Stranger Danger

Today, Wheeling Hospital begins its annual Safety Town program where youngsters preschool age and a bit older learn safety tips from local police and other caring people. The first thing we teach kindergarten age kids is stranger danger. Well, folks, that lesson ought to be reiterated in about ninth or 10th grade. No, I'm not kidding. We require "booster" shots for vaccinations as our children grow, why not re-innoculate their brains with some reminders about strangers? Maybe then our children would not be so susceptible to Internet predators, strangers at the swimming pool or at the movies. Young people are vulnerable, even as they go off to college and encounter new surroundings and evils. Stranger-danger. Too many unsolved murders around here to not worry about strangers.