The Mars area is understandably jittery. Twice within 34 days, children have been approached and frightened by strangers in vehicles.

The latest incident occurred at about 2 p.m. Tuesday when a man riding in a white van yelled something like, "If I want you, I'll come and get you," to an 8-year-old girl. On July 14, two men riding in a green pickup truck reportedly tried to lure two 8-year-old boys into their vehicle. The two incidents occurred within about a one-block area.

With people like those involved in the two incidents roaming the streets, parents are justified in being deeply concerned, even if the men in the vehicles didn't actually intend to abduct the children.

Not knowing what - and how serious - were the men's intentions, parents shouldn't become any less watchful in coming weeks and months because of the start of school. Parents whose children generally walk to school unaccompanied by other students or an adult should be particularly concerned.

And the concern that currently is rampant in the Mars area should be heeded in other area school districts. Incidents such as these have no boundaries.

This county still lives with the horrible memory of the unsolved abduction of Cherrie Mahan, who disappeared after getting off her school bus on Feb. 22, 1985, near her home in Winfield Township. Older residents of Tyrone in Blair County still can identify with what Mars area residents are feeling. On March 18, 1965, 6-year-old Kathleen Ann Shea vanished within sight of her school as she walked alone to afternoon kindergarten classes. Her disappearance remains unsolved also.

In the Mars incidents, the fact that there are two different vehicle descriptions and two different descriptions of the men involved doesn't mean that the incidents are not related. They could be, but they might not be. The second could be merely the result of a bad sense of humor, based on what occurred in July. But the community - and law enforcement officials - aren't going to treat the incident with any sense of humor, if and when the individuals are apprehended.

Police and borough officials held a town meeting after the first incident to allow parents to share their concerns. Presumably most parents talked to their sons and daughters about what happened to the children in question and reminded them not to talk to strangers, or enter strangers' vehicles.

Regardless of the level of progress in resolving the cases, school officials in Mars and neighboring districts should review safety tips as one of the first orders of business when children return to classes.

Meanwhile, adults as well as children should keep alert regarding vehicles that are not normally in their neighborhood.

- J.R.K.