone-type celebration.

We had a tent with toys and games for little children and activities for the older kids, including visiting a nearby neighbor’s farm. For the adults, there was volleyball, a large net for hitting golf balls, and various stuff we collected from overseas that we were selling off to help a children’s clinic my wife helped start in Latvia. And of course, we had lots and lots of good food we provided, and our guests brought as well.

All the weather reports confirmed that we would have a beautiful day, but little did we know that was not to be. One of my friends just happened to check his phone and discovered that it appeared a storm was coming our way. I was sure this was a mistake because we had been tracking the weather for the past week, and everything was telling us that it was going to be a beautiful, sunny day. We were not sure what we should do, but just a few minutes later, we discovered that there was, indeed, a storm coming across our path.

It was not just any storm; it felt like a hurricane. The National Weather Service later reported that a line of severe thunderstorms swept through Lycoming County. And our property was right in the line! The storm had gusts up to 60 mph, and there was quarter-inch hail in some places. The rain was pouring down so hard it seemed like a river was coming down our driveway. We later learned that the storm gusts knocked down trees that even blocked roads in parts of Lycoming County. And then, it went away as fast as it came, but the damage was awful. It tore apart everything we had set up.

What we wished we could have had would have been a system of notifying the public about upcoming emergencies. Last month, my wish became a reality.

Jeffrey Hutchins, Lycoming County’s Director of Public Safety, rarely comes to the Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting, but when he does, it is well worth listening to him. Such a day was May 15th, when Director Hutchins announced the importance and implementation of exactly what I hoped for — an emergency notification system for Lycoming County. It is called CodeRed.

CodeRed is a secure, reliable communication platform that enables Lycoming County officials to quickly deliver important emergency notifications to the public.

Here is how it works: Alerts can be sent via phone call, text message, email, and TDD/TTY devices for the hearing impaired. This system is designed to keep residents and businesses informed and prepared in the face of emergencies and critical community events.

With this system, my wife and I would have an earlier heads up at the party on the severe weather that was coming our way.

It also alerts the public of sudden emergencies, major evacuations, major road closures, public health notifications, and other critical incidents affecting safety and well-being.

And best of all, it is fast, free, and secure. Director Hutchins strongly encouraged residents and businesses to sign up for this notification system. If you are interested in doing so, just go to https://accountportal.onsolve.net/lycomingcountyps. If you would like some more info or help with registration, you can contact the Lycoming County Department of Public Safety at 570-433-4461 or through email at ema@lyco.org.

You never know when the winds may change, or the waters begin to rise — but you will know with CodeRed.